Filing a Criminal Complaint in North Macedonia: A Victim's Guide

If you are the victim of a crime — fraud, theft, threats, an assault, damage to property — the formal way to set the state machinery in motion is a criminal complaint (кривична пријава). It costs nothing to file, but how well it is prepared often determines whether the case moves or dies quietly in a drawer.

Where and how to file

A criminal complaint is submitted to the public prosecutor's office, directly or through the police. It can be written or given orally on the record; written and documented is better in almost every case. There is no fee.

For most offences, prosecution is ex officio: once informed, the prosecutor decides whether to pursue the case — it is not yours to run, and (importantly) not yours to withdraw by simply changing your mind. A smaller set of offences is prosecuted on private lawsuit (приватна тужба) filed with the court within short statutory deadlines — insults and certain minor matters typically fall here, and missing the deadline usually ends the matter.

What a useful complaint contains

The prosecutor can only act on what they can see. A complaint that works includes:

• who — the suspect, if known; an unknown perpetrator is not an obstacle to filing;
• what and when — a factual, chronological description of the event, without legal theatrics;
• evidence — documents, messages, photographs, medical reports, bank statements, and the names of witnesses;
• your damage — what you lost, with proof.

Write facts, not adjectives. "On 12 March I transferred 3,000 EUR based on the attached messages, and the goods were never delivered" moves a case; "he is a well-known fraudster" does not.

What happens after filing

The prosecutor reviews the complaint and may ask the police to gather information. Then, broadly, one of two things happens: the complaint is rejected (no crime, no evidence, statute of limitations), or the prosecutor proceeds — investigation, and eventually an indictment and trial.

If the complaint is rejected, you are notified and the law gives the injured party avenues to react — including, for certain situations, taking over or continuing the prosecution within strict deadlines. This is the moment where legal help matters most: rejections are fought with better evidence and correct procedure, not with louder letters.

Be honest about tempo: these things take time, and follow-up is normal. A represented injured party — one who supplements evidence, responds to requests, and politely keeps the file alive — is statistically a very different case from a filed-and-forgotten complaint.

Claiming your money inside the criminal case

Macedonian procedure lets the injured party raise a property claim (имотноправно барање) inside the criminal proceedings — compensation for what the crime cost you, decided together with the criminal case. The court may award it there or refer you to a civil lawsuit, but raising it costs little and preserves your position. Document the damage as carefully as the crime.

One warning for fraud victims: a criminal conviction does not automatically return your money. Think about securing assets early — the combination of criminal complaint plus civil claim plus timely enforcement is what actually recovers funds, and the order of moves matters.

A note on false reporting

File what you honestly believe, supported by what you actually have. Knowingly false reporting is itself a criminal offence — and exaggeration weakens genuine complaints. The strongest complaint is the boring one: dates, documents, amounts.