Indictable Offence

In many common law jurisdictions, an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury, in contrast to a summary offence. The cited article names England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore among the jurisdictions, says a similar concept in the United States is known as a felony, which for federal crimes also requires an indictment, and says that in Scotland the procurator fiscal will commence solemn proceedings for serious crimes to be prosecuted on indictment before a jury. Offenses recorded in the atlas as serious or indictable are grouped under this concept.