In Scotland, which is a hybrid common law jurisdiction, the procurator fiscal will commence solemn proceedings for serious crimes to be prosecuted on indictment before a jury.
Examples of indictable offences include theft over $5,000, breaking and entering, aggravated sexual assault, and murder.
Maximum penalties for indictable offences are different depending on the crime and can include life in prison.
Some offences such as murder and rape are considered so serious that they can only be tried on indictment at the Crown Court where the widest range of sentencing powers is available to the judge.
Sections 51 and 52 of, and Schedule 3 to, that Act abolished committal proceedings for such offences and made other provisions in relation to them.
In the United States, federal felonies always require an indictment from a grand jury before proceeding to trial.