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A day-fine, unit fine or structured fine is a pecuniary sanction which is based on the severity of the offence as well as the income (or wealth) of the offender.
The fine amount is calculated by determining the number of days based on the severity of the violationâthe more severe the violation, the greater the number of days imposed. The daily unit, which represents how much is paid per day, is a standardized portion of an individual's daily income, ensuring equal proportional impact across all offenders. The total fine is the product of the number of days and the daily unit.
The rationale behind this type of fine is to create a fining system which equalises the burden of the punishment on the offenders, irrespective of their income. It has been introduced in different countries for a variety of reasons: to replace a short-term imprisonment sentence, to make the fining system more fair across different income groups, to enhance deterrence.
The day fine system is practices already in around half of the European countries, and in some additional jurisdictions around the world. Among those jurisdiction are Denmark (), Estonia (), Finland (), France (), Germany (), Portugal (Portuguese: Astreinte), Sweden (), Switzerland, and Macau (ćæłć ž).
Fines issued under other laws (e.g. the traffic code) are not day-fines and do not ordinarily scale. Exceptions include fines for driving under the influence or without a valid license, which (although not technically day-fines) scale with income. Fines that do not scale may still be reduced by half (to a minimum of DKK 500) for offenders who are under 18 or whose Gross income does not exceed DKK 171,795 (as of 2020).
Most infractions are punishable with a day-fine. For crimes warranting no more than six months in prison, the fine may be summarily ordered by the prosecutor if the suspect does not want the court to handle the case. The process of ordering a day fine is started by a police officer who makes a formal demand for the suspect to be fined. The suspect has one week to contest the demand. If the suspect does not contest the demand, the prosecutor may order a fine which may not be higher than demanded by the police officer. If the suspect contests the demand, the case may be taken to the district court if the prosecutor considers the suspect guilty. If the prosecutor considers the case to merit a term in prison or a higher fine, the case is always taken to the court. Laki rangaistusmÀÀrÀysmenettelystÀ (692/1992) Retrieved 9-27-2007 If the prosecution or the injured party do not demand a higher punishment than a fine, the district court has a quorum with a single member. OikeudenkÀymiskaari (4/1734), Chapter 2, 6 §. Retrieved 9-27-2007. The fine is paid to the bank using a giro. Oikeusrekisterikeskus. TÀytÀntöönpano- ja perintÀasiat. Retrieved 9-27-2007. A fine ordered in Finland is executable in any European Union member country. Oikeusrekisterikeskus. EU-sakkojen tÀytÀntöönpano. Retrieved 9-27-2007.
A Finnish fine consists of a minimum of 1 day-fine, up to a maximum of 120 day-fines. If several crimes are punished together, 240 day-fines may be sentenced. The fines may not be sentenced together with a prison sentence, unless the prison sentence is probational. The minimum amount of a day-fine is 6 . Usually, the day-fine is one half of daily disposable income. The daily disposable income is considered to be one 60th part of the person's monthly mean income during the year, after taxes, social security payments and a basic living allowance of âŹ255 per month have been deducted. In addition, every person for whose upkeep the fined person is responsible decreases the amount of daily fine by âŹ3. The income of the person is calculated on the basis of the latest taxation data. Rikoslaki (39/1889), Chapter 2a. Retrieved 27-9-2007 Asetus pĂ€ivĂ€sakon rahamÀÀrĂ€stĂ€, 2-3§. Retrieved 27-9-2007. For speeding in traffic, however, the fine is at least as high as the petty fine, i.e. âŹ115. Asetus pĂ€ivĂ€sakon rahamÀÀrĂ€stĂ€, 7§. Retrieved 27-9-2007.
The person who is punished with a fine is responsible for giving accurate information concerning their income. Lying about one's income (, ) is a crime punishable with a fine or up to three months in prison. Rikoslaki (39/1889), Chapter 16, 6 §. Retrieved 9-27-2007. The police can, however, access the taxation data of Finnish citizens and permanent residents via a real-time datalink, so the chance of lying successfully is minor. There is no maximum day-fine, which may lead to considerably high fines for high-income persons. For example, in 2001, a Finnish businessman with a yearly income of 10 million euros, received a relatively mild punishment of six day-fines, amounting âŹ26,000, for driving though a red traffic light. Nokian Ala-PietilĂ€n 208000 markan sakot voivat vielĂ€ nousta Iltasanomat 11-9-2001. Retrieved 9-27-2001. Nokian toimitusjohtaja sai jĂ€ttisakot. Iltasanomat 9-13-2007. Retrieved 9-27-2001. In 2009 a businessman was fined âŹ112,000 for travelling at 82 kilometres per hour in an area with a speed limit of 60 kilometres per hour. Businessman fined nearly EUR 112,000 for speeding in Eastern Finland Helsingin Sanomat 6.3.2009. Retrieved 6.3.2009. In 2019, Maarit Toivanen, a business executive, was fined âŹ74,000 for driving at in an speed limit area. As speeding is punished with a petty fine if the offender is exceeding the speed limit by up to 20 km/h, but with a day-fine if exceeding the limit by 21 km/h or more, the monetary amount of the fine can increase from âŹ115 to over âŹ100,000 although the actual change in speed is less than 1 km/h. This has given rise to some criticism, most vividly expressed by a Finnish member of parliament, avid motorist Klaus Bremer and other MPs of right-wing parties. TĂ€ysistunnon pöytĂ€kirja PTK 73/2000 vp (The minutes of the plenary session of Finnish parliament, PTK 73/2000 vp.) Retrieved 9-27-2007.
The fines are subject to recovery proceedings. If the fines are still not paid, the court may convert them to a prison sentence. Three day-fines will be converted to one day of imprisonment, ignoring the remainder for any amount of day-fines not divisible by three, and the length of the sentence must be between 4 and 60 days. This "conversion punishment" (, ) is only ever applied to court-ordered fines, not those issued by police.
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