A crime becoming statute-barred means that the right to prosecute is lost. Already today, certain crimes are exempt from this - namely murder, genocide, and terrorist crimes.
However, the government wants more crimes to be included and is proposing a new law that would abolish the statute of limitations for all crimes with a life sentence in the penalty scale. This concerns crimes such as kidnapping, aggravated arson, espionage, sabotage, and aggravated blue light sabotage.
In addition, the statute of limitations for several serious crimes, such as rape, aggravated assault, robbery, aggravated extortion, and weapons offenses, will be extended. Accessories to these crimes will also be included.
Crimes that are currently statute-barred after 10 years will instead be statute-barred after 15. The 15-year statute of limitations will be extended to 25 years.
Will they pile up?
Another proposal is that convicted prison sentences, regardless of length, should never be statute-barred. This means that those sentenced to prison should not be able to avoid punishment by evading justice.
The proposals are based on an investigation set up by the previous Social Democratic-led government, which the current government is now taking forward.
We want to strengthen the position of crime victims and increase their opportunities for redress, says Gunnar Strömmer.
However, simply extending the statute of limitations says nothing about whether more crimes will actually be solved.
How do you view the risk that unsolved crimes will simply pile up with the police?
I see it more as an opportunity for crimes that cannot be solved today to be solved in the future, says Strömmer.
He emphasizes that the police now have other technical and forensic tools to investigate older crimes, and that the government is also providing new tools, such as using genealogy and biometric data.
To apply retroactively
The Bar Association has warned of the risks associated with extended statute of limitations. Among other things, crimes with a life sentence in the penalty scale may have a relatively low minimum sentence. An example is kidnapping, where the minimum sentence is four years. The statute of limitations would then be significantly longer than the prison sentence that could have been imposed.
I understand the point, but on the other hand, there is a strong interest in solving very serious crimes, says the Minister of Justice.
The proposals, which are being presented in a government bill, are proposed to come into effect on April 1 next year. Most of the law changes will apply retroactively.
The government proposes:
Crimes punishable by life imprisonment should never be statute-barred.
Convicted prison sentences should never be statute-barred.
The statute of limitations for crimes with maximum sentences exceeding five years' imprisonment will be extended.
The statute of limitations for gross violation of a child's integrity and honor-related oppression will be counted from the victim's 18th birthday.
The law changes are proposed to come into effect on April 1 next year.
Most of them will apply retroactively. This means that a crime committed, or a prison sentence imposed, and not statute-barred by April 1, 2025, will be subject to the new rules.
