By Jindriska Barakat – Lawyer and Business Consultant
Many times, people affected by a criminal action ask themselves, what should I present to demand that the illegal action against me or my assets be punished?
What is the difference between a Complaint and a Lawsuit?
On many occasions, not knowing this difference can jeopardize the result of your process.
For this reason, at Legacy Group Services we want to clarify these differences and thus guide our clients and people in general on the best step to take in the face of any criminal involvement, on their property, honor and/or their person.
THE LAWSUIT:
Etymologically this word comes from the Latin querella, which means complaint; a derivative of the verb queri which means to complain. It is from this point that the notion of making a complaint becomes, and therefore the judicial value is given to the term
The Lawsuit it is presented in writing, and it is the declaration where the affected person informs the Public Ministry of the Republic of Panama of the concurrence of certain facts that may constitute a crime, as well as, the offended party is revealing his intention to exercise criminal action.
The Lawsuit It is a right that citizens who feel violated by criminal actions against their person, honor, and property have, but more importantly, they want to collaborate and directly follow up on the investigation that is carried out.
The offended person can prosecute in unison with the Prosecutor's Office, which investigates and punishes whoever is responsible.
For this, it must have the formality of presenting the facts, the general information of the alleged culprit, their general information and the evidence of the punishable act or how it can be collected.
In this case the prosecutor represents the offended by the alleged crimes and becomes part of the process, which gives him the right to request proceedings, present evidence and even present arguments. You can oppose the actions of the Prosecutor or the Judge, present oppositions and other types of appeals.
THE COMPLAINT:
Etymologically the word Complaint comes from Latin and is made up of three Latin parts that are prefixed with «De» What does it mean hardships, the verb «nunciare» corresponds to the synonym let know and finally the suffix «ja» equivalent to quality. This being the case, we are in the presence of a Verbal Declaration, about an act that is known; that may constitute a punishable act and is brought to the attention of the corresponding authorities.
The Complaint, is the act by which any person informs the competent authority of the alleged commission of a crime, even when they have not been directly affected.
In the cases of Public Servants, the presentation of Complaints is mandatory, on the cases where they have witnessed alleged criminal acts or it is presumed that there could be some conduct or action that is detrimental to the Public Matter.
In this figure, the person of the complainant is not part of the process, which reduces the opportunity to present evidence and other legal actions, allowed in the Lawsuit. However, let us remember that the Public Ministry is responsible for investigating crimes, so in the event of a Complaint, will be the figure of a Prosecutor who, on behalf of the citizen and the State, will prosecute the crime.
We cannot fail to mention the importance of filing legal actions in cases of acts that, being criminal, have equally affected the assets or finances of a natural or legal person. Given this, the interposition of a Lawsuit that guarantees the penal sanction to the person in charge, but in the same way the compensation of the damages caused.
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