Amicable settlement

An out-of-court settlement is a legal figure that allows a criminal case to be settled by paying a sum of money. This allows trials to be settled out of court.

As long as there is no final judgment in first instance, it is possible to pronounce/ask for an amicable settlement. In degree of appeal an amicable settlement is no longer possible.

Within the criminal component, the amicable settlement can originate either from the Public Prosecutor's Office or from the accused himself. The final proposal of the sum of money is determined entirely autonomously by the Public Prosecutor.

The sum of money, proposed by the Public Prosecutor, may not exceed the maximum of the fine provided for by law.

It is the attorney who determines which facts the sum of money will relate to. The amicable settlement may relate to several facts.

No admission of guilt. No confession is required for the application of the amicable settlement.

Before the amicable settlement can be declared, a double condition must be met ;
 

• The offense must not be of a nature that it should be punishable by a capital prison sentence of more than 2 years.
• The offence must not seriously affect physical integrity. To weigh these conditions, there is an indicative table to check for which offenses an amicable settlement is possible and for which offenses it is absolutely impossible.
• If damage was caused by the crime to another person, this damage must be compensated before an amicable settlement can be proposed.

From the moment the Public Prosecutor considers that the application of an amicable settlement is appropriate, the accused, the victim and their lawyers enjoy a right to inspect the entire criminal file. The broad interpretation of inspection of the criminal file also includes the possibility for the parties to take or obtain a copy.

When one is successful in concluding an out-of-court settlement, it produces the lapse of the criminal action.

The amicable settlement concluded within the investigative investigation does not appear on the criminal record.

If no amicable settlement is reached, the case is returned to the Public Prosecutor. The latter can then decide what action to take. In this context, there are two possibilities: try again to reach an amicable settlement or decide to return to the traditional criminal procedure.

From the moment of the Public Prosecutor's proposal or from the request of one of the parties for an amicable settlement, there is a suspension of the statute of limitations on criminal proceedings. A suspension of the statute of limitations means that the period stops running for a time but later continues as usual. The suspension ends when there is no settlement agreement.