Sentences

If it is found that the defendant is not guilty of the act referred to in the charge, the charge will be dismissed.

If the defendant is found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of a criminal offence, the criminal sanction imposed on him or her can be:

• fine
• conditional imprisonment
• juvenile punishment
• monitoring sentence
• community service
• unconditional imprisonment
• combination sentence
• victim surcharge
• business prohibition
• forfeiture.

It is also possible that the defendant is found guilty of a criminal offence but, nevertheless, no punishment is im-posed on him or her. This is possible, for example, if the offence is deemed petty when assessed as a whole or in the case of a defendant under 18 years of age, if the court deems that the criminal act was the result of lack of under-standing or of imprudence. Persons lacking criminal responsibility are never sentenced to a punishment.

The criminal records are a nationwide central register that contains data on persons sentenced to imprisonment. The data are collected, stored and delivered for the imposition and enforcement of criminal punishments. The data may also be delivered for the checking and evaluation of a person’s trustworthiness or suitability for a given position or task. For more information on criminal records, see the website of the Legal Register Centre .