instructions and guidelines to the prosecutors. The Prosecutor General may take over a case from a subordinate prosecutor. If the Parliament decides that charges are to be brought against the President of Finland or against a member of the Finnish Government in the High Court of Impeachment, the Prosecutor General acts as the prosecutor in the case. Some of the duties of the Prosecutor General are assigned to the Deputy Prosecutor General, the office of which is presently held by Jorma Kalske. For regular prosecutorial tasks, the office has thirteen State Prosecutors, whose jurisdiction covers the entire country. In the state local districts, prosecutorial duties are performed by local district prosecutors. Their jurisdiction normally covers one local district. In addition, Åland has a provincial prosecutor. The Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice are competent to raise charges in special cases. Judges and referendaries Professional judges are appointed by the President of Finland, on the proposal of a judge selection committee. Appointments are permanent. Experience in other court functions qualifies for the task. Judges in higher and administrative courts are assisted by legally trained referendaries (viskaali). Finland employs lay judges in serious cases in the district courts. They are not legally trained and not part of the legal profession. However, a professional judge serves as the chairman of the panel of judges. Courts General Courts District Courts The Finnish District Courts (Finnish: käräjäoikeus, Swedish: tingsrätt) deal with criminal cases, civil cases and petitionary matters, such as divorce, the custody of children or debt adjustment. There are 27 district courts in Finland. A district court is headed by the Chief Judge (Finnish: laamanni, Swedish: lagman) and other judges (käräjätuomari, tingsdomare) who have the title of District Judge. In certain cases, the district court may also have lay judges (lautamies, nämndeman). The cases are handled and resolved either in a session, or in chambers. In simple cases decisions can be made by notaries at the court or by trained office staff. The decision of a district court can normally be appealed in a Court of Appeal (hovioikeus, hovrätt). Routine cases can be handled by a single District Judge. More complicated cases are handled by three District Judges. Lay judges sit nowadays only in criminal cases, previously also in certain civil matters. The composition with Lay Judges consists of the ordinary District Judge at the District Court, acting as the chairperson, and two