The conditional suspension of the prosecution can be considered as the “successor” of the “deferral of indictment” scheme known in Act XIX of 1998. Its application is at the sole discretion of the prosecutor and does not require the consent of either the accused or the victim (see mediation).

 

On the basis of the combined consideration of the above conditions, the prosecutor’s office may conduct the proceedings once – in years or months – in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code. The prosecutor shall suspend the proceedings within the limits of the sentence laid down in the Special Part of the Criminal Code, but for at least one year.3 The Criminal Code regulates the conduct of the accused person after the initiation of proceedings as a ground for the termination of criminal liability4 and conduct leading to the termination of criminal liability is expected. In such a case, the prosecuting authority shall also suspend the proceedings for one year in order to fulfil the condition laid down by law.5

 

An important consequence of imposing rules of conduct is that, if the accused complies with them or the period of suspension has effectively expired, no charges will be brought.7 At the same time, the Be. also regulates the circumstances in which proceedings must continue under the general rules. On this basis, the prosecutor’s office will order the continuation of proceedings if:

 

In the case of juvenile offenders, the legislator provides for a wider scope of the possibility of applying the procedure, and accordingly sets as an objective condition that the maximum penalty for the offence under suspicion must not exceed eight years’ imprisonment (in which case the prosecution suspends the procedure for a period of one to three years).10 The subjective conditions already require a similar consideration to that of adult offenders, in that the law enforcement authorities must primarily take into account the correct development of the offender when applying the scheme. If the procedure is to be applied, the prosecutor’s office may apply the procedure in accordance with the Criminal Code. The prosecutor shall suspend the proceedings within the limits of the sentence laid down in the Special Part of the Criminal Code for a period of between one and three years, and shall order a probation officer’s opinion if he intends to impose a special rule of conduct in order to further the purpose of probation supervision. In that opinion, the probation officer shall propose the imposition of a specific rule of conduct or obligation on the offender and shall also, even in the absence of a provision by the public prosecutor’s office, indicate whether the offender undertakes to comply with the envisaged rules of conduct or obligations and is able to comply with them, and whether the victim agrees to make reparation to him.11 This can greatly assist in determining the nature and content of the rules of conduct that may be specifically imposed on the offender.