If the respondent (the person against whom the complaint is filed) in a criminal complaint wins, which means that the complaint is dismissed, is the respondent entitled to payment by the complainant (the person who filed the complaint)?
As a rule, the respondent is not entitled to the payment of damages if the criminal complaint is dismissed. This appears to be wrong considering that the respondent, in defending the case, most probably hired and spent for a lawyer to defend the suit. However, every person has the right to file a complaint for redress of grievances. The mere filing of a complaint does not entitle the respondent to damages. Otherwise, as the Supreme Court noted, “peaceful recourse to the courts will be greatly discouraged and the exercise of one’s right to litigate would become meaningless and empty.”
On the other hand, the respondent may claim damages in a civil case for malicious prosecution. The culprit is not the filing of the criminal complaint, but the deliberate initiation of an action with the knowledge that the charges were false and groundless.
The respondent may successfully claim for damages against the complainant if the following are shown by sufficient evidence: (1) the complainant caused the prosecution in the criminal complaint; (2) the criminal action was dismissed or the accused was acquitted; (3) the complainant, in bringing the action, had no probable cause; and (4) the complainant was impelled by legal malice — an improper or a sinister motive — in filing the criminal charges.
- Extension of Filing Periods and Suspension of Hearings for March 29 to April 4, 2021: SC Administrative Circular No. 14-2021 (Full Text) - March 28, 2021
- ECQ Bubble for NCR, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal: Resolution No. 106-A (Full Text) - March 27, 2021
- Guidelines on the Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Workplaces (Labor Advisory No. 3) - March 12, 2021
My brother, 24 yrs old, was accused of rape by my stepdaughter, 15 years old, (My husband’s daughter on her first wife). The two both lived with us, together with our two sons (only 8 and 7 yrs old). My brother deny the accusation and I believe in him, but they file a case last thursday. My brother wants to prove that he is innocent and ready for any hearings. I’m worried because my stepdaughter is a minor. My question is what are my brother’s rights, it is possible he will be detained right away, what shall we do? And the rape issue happened “ber months” accdg to my stepdaughter which she was not sure of the date. And she has a boyfriend.