Definition of Order of Compensation
Definition of Order of Compensation
- Suppose the court declares the defendant to be guilty in the first or second criminal trial proceedings. As soon as this judgment is pronounced, the defendant will be “ordered to compensate” physical damages, medical treatment costs, etc., incurred by his/her criminal act. However, if the defendant and victim agree on the settlement money amount, he/she shall be ordered to pay the settled compensation for damages.
Application for Order of Compensation
Violence/Injury Cases in which Compensation may be Ordered
- Suppose the court declares the defendant guilty for any case falling under the following categories. In this case, the victim, his/her inheritor or representative (hereinafter referred to as “Victims, etc.”) may apply to order compensation for direct physical damage, medical treatment expenses, and compensation (Article 25, paragraph 1 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
· Crime of injury (Article 257, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act)
· Crime of grievous bodily injury (Article 258, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Criminal Act)
· Crime of special injury (Article 258-2 of the Criminal Act. However, this excludes cases when a person exercised power in a group or with other people, or with a dangerous object and injured or attempted to injure his/her lineal ascendant or his/her spouse’s lineal ascendant, or endangered their lives by bodily injury or incurred incurable diseases by bodily injury)
· Crime of death resulting from bodily injury (Article 259, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Act)
· Crime of assault incurring fatal injury [Article 262 of the Criminal Act (including crimes of assault incurring fatal injury to lineal ascendants)]
· Attempted crime of injury and habitual crime of injury or severe injury (Article 257, paragraph 3 and Article 264 of the Criminal Act)
- Moreover, the court may order the defendant to compensate the victim with the agreed damage amount for the crimes above and other crimes (Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
How to Apply the Order of Compensation
- Written Application
· Until the end of defense of the first or second trial, the victim may apply for the court proceedings with the lawsuit to order the defendant to compensate by submitting the
Application to Order Compensation and its duplicate copies equivalent to the number of counterpart defendants (Article 26, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
· The documentary evidence may be attached on the Application to Order Compensation (Article 26, paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
- Oral Application
· The victim may make an oral application to order compensation when appearing in court as a witness. In this case, the victim shall indicate his/her intention of application on the trial report (Article 26, paragraph 5 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
Restriction of Application to Order Compensation
- Suppose the victim is proceeding with a lawsuit for damage compensation under other procedures for damages incurred by the criminal act. In this case, the victim shall not apply to order compensation (Article 26, paragraph 7 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
Effectiveness of Application to Order Compensation
- The Application to Order Compensation is as effective as filing a lawsuit (Article 26, paragraph 8 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
Withdrawal of Application to Order Compensation
- The applicant ordering compensation may withdraw his/her application any time until the compensation order has been confirmed (Article 26, paragraph 6 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
Dismissal of Application to Order Compensation
- Suppose the court deems the compensation order application illegal, without a purpose, or unjustifiable. In this case, the court shall decide to dismiss the application (Article 32, paragraph 1 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
- The applicant shall neither file an objection to the case in which the compensation order was dismissed or partially cited in the trial, nor shall he/she apply to order compensation on the same case (Article 32, paragraph 4 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
The Court’s Order of Compensation
How the Court Orders Compensation
- The court promptly orders compensation for damages when sentencing the defendant guilty, and the compensation amount and subject shall be stated on the conviction (Article 31, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
- The court may declare the possibility of provisional execution to order compensation (Article 26, paragraph 6 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
Effectiveness of Order of Compensation
- The officially certified copy of the conviction, indicating the order of compensation or the order of compensation including the declaration of provisional execution, has equivalent effectiveness as a judgment in a civil case, which has execution force for compulsory execution under the Civil Execution Act (Article 34, paragraph 1 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
- If the compensation order has been confirmed, the victim shall not claim compensation for damages according to different measures in the scope of the citation amount (Article 34, paragraph 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
Objection to Order of Compensation
Objection to Order of Compensation
- If an appeal has been filed for the conviction, the order of compensation and the case will be sent forward to the appellate (second) trial (Article 31, paragraph 1 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
※ Interpretation of Legal Terms
Appeal to a Higher Court: This term refers to appealing an objection to a higher court to modify or cancel the conviction before the judgment is finalized. Appeals can be made to the appellate court or the Supreme Court.
Appeals are filed for cases with undecided judgments. Therefore, it does not apply to filing an objection for a retrial of the previous trial, or an emergency trial in criminal procedures. Appeals made to a higher court are not applicable for objections raised for trials in courts at the same level as the previous trial.
< Source: Collection of Legal Terms and Cases, By the Ministry of Government Legislation and Korea Legislation Research Institute, 2003>
- Suppose the original judgment is reversed in the appellate trial, and the court pronounces the judgment of acquittance, absolution, or dismissal of the prosecution. In this case, the order of compensation for the original trial shall be canceled whether or not the order was not canceled in the appellate trial (Article 33, paragraph 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
※ However, if compensation was ordered in the original trial, the above provision (Article 33, paragraph 2 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings) shall not apply (Article 33, paragraph 3 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
※ Interpretation of Legal Terms
· Acquittal: This refers to declaring the acquittal of indictment due to the extinguishment of arraignment rights in the indicted criminal case. The indictment is acquitted when the prescription of prosecution is completed, the judgment is finalized, or for derogation of laws and regulations.
· Dismissal of Prosecution: Suppose the case lacks formal lawsuit conditions apart from the jurisdiction. Then, the prosecution is dismissed to end the lawsuit without hearing the case since the lack of procedures makes it illegal.
※ Cases Requiring the Decision of Prosecution Dismissal
1. If the prosecution has been canceled,
2. If the defendant has passed away, or if the juridical person (defendant) no longer survives,
3. If the competition of jurisdiction makes trial impossible, or
4. If the written prosecution indicates factual information but does not include criminal information.
※ Cases Requiring the Judgment of Prosecution Dismissal
1. If there is no criminal jurisdiction to exercise over the defendant,
2. If the prosecution procedures violate the law, and are thus invalidated,
3. If the prosecution is filed again on a previously filed case,
4. If the prosecution was filed after no critical evidence was found on the canceled prosecution,
5. If the accusation was canceled for a crime subject to the victim's complaint, or
6. If the victim withdrew his/her intention to penalize the assailant for crimes not prosecuted against the victim’s objection.
< Source: Collection of Legal Terms and Cases, By the Ministry of Government Legislation and Korea Legislation Research Institute, 2003>
- Even if the appellate trial maintains the same sentence as the original trial, this does not mean it can cancel or modify the order of compensation (Article 33, paragraph 4 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).
- For a compensation order only, the defendant may raise an immediate appeal as specified under the Criminal Procedure Act without filing an appeal for the conviction during the appeal application period. However, suppose the person entitled to appeal makes a legitimate appeal to a higher court after raising an immediate appeal. In this case, the immediate appeal will be deemed to have been withdrawn (Article 33, paragraph 5 of the Act on Special Cases Concerning Expedition, Etc. of Legal Proceedings).