Roles in Civil Legal Systems
Most countries use the civil law system, but the United States uses the common law system. Because of this difference in systems, it can be confusing for U.S. victims of overseas terrorism to understand their role in the civil law system. In the civil law system, victims may be able to be a party to the case. This is called being a “partie civile”. In the common law system, crime victims are not parties to the criminal case, but their interests are represented by the State through the prosecutor’s office. Below you'll find information about each job in the civil law system. Not all legal systems are exactly alike and there will be some differences between the information below and the country in question. For more details, please see our Introduction to International Legal Systems brochure.
In a criminal case in the civil law system, you may be able to represent yourself as party civille; but depending on the country, you may have to hire your own lawyer to become party civille. Your lawyer can explain the system to you, help you gain information, and question witnesses on your behalf at trial. Some countries may help you pay for these legal services if you want them, but many do not.
The Prosecutor in the civil law system presents evidence and makes sure the proceedings follow the law and correct procedures; he or she may not ask as many questions of witnesses as you are used to in the U.S. system. The Judge may actually perform cross-examination of witnesses or ask more in-depth questions than the Prosecutor.
In the civil law system, often an initial Court with an Investigative Judge will decide if the case should move forward for prosecution. The Investigative Judge may tell the police to perform further investigations or want more information before making a decision. Once the case moves beyond this initial Court, the Court where the case is actually tried may have one, or may have even three Judges. Here, the Judge plays a much more involved role at trial in questioning witnesses and hearing evidence than a Judge in the common law system.
As a victim, you may be able to have status In the case as a ‘party civille’ You may need to be represented by an attorney to do this, or you may be able to represent yourself. Being party civille may give the following rights:
- Access to the investigative file;
- Regular updates on the case;
- The ability to ask for searches, seizures, or interviews; and
- The ability to ask questions during a trial.
You may encounter other government employees in a civil law system who wish to help you, and they are basically the same as in a common law system. You may meet victim advocates, social workers, and court or compensation program staff in the civil law system - but this depends on the country and it's resources.
The Police in the civil law system perform investigations just like in the common law system. However, in the civil law system the police may be instructed to perform searches, seizures, interviews, etc. by the Investigative Judge rather than by the Prosecutor.