Resulterar förbudet mot utlämning av svenska medborgare i ett "safe haven" för vissa brottslingar? – En empirisk studie av utlämningsärenden
(2020) JURM02 20202Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- I det internationella samarbetet som rör utlämning på grund av brott finns den folkrättsliga principen aut dedere aut judicare. Den innebär att om en stat vägrar att utlämna en person, ofta mot bakgrund av att personen är medborgare i den staten, kan staten åta sig att lagföra personen för den brottslighet hen är misstänkt för. Uppsatsens fokus har varit att utreda ifall en sådan lagföring regelmässigt sker, med bakgrund i svensk rätt och rättspraxis.
Utlämning utanför Norden och EU regleras i huvudsak i utlämningslagen (1957:668). En person kan begäras utlämnad av den framställande staten antingen för lagföring eller straffverkställighet. Att utlämna svenska medborgare är ett absolut förbud enligt denna lag. Det spelar ingen roll... (More) - I det internationella samarbetet som rör utlämning på grund av brott finns den folkrättsliga principen aut dedere aut judicare. Den innebär att om en stat vägrar att utlämna en person, ofta mot bakgrund av att personen är medborgare i den staten, kan staten åta sig att lagföra personen för den brottslighet hen är misstänkt för. Uppsatsens fokus har varit att utreda ifall en sådan lagföring regelmässigt sker, med bakgrund i svensk rätt och rättspraxis.
Utlämning utanför Norden och EU regleras i huvudsak i utlämningslagen (1957:668). En person kan begäras utlämnad av den framställande staten antingen för lagföring eller straffverkställighet. Att utlämna svenska medborgare är ett absolut förbud enligt denna lag. Det spelar ingen roll ifall personen har dubbelt medborgarskap, eller om brottet har begåtts innan det att personen erhöll svenskt medborgarskap. Innebörden av detta är att lagföring eller straffverkställighet måste ske i Sverige, ifall dessa personer inte ska gå straffria. Lagföring i Sverige är möjligt för brott begångna utomlands av svenska medborgare, då svensk domstol har jurisdiktion med hänvisning till aktiv personalitet.
Som titeln antyder har uppsatsens syfte, med utgångspunkt i principen aut dedere aut judicare, varit att utreda ifall Sverige utgör en potentiell safe haven för gränsöverskridande brottslingar. För att uppnå detta syfte har en extensiv empirisk undersökning utförts. Utlämningsärenden gällande svenska medborgare från år 2000-2020 har undersökts och analyserats. Denna undersökning visade att 3 av 33 utlämningsärenden de senaste tjugo åren har lett till åtal i Sverige. Dessa fall resulterade även i fällande domar. Det är få fall där brottstypen i fråga har varit av internationell angelägenhet, och betydelsen av principen aut dedere aut judicare har på så sätt inte visats vara särskilt avsevärd.
Det empiriska underlaget visar på att få av fallen leder till åtal. Detta kan förklaras med flera faktorer som ofta är avhängiga av varandra, såsom ett bristande samarbete med gärningslandet. Uppsatsen har också visat att arbetsgången mellan Justitiedepartementet och Åklagarmyndigheten kan ifrågasättas, då Åklagarmyndigheten inte regelmässigt får ärendena överförda till sig. Vidare är det tvivelaktigt ifall en adekvat utredning av det misstänkta brottet sker i varje enskilt fall.
Med bakgrund i empirin är det av min åsikt att det till viss del är befogat att säga att förbudet att utlämna svenska medborgare kan leda till ett safe haven. Det vore dock mer lämpligt att konstatera att det absoluta förbudet mot att utlämna svenska medborgare öppnar upp för en straffrihet, som jurisdiktionsgrunden aktiv personalitet inte lyckas avhjälpa. (Less) - Abstract
- The principle aut dedere aut judicare can be found in international cooperation concerning extradition for criminal offences. The meaning of the principle is that if a state refuses to extradite a person, often on the grounds that the person is a citizen of that state, the state can undertake to prosecute the person for the crime he or she is suspected of. The focus of this thesis has been to investigate whether such prosecution takes place regularly, based on Swedish law and case law.
Extradition outside the Nordic countries and the EU is mainly governed by the Swedish Extradition Act (1957:668). A person may be requested to be extradited by the requesting State either for prosecution or for carrying out a sentence. The extradition of... (More) - The principle aut dedere aut judicare can be found in international cooperation concerning extradition for criminal offences. The meaning of the principle is that if a state refuses to extradite a person, often on the grounds that the person is a citizen of that state, the state can undertake to prosecute the person for the crime he or she is suspected of. The focus of this thesis has been to investigate whether such prosecution takes place regularly, based on Swedish law and case law.
Extradition outside the Nordic countries and the EU is mainly governed by the Swedish Extradition Act (1957:668). A person may be requested to be extradited by the requesting State either for prosecution or for carrying out a sentence. The extradition of Swedish citizens is an absolute prohibition under this law. It does not matter if the person has dual citizenship, or if the crime was committed before the person received Swedish citizenship. If not impunity shall arise as a consequence of the prohibition, prosecution or the enforcement of a foreign sentence must take place in Sweden. The prosecution of Swedish citizens in Sweden, for a crime committed abroad, is possible due to the judicial principle of active personality, which is stated in the Swedish Penal Code.
As the title suggests, the purpose of this essay has been to investigate whether Sweden constitutes a potential safe haven for cross-border criminals, with regards to the principle aut dedere aut judicare. To achieve this purpose, an extensive empirical study has taken place. Extradition cases concerning Swedish citizens from the years 2000-2020 have been investigated and analyzed. This study concludes that 3 out of 33 extradition cases in the last twenty years have led to prosecution in Sweden. These cases have also resulted in convictions. There are few cases where the type of crime in question has been of international concern, and the significance of the principle aut dedere aut judicare has thus not been shown to be particularly important.
The empirical evidence shows that few of the cases lead to prosecution. This can be explained by several factors that are often interdependent, such as a lack of cooperation with the country of crime. The thesis has also shown that the procedure between the Ministry of Justice and the Swedish prosecution authority can be questioned, as the prosecution authority does not regularly take part in the cases. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether an adequate investigation of the suspected crime takes place in each individual case.
Based on the empirical evidence, it is in my opinion that it is to some extent true to say that the prohibition to extradite citizens can lead to a safe haven. However, it would be more appropriate to say that the absolute ban on extraditing Swedish citizens opens up for impunity, which the judicial principle of active personality does not succeed in counteracting. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9033973
- author
- Arvidsson, Frida LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- Does the non-extradition of Swedish citizens lead to a safe haven for certain criminals? – An empirical study of Swedish extradition cases
- course
- JURM02 20202
- year
- 2020
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- folkrätt, straffrätt, rättssociologi, utlämning, utlämningslagen, aut dedere aut judicare
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9033973
- date added to LUP
- 2021-01-25 12:19:56
- date last changed
- 2021-01-25 12:19:56
@misc{9033973,
abstract = {{The principle aut dedere aut judicare can be found in international cooperation concerning extradition for criminal offences. The meaning of the principle is that if a state refuses to extradite a person, often on the grounds that the person is a citizen of that state, the state can undertake to prosecute the person for the crime he or she is suspected of. The focus of this thesis has been to investigate whether such prosecution takes place regularly, based on Swedish law and case law.
Extradition outside the Nordic countries and the EU is mainly governed by the Swedish Extradition Act (1957:668). A person may be requested to be extradited by the requesting State either for prosecution or for carrying out a sentence. The extradition of Swedish citizens is an absolute prohibition under this law. It does not matter if the person has dual citizenship, or if the crime was committed before the person received Swedish citizenship. If not impunity shall arise as a consequence of the prohibition, prosecution or the enforcement of a foreign sentence must take place in Sweden. The prosecution of Swedish citizens in Sweden, for a crime committed abroad, is possible due to the judicial principle of active personality, which is stated in the Swedish Penal Code.
As the title suggests, the purpose of this essay has been to investigate whether Sweden constitutes a potential safe haven for cross-border criminals, with regards to the principle aut dedere aut judicare. To achieve this purpose, an extensive empirical study has taken place. Extradition cases concerning Swedish citizens from the years 2000-2020 have been investigated and analyzed. This study concludes that 3 out of 33 extradition cases in the last twenty years have led to prosecution in Sweden. These cases have also resulted in convictions. There are few cases where the type of crime in question has been of international concern, and the significance of the principle aut dedere aut judicare has thus not been shown to be particularly important.
The empirical evidence shows that few of the cases lead to prosecution. This can be explained by several factors that are often interdependent, such as a lack of cooperation with the country of crime. The thesis has also shown that the procedure between the Ministry of Justice and the Swedish prosecution authority can be questioned, as the prosecution authority does not regularly take part in the cases. Furthermore, it is doubtful whether an adequate investigation of the suspected crime takes place in each individual case.
Based on the empirical evidence, it is in my opinion that it is to some extent true to say that the prohibition to extradite citizens can lead to a safe haven. However, it would be more appropriate to say that the absolute ban on extraditing Swedish citizens opens up for impunity, which the judicial principle of active personality does not succeed in counteracting.}},
author = {{Arvidsson, Frida}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Resulterar förbudet mot utlämning av svenska medborgare i ett "safe haven" för vissa brottslingar? – En empirisk studie av utlämningsärenden}},
year = {{2020}},
}