Short answer. The court fixes a sum. Under the Revised Penal Code it determines the amount of damage by looking at the price of the thing wherever that can be established, and also at the special sentimental value the item had for the injured party, and orders reparation in that amount.
What the law says
The court shall determine the amount of damage, taking into consideration the price of the thing, whenever possible, and its special sentimental value to the injured party, and reparation shall be made accordingly.
Revised Penal Code, Article 106 — How Reparation Is Made. Read the full provision →
Reparation is the fallback when the thing itself is gone
Civil liability arising from a crime is built in stages. The first duty is restitution — handing the very thing back to its owner, which the law prefers because it puts the victim where he was. Reparation is what the court turns to when that is impossible: the item was consumed, destroyed, dismantled, spent, or has passed to a buyer the law protects. Article 106 does not create a new claim; it tells the court how to price the one that already exists. It sits alongside a third head of liability, indemnification for consequential damages, which covers the further losses the offence caused beyond the value of the thing.
Price first — and price has to be proved
The court is directed to consider the price of the thing, whenever possible. That qualifier is doing real work. Where there is an invoice, an official receipt, a market quotation, a valuation, or credible testimony about what the item cost and what condition it was in, the figure has a foundation. Where there is nothing but the complainant's own estimate, courts are cautious, and awards are commonly cut down on review for want of proof. So a victim should assemble receipts, warranty cards, photographs, bank or e-wallet records and serial numbers early. A bare assertion of value, however sincere, is the weakest possible basis for an award.
Sentimental value is expressly allowed
The article is unusual in telling the court to weigh its special sentimental value to the injured party. A wedding ring, a parent's watch, an heirloom image, a photograph album — these can be worth more to the owner than any second-hand price would suggest, and the law lets the court say so. Two limits are worth naming. The value must be special to that injured party, not a general fondness anyone would feel; and it still has to be explained on the record, through testimony about the item's history. Sentimental value is also not a licence to inflate an ordinary claim, and it does not substitute for proof of price where price could have been shown.
How this plays out in practice
Reparation is normally awarded in the criminal judgment itself, because the civil action for the offence is generally tried together with the criminal case unless the victim reserved, waived or already filed it separately. That has consequences for both sides. A complainant who wants a real figure must put the evidence of value in during the criminal trial, not afterwards. An accused should be equally alert, since an unchallenged valuation tends to survive, and paying or offering reparation is a different matter from admitting guilt. Returning the item or paying its value does not by itself extinguish criminal liability. Nothing here is advice on your own case; if a figure is being demanded of you or offered to you, a consultation can be booked with the firm.