Criminal
The Criminal Code and income-scaled day-fines
Criminal law is codified in the Criminal Code (Rikoslaki). Fines are set as day-fines scaled to the offender's income, producing internationally famous high-value speeding fines for wealthy drivers.
Key rules
- Day-fines multiply a unit based on income by the gravity of the offence.
- The prosecutor service is led by the Prosecutor General.
- Lay members sit with a professional judge in more serious district-court cases.
Governing law
- Criminal Code (Rikoslaki)
- Criminal Procedure Act
Penalties and consequences
- Income-scaled day-fines and imprisonment; community sanctions
In practice
Because fines scale with income, the same traffic offence can cost a high earner tens of thousands of euros.