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Concepts and definitions

Accused

A party for whom punishment is sought in a court of justice on the basis of a suspected offence. The accused person can also be called the defendant.

Case processing time

Case processing time refers to the time elapsed until the case has been decided. The time is counted from the day the case was filed to the day of the decision.

Charge

Charges must be brought if there is probable cause to suspect that a person is guilty of an offence. After the pre-trial investigation the matter is transferred to the prosecutor who considers whether charges will be brought. The prosecutor evaluates whether an act fulfils the essential elements of an offence and if there is sufficient evidence.

Consideration of charges

When considering the charges the prosecutor decides, on the basis of the material compiled during the pre-trial investigation, whether prosecution is warranted. The prosecutor must evaluate if an act fulfils the essential elements of an offence and secondly if, on the basis of the material compiled during the pre-trial investigation, there is probable cause to support the suspicion of guilt, in other words the existence of sufficient evidence. If the prosecutor finds sufficient evidence, he/she must decide whether or not to bring charges in the matter in a court of justice. With certain conditions as set out in law the alternatives to pressing charges are issuing of a summary penal judgment or decision to waive prosecution.

Grounds for non-prosecution

Grounds on which a prosecutor may decide not to prosecute include the following:

• The act is not an offence; the act does not fulfil the essential elements of an offence and the law provides no punishment for it.
• No evidence; there is not sufficient evidence of guilt.
• The right to institute criminal proceedings has fallen under the statute of limitations: charges must be brought within the time period specified in the Penal Code.
• No right to institute criminal proceedings: in certain cases the prosecutor's right to institute criminal proceedings is limited.
• The public prosecutor may decide not to prosecute where a penalty more severe than a fine is not anticipated for the offence and the offence is deemed of little significance in view of its detrimental effects and the degree of culpability of the offender manifest in it - Non-prosecution on grounds of insignificance is provided for in chapter 1, section 7, sub-section 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
• The public prosecutor may decide not to prosecute where a person under 18 years of age has committed the offence and a penalty more severe than a fine or imprisonment for at most six months is not anticipated for it. Additionally, the offence must be deemed to be the result of lack of judgment or incaution rather than heedlessness of the prohibitions and commands of the law. - Non-prosecution on grounds of young age is provided for in chapter 1, section 7, sub-section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
• Unless an important public or private interest otherwise requires, the public prosecutor may, in addition to the events referred to in section 7, not prosecute where the trial and punishment are deemed unreasonable or pointless. When evaluating such grounds, a settlement reached by the offender and the injured party, some other action of the offender to prevent or remove the effects of the offence, the personal circumstances of the offender, the other consequences of the offence to the offender, the welfare or health care measures undertaken and the other circumstances must be taken into consideration. - Non-prosecution on grounds of reasonability is provided for in chapter 1, section 8, sub-section 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
• The public prosecutor may decide not to prosecute if, under the provisions on joint punishment and the consideration of previous punishments in sentencing, the offence would not have an essential effect on the total punishment. - Non-prosecution on grounds joint punishment is provided for in chapter 1, section 8, sub-section 2 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

The prosecutor may decide to not prosecute also on grounds of: chapter 9, section 7, chapter 21, section 17(repealed 2004/712, entry into force 1.10.2004) chapter 35, section 7 and chapter 50, section 7 of the Penal Code.

Penal order

A penal order refers to a decision by which the public prosecutor imposes a fine and forfeiture on the basis of an order for a fine or punishment.

An order for a fine or punishment is issued by a police officer. An order for a fine refers to an order given to the suspect by which a fine and forfeiture are demanded of him or her for the violation. An order for punishment refers to a fine or summary penal fee served to the suspect and an order concerning a forfeiture in a situation where the suspect is not willing to process the matter in proceedings according to the Act on the imposition of a fine and summary penal fee (754/2010).

A police officer can also issue a fine. A fine refers to a pecuniary penalty imposed by a police officer. A fine can be a pecuniary penalty or a forfeiture of at most 20 day fines and it can be imposed for infractions of the acts and regulations listed in Chapter 1, Section 3, Sub-paragraphs 1 to 13 of the Act on the imposition of a fine and summary penal fee (754/2010).

A fine can be ordered for infractions for which not a more severe penalty is provided than a fine or imprisonment for at most six months. In addition to a fine, a forfeiture of EUR 1,000 can be ordered.

Processing the matter in the procedure according to the imposition of a fine and summary penal fee (754/2010) requires the assent of the injured party and the meaning of the assent has to be explained to the injured party when requesting the assent.

Prosecutor

A prosecutor is a state official, whose task it is to see to it that the proper statutory sanction is attached to a criminal act. The local prosecuting authorities in Finland are district prosecutors. The state prosecutor acts as the prosecutor in criminal cases that have the most significance to the society. The state prosecutor has jurisdiction over the whole country. The duties of the supreme public prosecutor are exercised by the Prosecutor General, who heads the Office of the Prosecutor General. The Prosecutor General is the supervisor of all prosecutors.

Work account

The work account refers to cases pending during the year. It shows cases transferred from the previous year, cases which have arrived during the year, solved cases, and cases transferred to the following year. Cases transferred from the previous year have been instituted before the statistical year. Cases transferred to the following year have arrived during the statistical year or earlier and have not been decided yet.