Being a party to a criminal process
Parties to a criminal case are referred to as interested parties.
- The victim of a criminal offence is referred to as the injured party.
- The person suspected of having committed a criminal offence is referred to as the suspect during the pre-trial investigation and as the accused, or the defendant, at the trial.
- Furthermore, the prosecutor is one of the parties at the trial.
A single criminal case may involve several victims and suspects. They are all interested parties.
A witness, on the other hand, is not a party to a criminal case; they may only be present at the trial whilst giving their testimony.
You can read more about the role of each party on the relevant page:
The processing of a criminal matter comprises the following stages
Pre-trial investigation – Consideration of charges – Court hearing – Enforcement of penalties
The processing of an offence begins with the pre-trial investigation. In most cases, the pre-trial investigation, i.e. the investigation of a crime, is carried out by the police but, in Finland, Customs, the Border Guard and the Defence Forces are also pre-trial investigation authorities, meaning that they too can investigate crimes.
Not all criminal cases go through the entire process. During a pre-trial investigation, it may be established that no crime has taken place. Or the prosecutor may realise, during the consideration of charges, that they do not have sufficient evidence to prove the suspect’s guilt. The prosecutor also has other options to end the consideration of charges without taking the case to court. In that case, they will issue a decision to waive charges and, if none of the parties appeals against this, the case will be closed.
You can read more about the processing of a criminal matter on the relevant page.
Plea bargaining
Some criminal cases can be settled through plea bargaining.
Plea bargaining means that the prosecutor and suspect/defendant agree to take the case to a confession hearing. Such an arrangement must also be accepted by the injured party, i.e. the victim of the crime.
In plea bargaining, the defendant confesses to the offence, and in return the prosecutor undertakes to propose a more lenient punishment. The injured party is normally allowed to present their claim for compensation during the confession hearing.
Plea bargaining is only possible in certain situations specified in law. They are usually offences for which the maximum penalty is six years’ imprisonment. Certain offences (e.g. some sexual offences and offences against life and health) cannot be dealt with through plea bargaining.
Plea bargaining allows the case to be dealt with considerably more quickly than in normal criminal proceedings, as a confession reduces the need for extensive evidence and shortens the duration of the trial.