Consideration of charges

When the pre-trial investigation is completed, the criminal case is forwarded to a prosecutor. The prosecutor decides to either bring charges or waive charges. If the prosecutor decides to bring charges, the case will be forwarded to a district court for consideration.

If the prosecutor decides to bring charges, the case will become pending at a district court. The judge is responsible for finally determining whether the suspect committed the offence as presented by the prosecutor and for deciding the sentence for the offence.

The prosecutor may decide to waive charges if there is insufficient proof of the suspect’s guilt, the offence is minor or the case is settled out of court. In this case, the victim of the crime may still bring charges if they have demanded that the suspect is punished during the pre-trial investigation.

During the consideration of charges, the victim of an offence and the suspect may request that the criminal case is settled in mediation. More information on mediation (thl.fi; only in Finnish and Swedish).

The National Prosecution Authority’s role in criminal cases

Prosecutors are autonomous and independent authorities responsible for ensuring that committing an offence results in the punishment laid down for it in law. Prosecutors are the only authorities that take part in all stages of the processing of a criminal case, from the pre-trial investigation to the court hearing.

Prosecutors decide whether a case will be forwarded to a district court for consideration by carrying out a consideration of charges. In a court hearing, the prosecutor is responsible for proving that the offence described in the charges actually occurred. Prosecutors are legally liable for their acts in office and they must also consider any facts disproving the charges in their decision making.