What is a criminal complaint?
The criminal complaint is an act of communication addressed to the competent criminal judicial body, in which the commission of some acts by one or several persons who meet all the requirements to be considered a crime is revealed, requesting their investigation.
The complaint is described in article 270 and following of the Law of Criminal Procedure.
The person who files a criminal complaint is the plaintiff and the persons to whom the commission of the crime is imputed, defendants. The plaintiff when prosecuting the crime becomes the accusing party.
The admission to processing of a criminal complaint is not an act of judicial imputation, but it allows the defendant to start defending himself in the process in accordance with the article 270 of the Law of Criminal Procedure, once said admission has been duly notified.
Criminal complaint requirements
1. Legitimation
One of the requirements of the criminal complaint that is requested is that the plaintiff is entitled to file the complaint. They are legitimated:
- The Public Prosecutor, exercising public prosecution to prosecute any type of public or semi-public crime.
- The person offended by the crime (later, if the procedure continues, the private prosecution will exercise).
- Any natural or legal person who, although not the one offended by the crime, pursues crimes that are considered public (popular accusation).
- The offended in the crimes of libel and slander (private prosecution).
2. Competent judge to hear the complaint
The Judge is the only one who can hear the criminal complaint.
3. Special power
The Law requires that the complaint be filed through an attorney with a special power granted by the complainant to exercise criminal action against the defendants.
If the complaint is filed in Court without said power, it may not be admitted, entailing considerable effects in terms of the statute of limitations of the crime pursued. It is also required that the criminal complaint be signed by an attorney.
4. The letter of complaint
The written complaint will have to include the data of the complainant and all those that are held about the defendant.
If the author of the facts cannot be provided due to ignorance, any other information that may be clarified in the investigation phase will be expressed in the most concise manner.
Finally, the plaintiff may request that the Court conduct the evidence it deems necessary to ascertain the commission of the crime, although these test procedures must be declared pertinent by the judicial authority.
5. Provision of bail
This requirement of the criminal complaint only applies to foreign plaintiffs when international law does not impose the opposite solution.
When the plaintiff files a criminal complaint exercising the popular accusation, bail will be requested, taking into account his economic capacity.
When can a criminal complaint be dismissed?
1. Acts not susceptible to a criminal precept
It is when what is described in the account of the facts that appears in the complaint, as the document is written, is not likely to be included in any criminal precept.
2. There is no document that justifies its credibility
When, despite the possible initial criminal appearance of the facts that are imputed in the complaint, there is no available element that justifies its plausibility.
If you want to file a complaint accompanied by a criminal specialist, contact us.
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