The aggrieved party (victim)

The aggrieved party is the term for the party injured by the criminal act. The aggrieved party may be an individual or a company or other organization.

During court sittings, the aggrieved party has the status of a witness in the case, with the rights and obligations applicable to witnesses.

Nobody can be a judge in a case in which he or she was a victim of the criminal act, or is closely related to the victim through kinship, relationships by marriage, friendship or the like. The more detailed rules about impartiality are described in Sections 106 to 108 of the Courts of Law Act (domstolloven).

In certain serious criminal cases, legal counsel is appointed for the aggrieved party in the case at the expense of the state. The legal counsel's responsibility is to take care of the interests of the aggrieved party in connection with investigation in the case and during the court proceedings. The counsel has the right to be present when statements are taken by the police and during the main proceedings. The counsel for the aggrieved party has the right to ask the aggrieved party questions, and also has the right to object to questions that are not relevant to the case or that are asked in an improper way. It is also customary for the counsel for the aggrieved party to make a claim for damages for non-economic loss/compensatory damages on behalf of the aggrieved party.