Abstract
AbstractThis article provides an overview of the developments of criminal law and criminal sanctions during the last 50 years in Finland. It reflects the author’s experience as a criminal scientist and an expert in drafting criminal legislation during this period. The total reform if Penal Code in 1972–2003 was aimed at a more rational penal system, i.e. for efficient, just and humane criminal justice. An ambitious attempt was made to assess in a uniform and systematic way the goals, interests and values which the new Criminal Code should promote and protect. The existence of the criminal justice system was justified using utilitarian arguments. The structure and operation of the penal system cannot, however, be determined solely on the basis of its utility. The criteria of justice and humanness must also be taking into account. The penal system must be both rational as to its goals (utility) and rational as to its values (justice, humaneness). The latest developments since the 1990s are characterized by ...
Highlights
Lahti (1977) illustrated this by providing a survey which covers the development of the Finnish system of criminal sanctions from the latter part of the 19th century up to 1977, the year when the report of the Penal Law Committee was published
The committee had the task of preparing a report on the ideological foundations of the overall reform of the Penal Code (PC) of 1889
The Finnish Penal Code of 1889 was originally permeated by the spirit and principles of the classical school of penal law wherein punishment was primarily regarded as retribution for the offence, and thereby the penal system was tolerably in harmony with the demands of general deterrence
Summary
The changes in the system of criminal sanctions normally reflect well the more general transition of criminal or penal ideologies and policies. Lahti (1977) illustrated this by providing a survey which covers the development of the Finnish system of criminal sanctions from the latter part of the 19th century up to 1977, the year when the report of the Penal Law Committee was published. The 2003 reform (Act 515/2003) contained an important systematic change: it conceptualized criminal sanctions, i.e. the provisions on sentencing and the choice of the type of punishment were unified and collected into one chapter of the Penal Code (Chapter 6 of the PC).
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