Effective enforcement of judicial decisions in the DRC

When an offence is committed, the victim cannot take justice into his or her own hands, but the offence causes very serious physical, material and psychological harm to the victim.In the DRC, when an offence is committed, any injured party can declare himself or herself a victim and bring an action for damages before the trial court, by becoming a civil party to the criminal proceedings.At the end of the trial, the victim can obtain from the court a judicial decision ordering the defendant to compensate for the damage he or she has caused.The court may, for example, order the defendant to pay a certain sum of money to the victim by way of damages. The victim thus becomes a judgment creditor. However, obtaining a court decision in no way guarantees that payment will be made. complex procedures, this time to enforce the court’s decision ordering the defendant to pay damages.