Exemption from prosecution, also known as non-prosecution, refers to the decision of the people's procuratorate not to prosecute a case transferred by the public security organ or a case terminated by its own investigation, which considers that the criminal suspect's behavior does not constitute a crime or should not be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law. The effect of non-prosecution is to end criminal proceedings, and prosecution is the premise for criminal suspects to bear criminal responsibility. If exempted from prosecution, the criminal suspect will no longer be investigated for criminal responsibility, thus assuming criminal responsibility.
Article 177 of the Criminal Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), if a criminal suspect has no criminal facts or has one of the circumstances stipulated in Article 16 of this Law, the people's procuratorate shall make a decision not to prosecute.
If the circumstances of the crime are minor and it is not necessary to sentence or exempt from punishment according to the provisions of the Criminal Law, the people's procuratorate may make a decision not to prosecute.
In cases where the people's procuratorate decides not to prosecute, the property sealed up, detained or frozen during the investigation shall be released at the same time. If the plaintiff who is sorry needs to be given administrative punishment, punishment or confiscation of illegal income, the people's procuratorate shall put forward procuratorial opinions and transfer them to the relevant competent authorities for handling. The relevant competent authorities shall promptly notify the people's procuratorate of the results.
Article 178 The decision not to prosecute shall be publicly announced, and the decision not to prosecute shall be served on the person who is not prosecuted and the unit to which he belongs. If the accused is in custody, he shall be released immediately.
Article 180 If a people's procuratorate decides not to prosecute a case with a victim, it shall serve the decision not to prosecute on the victim. If the victim refuses to accept the decision, he may appeal to the people's procuratorate at the next higher level and request public prosecution within seven days after receiving the decision. The people's procuratorate shall inform the victim of the reexamination decision. If the people's procuratorate upholds the decision not to prosecute, the victim may bring a lawsuit to the people's court. The victim may also bring a suit directly to the people's court without appealing. After the people's court accepts the case, the people's procuratorate shall transfer the relevant case materials to the people's court.