2. Different authorities: exemption from criminal punishment is made by the court, and the decision not to prosecute is made by the procuratorate.
The main difference between exemption from criminal punishment and non-prosecution is that the object of exemption from criminal punishment is a person who has constituted a crime, while the object of prosecution is a person who does not constitute a crime, has insufficient or doubtful evidence to accuse a crime, and has a minor crime, and does not need to be sentenced or exempted from punishment according to the provisions of the criminal law. According to the organ that made the decision, the exemption from criminal punishment is made by the court, while the decision not to prosecute is made by the procuratorate.
Does not prosecute count as criminal punishment?
Failure to prosecute is not considered as a criminal punishment. After the investigation, the public security organ shall transfer the case to the procuratorate, which shall examine and prosecute, decide whether to initiate public prosecution, and investigate the criminal responsibility of the suspect. If there is no need to prosecute, a decision not to prosecute may be made. Criminal punishment can only be made by the court, and the decision not to prosecute is made by the procuratorate, which is not a criminal punishment.
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Legal basis: Article 175 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), when examining a case, the people's procuratorate may request the public security organ to provide evidence materials necessary for the trial. If it is possible to collect evidence by illegal means as stipulated in Article 56 of this Law, it may be required to explain the legality of collecting evidence. When examining a case, the people's procuratorate may return it to the public security organ for supplementary investigation or conduct its own investigation.