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Ber du om nåd? - En kritisk granskning av nådeinstitutet som ett komplement till den svenska straffrättskipningen

Johansson, Pontus LU (2024) JURM02 20241
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
En av den svenska regeringsmaktens minst uppmärksammade och sällan omdiskuterade maktbefogenheter är regeringens rätt enligt 12 kap. 9 § första stycket regeringsformen att genom nåd efterge eller mildra en brottspåföljd eller annan sådan rättsverkan av brott samt ett annat liknande myndighetsingrepp som avser enskildas person eller egendom. Nådeinsti-tutet innebär att regeringen, under ett politiskt ansvar, har getts en benåd-ningsmakt att ändra rättsverkningarna av bl.a. en lagakraftvunnen dom och kan därmed omedelbart befria den som dömts till ett fängelsestraff.
I den här uppsatsen undersöks nådeinstitutet närmare med syftet att utreda nådeinstitutets reglering, dess funktion och spänningen mellan nådeinsitu-tet och den demokratiska... (More)
En av den svenska regeringsmaktens minst uppmärksammade och sällan omdiskuterade maktbefogenheter är regeringens rätt enligt 12 kap. 9 § första stycket regeringsformen att genom nåd efterge eller mildra en brottspåföljd eller annan sådan rättsverkan av brott samt ett annat liknande myndighetsingrepp som avser enskildas person eller egendom. Nådeinsti-tutet innebär att regeringen, under ett politiskt ansvar, har getts en benåd-ningsmakt att ändra rättsverkningarna av bl.a. en lagakraftvunnen dom och kan därmed omedelbart befria den som dömts till ett fängelsestraff.
I den här uppsatsen undersöks nådeinstitutet närmare med syftet att utreda nådeinstitutets reglering, dess funktion och spänningen mellan nådeinsitu-tet och den demokratiska rättsstatens principer om bl.a. maktfördelning, rättssäkerhet och likhet inför lagen. För att belysa nådeinstitutets rättsliga, politiska och historiska dimensioner ges först en historisk tillbakablick av den svenska benådningstraditionen och behandlar därefter rättsdogmatiskt frågor om beredningen i nådeärenden och den rättsliga ramen vid utöv-ningen av nåd.
Analysen visar att nådeinstitutet genom historien haft såväl maktpolitiska, statsfinansiella som religiösa funktioner samt syftat till att främja en hu-manitet i påföljdshänseende när en alltför sträng strafflagstiftning inte lämnade utrymme för ömmande eller förmildrande omständigheter. Da-gens funktion knyts i stället till en modern säkerhetsventilsteori där vissa synnerligen ömmande omständigheter som framkommit eller tillkommit efter domen fått laga kraft innebär att den ådömda påföljden framstår som stötande ur humanitär synpunkt, exempelvis att den dömde efter domen drabbats av en svår obotlig sjukdom eller av en svår olycka. Samtidigt vi-sar analysen nådeinstitutets brister ur ett rättsstatligt perspektiv där bl.a. utövningen av nåd har en inbyggd oförutsägbarhet och saknar garantier för likabehandling samt i vissa typfall undergräver domstolarnas självständig-het och går utanför sin huvudfunktion. Mot denna bakgrund framstår nåde-institutet som en främmande kropp i den demokratiska rättsstaten. (Less)
Abstract
One of the least noticed and rarely discussed powers of the Swedish gov-ernment is its right according to chapter 12. Section 9, first sentence, in the Instrument of Government to pardon or mitigate a criminal penalty or oth-er such legal effect of a crime as well as another similar intervention by authorities that concerns the person or property of individuals. The right to pardon means that the government, under political responsibility, has been given the power to change the legal effects of a sentence and thus for ex-ample be able to immediately free a person who has been sentenced to prison.
In this essay, the Swedish right to pardon is examined with the aim of in-vestigating the regulation of the right to pardon, its function, and... (More)
One of the least noticed and rarely discussed powers of the Swedish gov-ernment is its right according to chapter 12. Section 9, first sentence, in the Instrument of Government to pardon or mitigate a criminal penalty or oth-er such legal effect of a crime as well as another similar intervention by authorities that concerns the person or property of individuals. The right to pardon means that the government, under political responsibility, has been given the power to change the legal effects of a sentence and thus for ex-ample be able to immediately free a person who has been sentenced to prison.
In this essay, the Swedish right to pardon is examined with the aim of in-vestigating the regulation of the right to pardon, its function, and the ten-sion between the institution of clemency and the principles of the rule of law regarding distribution of power, legal certainty, and equality before the law. To highlight the legal, political, and historical dimensions of the insti-tution of clemency, I will give a historical overview of the Swedish par-doning tradition, and a legal dogmatic presentation about the preparation of clemency cases and the legal framework for the exercise of clemency.
The analysis shows that throughout history the right to pardon has had po-litical, state financial and religious functions as well as aimed to promote a humanity in terms of punishment when the strict penal legislation of the time did not leave room for distressing or mitigating circumstances. To-day's function is instead linked to a modern safety valve theory, where cer-tain exceptionally distressing circumstances that have emerged or occurred after the sentence means that the punishment appears offensive from a hu-manitarian point of view, for example that the convicted after the sentence suffered from a severe incurable illness or from a serious accident. At the same time, the analysis shows the right to pardon has shortcomings from a rule of law perspective, such as that the exercise has a built-in unpredicta-bility, and lacks guarantees of equal treatment and in certain cases under-mines the independence of the courts. Against this background, the right to pardon appears as a foreign body in relation to the rule of law and its prin-ciples. (Less)
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author
Johansson, Pontus LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Are you asking for mercy? - A critical examination of the right to pardon as a complement to the Swedish criminal justice system
course
JURM02 20241
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Statsrätt, Straffrätt, Rättshistoria
language
Swedish
id
9153375
date added to LUP
2024-06-03 09:10:25
date last changed
2024-06-03 09:10:25
@misc{9153375,
  abstract     = {{One of the least noticed and rarely discussed powers of the Swedish gov-ernment is its right according to chapter 12. Section 9, first sentence, in the Instrument of Government to pardon or mitigate a criminal penalty or oth-er such legal effect of a crime as well as another similar intervention by authorities that concerns the person or property of individuals. The right to pardon means that the government, under political responsibility, has been given the power to change the legal effects of a sentence and thus for ex-ample be able to immediately free a person who has been sentenced to prison. 
In this essay, the Swedish right to pardon is examined with the aim of in-vestigating the regulation of the right to pardon, its function, and the ten-sion between the institution of clemency and the principles of the rule of law regarding distribution of power, legal certainty, and equality before the law. To highlight the legal, political, and historical dimensions of the insti-tution of clemency, I will give a historical overview of the Swedish par-doning tradition, and a legal dogmatic presentation about the preparation of clemency cases and the legal framework for the exercise of clemency.
The analysis shows that throughout history the right to pardon has had po-litical, state financial and religious functions as well as aimed to promote a humanity in terms of punishment when the strict penal legislation of the time did not leave room for distressing or mitigating circumstances. To-day's function is instead linked to a modern safety valve theory, where cer-tain exceptionally distressing circumstances that have emerged or occurred after the sentence means that the punishment appears offensive from a hu-manitarian point of view, for example that the convicted after the sentence suffered from a severe incurable illness or from a serious accident. At the same time, the analysis shows the right to pardon has shortcomings from a rule of law perspective, such as that the exercise has a built-in unpredicta-bility, and lacks guarantees of equal treatment and in certain cases under-mines the independence of the courts. Against this background, the right to pardon appears as a foreign body in relation to the rule of law and its prin-ciples.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Pontus}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ber du om nåd? - En kritisk granskning av nådeinstitutet som ett komplement till den svenska straffrättskipningen}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}