Ett svart får eller bara en lite udda fågel? - Straffvärdebedömningen i narkotikamål ur ett rättsutvecklings- och koherensteoretiskt perspektiv

Sammanfattning: In Swedish courts, over a period of more than 30 years, a practice of punishment was developed in drug cases, which largely differed from those of other types of crime. The penal value assessment in the area was basically governed entirely by tables based on the art and amount of drugs. A comprehensive practice review took place between 2011 and 2013. The conclusion was that all relevant circumstances in the individual case should influence the penal value. Effects of this were that the tables would only be a starting point for continued assessment and that the penal values for drug offenses were drastically reduced. The present paper addresses the question as to whether and in what case the previous penal value assessment in drug cases was incorrect in relation to the sanctions system as a whole, and to what extent any problems were resolved as a result of the change of practice and whether new problems arose as a consequence of this. In the review, the thesis from a legal development perspective in the field of drug crime law in general and the assessment of penal value are specifically deleted. In addition, a coherent theoretical perspective on the penal value assessment is made both before and after the change of practice. The essence of the essay is the penal value assessment in drug cases. As a basis for this, I first describe the emergence of the Swedish drug penal law as well as the meaning of the terms penal value and proportionality. As regards the assessment in drug cases, the paper shows how practices were developed until June 2011, when the so-called Mefedrondomen began the process of conversion. Within a time span of a couple of years, another 12 judgments were released for the subject up to the Supreme Court. The essay goes through all of them and reports their significance. The new crime breach, particularly severe drug offense, was a consequence of the change of practice. The purpose of the new degree was that even larger amounts of drugs should be important in the range of punishment. Increased nuance and thus higher proportionality were good effects of the reorganization, as well as making the sanctions system more coherent. Less good effects were the deterioration of effectiveness and predictability in the law enforcement, and the fact that larger amounts of drugs became disproportionately small in the assessment of the penal value - even after the particularly severe crime was introduced. The essay concludes that the penalty assessment prior to the change of practice was incorrect in such a way that the penalty determination was applied in a way that deviated from the general rules and principles. In a thoughtful chart of the punishment of different types of crime, drug offense was a nail that stood straight up, contributing to incoherence in the penalty system. The reason that this was accepted was that the very strict view of the drug issue established in Sweden in the 1980s was followed by the courts and allowed to influence the assessment of the penal value. It took almost 30 years since the wrong course was set until the then Justice Council Martin Borgeke first through the doctrine and then through his role in the Supreme Court led the development in a different direction. Another conclusion is that there is a value in having the same or at least similar application to all types of crime - i.e. that it is pursuit of coherence within the penalty system. The reason for this is that lack of coherence within a system weakens its legitimacy. The rules and principles related to the assessment of crimes and the determination of sanctions should be equal regardless of the type of crime. This means that, although in some respects drug offenses are a bit odd, it cannot be accepted that the punishment assessment for the type of crime is. On the contrary, it is important that the application takes place in a similar manner throughout the sanctions system.