What does closing a file for lack of evidence, lack of guilt or no public interest mean?

When the police or the prosecution decide not to file an indictment, the file is closed and a ground is assigned (Criminal Procedure Law, section 62). Lack of guilt: the likelihood that you committed an offence is low, and the file is not recorded at all. Lack of evidence: there is not enough evidence to indict. No public interest: there is evidence, but the circumstances of the case or your own circumstances do not justify criminal proceedings. Lack of evidence is the most common ground.

The difference between the grounds is the record. A file closed for lack of evidence or no public interest stays in the police register of closed files (Criminal Information and Rehabilitation Law, section 27). It is not a criminal record, and an ordinary employer does not see it, but the police and security bodies do, and it can affect a firearms licence, enlistment or sensitive positions. A senior police officer may cancel such an entry, and some entries are deleted automatically after a number of years.

The ground is decided by the prosecution, but it is not final. You can ask to change the ground to lack of guilt, and a refusal can be appealed to the more senior authority (section 64). A complainant may also appeal the closure itself, within 60 days. Sometimes the right move is to write and ask for closure before the decision is made, rather than wait for it.

What a lawyer does: follows the file, writes to the prosecution with a reasoned request to close it, and after closure checks the ground recorded and asks to change it. A request to change the ground is part of the job, not an extra.

Source in law: Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742-1982, sections 62 and 64; Criminal Information and Rehabilitation Law, 5779-2019, sections 27 and 33