In many common law jurisdictions, an indictable offence is a serious offense that can only be tried following an indictment, reached either through a preliminary hearing establishing a prima facie case or through a grand jury. The closest equivalent in United States federal law is a felony, which likewise requires an indictment. In Scotland's hybrid common law system, the public prosecutor, called the procurator fiscal, opens solemn proceedings to bring serious crimes to trial before a jury. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Typical PenaltyMaximum penalty varies by crime and can include life in prison (Canada) 1 Elements of OffenseMore serious than a summary offence, and one where the defendant has the right to trial by jury (Australia) 1 Notable ExampleMurder, rape, and threatening or endangering life are major indictable offences in Australia 1 Jurisdiction VariationEngland and Wales: an offence which, if committed by an adult, is triable on indictment, whether exclusively so triable or triable either way 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Connections
Has Offense Grade
Entity-backed identity for the offense-grade enum value this offense already carries, resolved to a crime concept by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The offense-grade fact itself stays on the offense unchanged.
Sources
1. Indictable offence (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia, Indictable offence, lead section
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
Canada
Maximum penalties for indictable offences are different depending on the crime and can include life in prison.
England and Wales
an offence which, if committed by an adult, is triable on indictment, whether it is exclusively so triable or triable either way
Australia, opening sentence
an indictable offence is more serious than a summary offence, and one where the defendant has the right to trial by jury.
Australia, major indictable offences sentence
major indictable offences (including murder, rape, and threatening or endangering life)
Lead section, indictment-versus-summary-offence contrast clause
In many common law jurisdictions (e.g., England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), 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).
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