What is the procedure for exercising the right to monetary compensation?
The procedure is initiated by submitting a written request to the Commission for Monetary Compensation (hereinafter: the Commission), which decides on the request.
The form for the request for monetary compensation for victims of a violent crime can be downloaded and printed from the website of the Commission.
The request can be submitted directly through the archives of the Ministry of Justice or sent by mail or by electronic means.
Contact: Ministry of Justice, St. Dimitrie Chupovski no. 9, 1000 Skopje
E-mail: cabinet@justice.gov.mk
Phone: +389 (0)2 3226 – 975
For child victims/persons with limited legal capacity or deprived of legal capacity
If the victim is a child or lacks legal capacity, the request will be submitted to the Commission by the parent, guardian or representative.
For help and information, the parent or guardian can turn to the citizens associations registered for the provision of free legal aid or to the regional departments of the Ministries of Justice.
What should the request for monetary compensation contain?
It is best to submit the request for monetary compensation on the form that you can find in this information material or pick it up from the offices of the citizens’ associations registered for the provision of free legal aid or to the regional departments of the Ministries of Justice.
You can submit the request in the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic script or in another official language spoken by at least 20% of the citizens and its script or in the language you understand.
If you use your own request, pay attention to the following mandatory elements that the request must contain:
- personal data of the petitioner, i.e., the victim, if it is not the same person as the petitioner:
- description of the crime (date, place and method of execution),
- date when the commission of the crime was recorded or reported to the police or the public prosecutor’s office,
- description of the consequences of the crime,
- statements about whether the victim is aware that criminal proceedings are being conducted against the perpetrator of the crime, before which competent authority, as well as the case number under which the criminal proceedings are being conducted,
- a statement on the access to compensation recognized by this law accessed on other legal grounds and
- the type of compensation the victim is seeking
Photocopies are submitted and the original or certified copy of the following documents are submitted along with the request for initiation of the compensation procedure:
- personal identification document,
- proof of citizenship, domicile or residence, except for a victim without citizenship or a victim who is an unregistered person in the birth register,
- appropriate document from the police or from the public prosecutor’s office that the crime has been registered or reported,
- proof (medical documentation) stating that the victim has suffered serious physical injuries, severe mental or physical health impairment,
- death certificate, if the victim died as a result of the crime,
- proof of incapacity for work in accordance with pension and disability insurance regulations,
- proof that the intermediate victim paid the funeral expenses,
- a self-signed declaration of non-receipt of compensation recognized by this law accessed on other legal grounds,
- their personal transaction account details and
- other documents available to the victim, which prove that the conditions for compensation have been met.
What costs do I have in this procedure?
No administrative fees are payable in this procedure.
For foreign citizens/stateless persons
You have the right to an interpreter during the entire procedure, and the costs are borne by the state.
Along with the documents that you will submit in a foreign language, you must also attach a certified translation in the Macedonian language. Translation costs are covered by the state. You should report them in your request to be reimbursed by the Commission.
What should I pay attention to during the procedure?
After receiving your request with the necessary documents, the Commission will issue you a confirmation of receipt of the request, which specifies the contact person responsible for the procedure and the deadline by which the decision will be made, if possible.
If, during the procedure for exercising the right to monetary compensation, you exercise a right in accordance with another law, you are obliged to notify the Commission of this within seven days of exercising the right, and you must submit proof of the exercised right and compensation.
During the procedure, as an exception, the Commission may call you to give a statement for which it compiles a record or an official note. Ask for a copy of what you have declared and signed.
If the submitted request is incomplete, the Commission will call you within 30 days from the day of receipt of the notice to correct or supplement the request with evidence necessary for making a decision.
During the entire procedure, the Commission pays attention to the personal data that you have submitted and is obliged to ensure secrecy and protection against misuse.
In what period can I submit the request?
The request is to be submitted no later than three years from the day the criminal offense that you state in the request for compensation was committed.
If, due to health reasons, you were not able to submit the request within three years from the day the criminal offense stated in the request for compensation was committed, the request is to be submitted no later than within six months from the day when the reasons for which you were not able to submit the request have ceased to exist, and at the latest within five years from the date of commission of the crime.
For child victims/persons with limited legal capacity or deprived of legal capacity
If the victim is a child or a person with a limited legal capacity or deprived of legal capacity, and the parent or guardian had not submitted a request for compensation within three years from the day the criminal offense referred to in the request for compensation was committed, the three-year period begins from the day the person reaches 18 years of age or, after the victim reaches the age of maturity, from the day the commission of the crime has been reported or from the day the person’s legal capacity has been restored.
