Tunnustukseen perustuva esitutkinnan rajoittaminen ja syyttämättä jättäminen toimenpiteistäluopumisjärjestelmän uudenkaltaisten tavoitteiden ilmentäjänä
Avainsanat:
rikosoikeus, rikosprosessi, toimenpiteistä luopuminen, esitutkinnan rajoittaminen, syyttämättä jättäminen, syyteneuvotteluAbstrakti
Lakimies-aikakauskirjan nuorten kirjoittajien palkinto v. 2021
Confession-based waiver of penal measures as an expression of the novel objectives of the waiver system
The significance of waiver of measures in the Finnish criminal justice system has grown considerably in recent decades. The latest addition to the waiver system, the confession provision, entered into force in 2015 and has met controversial reactions. As the individual grounds for a waiver interact closely with the fundamental principles underlying the waiver system as a whole, the conflicting reactions to the confession provision express a shift in the objectives of criminal policy on a general level. The author asks what kind of shift the confession provision represents in terms of the purpose and contents of the waiver system, and whether that shift is justifiable from the point of view of criminal policy.
The procedural-economic reasoning behind the waiver system has become a more important part of the discretion of the authorities as a result of the enactment of the confession provision. In addition, the way in which savings are sought has changed so that, unlike the previous waiver criteria, the confession provision seeks to allow for the allocation of resources on the investigation of more serious crimes. Such a reallocation of the resources of the criminal justice system is according to the author to be welcomed in principle, as the legitimacy of the criminal justice system is not unsustainably weakened compared to a situation where the investigation of certain minor offences would be inadequate due to lack of resources. However, this requires that the confession provision be applied in accordance with strictly defined application criteria that fulfil the requirements of basic human rights.
