rikkomus

Rikkomus is a Finnish term that refers to a violation or infringement of rules, regulations, or standards. It is used in legal and administrative contexts to describe acts that breach established norms but are not typically classified as crimes. The word is formed from the verb root rikko- “to break” with the noun-forming suffix -mus, yielding a concept of breach or fault.

In legal language, rikkomus covers a range of administrative offenses, including traffic violations (liikennerikkomus), breaches of building regulations, and environmental infractions. The severity of rikkomus is usually lower than that of a rikos (crime), and penalties commonly include fines, warnings, or corrective actions rather than imprisonment.

The term appears in statutes, regulatory guidance, and court decisions across various sectors. It is frequently combined with domain-specific prefixes to specify the area of the breach, such as liikenne-, ympäristö-, or työturvallisuusrikkomus, illustrating its role as a generic label for non-criminal breaches.

History and usage: rikkomus has long been part of the Finnish legal lexicon as a way to categorize rule violations that fall short of criminal conduct. Its use reflects a legal approach that sanctions breaches of regulations through administrative or civil remedies rather than criminal prosecution.

See also: offense, infringement, administrative offense, Finnish law, rikos.