Supreme People’s Procuratorate explains compensation rules for victims of crime

The Supreme People’s Procuratorate recently made public the Guidelines for Applying for National Judicial Assistance to the public through social media.

The guidelines explain the Opinions on Establishing and Perfecting the National Judicial Assistance System (Trial), jointly adopted by the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice in 2014.

The following is the full text of the guidelines.

Part I. Regarding the scope of national judicial assistance:

1. The victim is injured by a crime, resulting in serious injury or serious disability, and life difficulties are caused because the case could not be solved; or the victim is unable to obtain compensation through litigation because of the death of the perpetrator or the inability to compensate, resulting in life difficulties;
2. The victim is injured by a crime that endangers his life, urgently needs medical treatment, and is unable to afford medical treatment expenses;
3. The person becomes the victim of a crime and dies, and the close relatives who depend on his income experience difficulties because the case cannot be solved; or the close relatives who rely on the victim’s income as the main source of income are unable to obtain compensation through litigation due to the death of the perpetrator or the inability to pay compensation, resulting in living difficulties;
4. The victim becomes the victim of a crime, resulting in significant loss of property, and living difficulties because the case cannot be solved; or the victim is unable to obtain compensation in a timely manner through litigation due to the death of the perpetrator or the inability to pay compensation, resulting in living difficulties;
5. Whistleblowers, witnesses, and appraisers are retaliated against for reporting, testifying, and appraising, resulting in personal injury or heavy property loss, unable to obtain compensation through litigation, and causing difficulties in life;
6. Claiming for alimony, child support, childcare, etc., which causes difficulties for the applicant for execution because the person subject to execution has no ability to perform;
7. For personal injury caused by civil torts such as road traffic accidents, compensation cannot be obtained through litigation, which causes difficulties in life;
8. According to the actual situation of the case, other persons who need assistance.

Part II. Circumstances in which a person will not receive assistance:

1. When a person is seriously at fault for the occurrence of the case;
2. When a person refuses to cooperate in the investigation of the facts of a crime without justifiable reasons;
3. When a person intentionally makes false statements or falsifies evidence to obstruct criminal proceedings;
4. When a person voluntarily renounces a claim for civil compensation or refuses compensation to the person responsible for the injury and his close relatives during the lawsuit;
5. When living difficulties are not caused by the case;
6. When a person has already received reasonable compensation and assistance through social assistance measures.

Part III. Materials to be submitted when applying for national judicial assistance:

1. Application;
2. Identification materials;
3. Proof of injuries sustained, such as the victim’s injury appraisal opinion, medical diagnosis conclusion, medical expense receipt or death certificate;
4. Evidence of living difficulties, such as a poverty certificate issued by the civil affairs department of the applicant’s location;
5. Evidence of whether other compensation or assistance has been obtained;
6. Other relevant supporting materials.

Part IV. Others

1. Applying for national judicial assistance does not affect the handling of relevant criminal complaint cases;
2. The application materials submitted will not be returned;
3. Those who refuse to cooperate with the people’s procuratorate in investigating and verifying relevant circumstances shall not be assisted;
4. Those who falsify materials to defraud judicial assistance funds shall be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law, in addition to recovering the assistance funds that have already been issued;
5. Judicial assistance is limited to one time only;
6. The people’s procuratorate shall not accept an appeal against the opinion or decision on the approval of assistance.