querela

Querela is a legal term used in some civil-law jurisdictions to denote a formal, private complaint filed by the injured party to initiate criminal proceedings. It represents a private action that allows the complainant to request the start of prosecution for offenses that are pursued only upon private accusation, rather than ex officio by the public authorities. The querela typically specifies the alleged offender, the facts, and the legal basis for the claim.

In many systems, querela is distinct from denuncia, which is a more general report or notification to authorities about a crime that may trigger an official investigation regardless of the victim’s direct action. A querela can usually be filed with the public prosecutor or with a competent court, and its effect is to activate private prosecution under the applicable criminal code. The complainant generally retains the ability to withdraw the querela, and withdrawal can terminate or suspend private proceedings, subject to the rules governing the specific offense.

Etymology traces the term to Latin roots meaning a formal complaint or grievance. In practice, querela is most closely associated with offenses for which the law provides private prosecution, such as certain crimes against honor or personal rights in some jurisdictions. The exact scope, procedures, and consequences of filing a querela vary between legal systems, reflecting differences in how private and public prosecutions are structured within those systems.