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Concepts and definitions

Offence known to the police

A matter entered into the police information system as an offence.

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.

Solved offence

An offence known to the police is regarded as solved when the circumstances in which the offence was committed, the parties involved as well as other factors necessary for making the decision on bringing charges and for the trial have been clarified. The decision is made by the officer in charge of the pre-trial investigation.

Summary penal fee

A summary penal fee or petty fine is a pecuniary penalty of a fixed amount and less severe than a fine. The summary penal fee may have a size of EUR 20, 40, 70, 100, 120, 140, 170 or 200 and since 1.9.2015 size of EUR 20, 40, 70, 100, 120, 140, 170 or 200. If the person commits two or more infractions at the same time, the summary penal fee is imposed for the offence for which the summary penal fee provided is the highest. A joint punishment must not be passed for a summary penal fee and a fine or a sentence of imprisonment for a fixed period. An unpaid summary penal fee must not be converted into imprisonment.

A summary penal fee is imposed by a police officer or another official carrying out a statutory supervision function. Those sentenced to a summary penal fee may submit the matter to the district court. The imposition of a summary penal fee is decreed in the Act on the imposition of a fine and summary penal fee (754/2010).

The scope of the summary penal fee is decreed in Chapter 2, Sections 8 to 11 of the Criminal Code and in the Act on summary penal fee infractions (756/2010) and Government Decree of the summary penal fee offences (1081/2015).