- I was a victim of crime: consequences and reactions
- The rights of victims of crime
- Right to information
- Right to receive acknowledgement of the complaint
- Right to translation
- Right to victim support services
- Right to be heard
- Rights in the event of a decision not to charge the defendant
- Right to mediation
- Right to legal information and protection
- Right to reimbursement of expenses
- Right to the return of property
- Right to compensation
- Right to protection
- Right to privacy
- Rights of victims resident in another EU member state
- Criminal proceedings
- Who’s who in criminal proceedings
- Victim (Injured Party)
- Judge
- Prosecutor
- Pre-trial investingation officer
- Court secretary
- Court volunteer
- Victim’s lawyer
- Legal representative of an injured party (victim)
- Accompanying person of an injured party (victim)
- Victim support worker
- Suspect and defendant
- Defense lawyer
- Witness
- Experts and specialists
- Interpreter
- Psychologist
- Representative of state institution on protection of children rights
- Civil claimant and civil defendant
Prosecutor
Prosecutors are state officials who lead and supervise pre-trial investigations and uphold charges laid against defendants during trials.
Most cases are usually investigated by police, prosecutors in these cases supervise activities of pre-trial investigation officers and are involved when decisions on certain coercive measures are to be taken. However, even in cases being investigated by the police, prosecutors can decide to take over the whole investigation or to perform some parts of it themselves.
Prosecutors in these cases can also order police officers to take specific steps in investigation, to search for specific evidence, to question specific witnesses, etc. You can also appeal every decision or inactivity of pre-trial investigation officers to prosecutor (and to appeal decisions of prosecutors to their superiors).
When you think that certain steps in the pre-trial investigation shall be taken, you can submit written petitions on these issues either to pre-trial investigation officer or to prosecutor directly.
The prosecutor is the one who takes decisions either to terminate pre-trial investigations or to forward cases to courts for trial. In the latter case the prosecutor leading pre-trial investigation writes a bill of indictment and formulates charges against the defendant. Afterwards prosecutor upholds the charges laid during the whole trial procedure. He or she can also appeal judgments of courts of first instances, and to apply for a review of the case by the Supreme Court of Lithuania.
Please note that every prosecutor performs their functions in the case because you have suffered a crime. However they do not have to abide to your decisions, i.e. in most cases they have to start criminal procedure even if you do not wish your crime to be investigated (except some specific crimes and criminal infringements), they do not have neither right nor duty to terminate criminal procedure if you wish it to be terminated, they can appeal every judgment even if you do not want any appeal to be made, etc.