After two months, the Law Council has now completed its statement on the government's criminal law reform, which includes increased penalties for around 50 crimes. The criticism is harsh.
The Law Council rejects the proposal in its entirety and writes, among other things, that it is part of a larger reform effort with a large number of proposals that have come in a rush without clear coordination.
"This makes it almost impossible to assess the proposals and their consequences," the statement says.
"Hurry up"
It also says: "To the Law Council, it appears to be a hasty move."
The Law Council believes that the handling of the legislative matter has been substandard and that the penal reform inquiry was given too little time.
"The proposals are so lacking in quality that they do not have the potential to become new law," the statement states.
The Law Council also lacks evidence to support the idea that tougher penalties reduce crime.
“About justice”
"Toughening punishment is about justice. It is about strengthening redress for crime victims and ensuring that dangerous criminals are locked up so that law-abiding people can be safe and dare to go out," writes Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) in a comment.
He also points out that, despite the criticism, the Law Council notes it cannot be ruled out that many believe that the penalties are too low and need to be tightened.
"We will now carefully review the Law Council's statement and then return with information on how we will take the proposals further," writes Strömmer.
