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Prosecutor Petra Lundh is the country’s supreme prosecutor and head of the Public Ministry.
In SvD Debatt, he writes about how he wants to see changes around the so-called principle of immediacy, which means that the court must base its assessment on what emerges during the trial itself.
Petra Lundh takes as an example that crime victims and witnesses must also be prepared to be questioned at trial, and that this places great strain during lengthy investigations.
The Code of Judicial Procedure was introduced in the early 1940s, but now it needs to be modernized according to the Public Ministry.
She writes that it is now common for suspects to make no comment during the investigation to first leave a story at trial that fits the available evidence.
“All this has created new challenges and completely new conditions that the Code of Judicial Procedure has not taken into account.” writes Lundh, who now wants the recorded police interrogations to be used as evidence in court.
“In criminal proceedings that make convictions possible “
Similar proposals have received criticism from the defense, he says, but he believes that Sweden may have a system that allows the presentation of oral evidence before trial.
As an example, take Denmark, which has so-called constitutional hearings at an early stage where the information can later be used as evidence.
“It makes no sense for a country to criminalize acts or increase penalties unless the threat of punishment is regularly carried out. It presupposes a criminal procedure law that makes convictions reasonably possible. In light of the events, the criminal process must be reformed. “writes Petra Lundh.
