Strafflindring vid medverkan till utredning av annans brott – En effektiv metod för brottsbekämpning eller ett hot mot rättssäkerheten?

Sammanfattning: The report En stärkt rättsprocess och en ökad lagföring (SOU 2021:35), which was published on 25 May 2021, proposed that an arrangement which provides a possibility for the court, when sentencing, to take into consideration the fact that the accused has assisted in the investigation of serious criminality committed by another person should be introduced. The proposal strikes a balance between effective law enforcement and rule of law. The purpose of the thesis is, from a perspective on rule of law, to conduct a critical review of the proposal to introduce an arrangement that allows for the possibility of mitigation of a sentence in exchange for information regarding crimes committed by another person. The essay is based on the perspective of the criminal suspect and the accused. Furthermore, the essay aims to analyse the function of the criminal process in relation to the proposed system. In this context, Herbert L. Packer’s dichotomy is the starting point. The dichotomy, which is based on two models of the function of the criminal process, serves as a theoretical framework and analysis tool. In the essay, a comparative study is made of Denmark and Norway’s regulations regarding mitigation of a sentence in exchange for information regarding crimes committed by another person. In addition, a sociological qualitative method is used in the form of interviews with professional representatives from the Swedish judicial system. The thesis shows that the proposed arrangement explicitly contravenes the sanction system’s basic principles of proportionality, equivalence and predictability. In addition, the proposed scheme risks circumscribing the presumption of innocence, the parties equality, the duty of objectivity and the adversarial principle. Finally, it is stated that mitigation of a sentence for assisting in investigation of a crime committed by another person can be an effective method of enforcement. In order for the system to have the desired effects and in addition to guarantee the individual rule of law, it is required, however, that the procedure is regulated in a predictable manner in the constitution. In this respect, the state investigation fails.