Den sista vapenattrappen: En analys av rättsfallet NJA 2023 s. 393 och otjänliga försök

Sammanfattning: In this essay, I show how attempted crimes, in chapter 23 article 1 of the Penal Code, are regulated. The paragraph in question regulates acts where the danger of the completion of the offence is precluded only by temporary circumstances. So-called unserviceable attempts have been debated in literature of jurisprudence since the law came into existence in the 1940s. It is not an easy task to conclude what the necessary prerequisite of temporary circumstances entails. The latest contribution to the development of the law, in this subject, is a judgment that was pronounced in April 2023 called Vapenattrappen (the Weapon Replica). The Supreme Court’s legal case highlights, in particular, the types of attempted crimes that cannot be completed because of police or customs personnel intervening by disposing of, or exchanging, a criminal object. Thus, the purpose of this essay is to clarify whether the verdict has changed the legal position on unserviceable attempts. The analysis of text of law, precedents, legislative history, literature of jurisprudence, and a few judgments pronounced in the Courts of Appeal, leads up to the conclusion that instead of changing the legal position, the Supreme Court has clarified the content of the law. The Supreme Court has in its verdict confirmed that the relationship be-tween the moment in time when the attempt becomes unserviceable, and the point when the intent emerges, is crucial when deciding if the act is punishable or not. I argue that this relationship has been important in the Supreme Court’s precedents from the 1980s and 1990s. Furthermore, I argue that a judgment from the year 2003, related to a different direction of the court practice, should only be applied to other cases to a limited extent. When analyzing Vapenattrappen, I further conclude that the long-term effects of the verdict works to promote rule of law in Sweden with regards to criminalization of attempted crimes.