Can I appeal against a sentence or if the defendant is declared not guilty?
What rights do I have after the court sentence enters into force?
At the end of the trial you will be told about the sentence of the court.
It is not possible for you to appeal against any decisions of the courts but for certain serious offences if you are not satisfied with the sentence imposed by the court following conviction, you can approach the Director of Public Prosecutions who has the right to make a referral to the High Court, if he considers that the sentence was unduly lenient.
You should be aware that the defendant may appeal the outcome of the case (the verdict and/or the sentence). Depending on the nature of the appeal, you may be required to give evidence again if the appeal amounts to a re-hearing. The Public Prosecution Service will notify you if this is the case.
You can receive information from the Victim Information Unit under the following victim information schemes by calling 0300 1233 269.
The Prisoner Release Victim Information Scheme offers victims the chance to receive and provide information about adult offenders who have been convicted of a crime against them and have received a sentence of six months or more.
Victims can receive details of:
The Probation Board for Northern Ireland Victim Information Scheme aims:
The Victim Information Scheme provides the following:
The Mentally Disordered Offenders’ Victim Information Scheme provides a service for victims of offences committed by mentally ill offenders who are held for treatment in hospital in Northern Ireland under a hospital order and a restriction order.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.