Decision of non-prosecution

The non-prosecution decision closes an investigation where the prosecutor concludes there is no basis for a public case. Lack of evidence creating sufficient suspicion, or the absence of any possibility of prosecution, are the principal grounds.

The decision is notified to the injured party and the suspect. The injured party may object to the criminal judgeship of peace within the statutory period from service, and a successful objection obliges the prosecutor to issue an indictment. Once the objection route is exhausted, an individual application to the Constitutional Court may follow.

Despite a final decision, the investigation may be reopened only upon new evidence and a judge's ruling, a safeguard preventing endless investigation of the same person for the same event. Decisions rendered without an effective investigation are the typical subject of rights-violation applications, and the objection should identify concretely the investigative steps left undone.