An expert group must, among other things, look at whether a framework for measures in Greenland should be set.
Naalakkersuisut initiates the process with bringing home the criminal justice system.
This is written by the Department for Children, Youth, Justice and Equality in a press release on Wednesday.
The process is set in motion after naalakkersuisut has received broad political support for it, says the press release.
An expert group has been set up to support the work of bringing criminal justice home.
Alongside the work of the expert group, Naalakkersuisut will initiate negotiations with the authorities in Denmark on a transfer agreement.
The expert group must also assess how a number of requests for changes to the Criminal Code can be incorporated.
Among other things, a decision must be made as to whether a framework should be set for which sanctions are imposed for certain crimes.
In the current criminal law for Greenland punishment is not mentioned – measures are written instead.
The Criminal Code also does not contain penalty frameworks. Penalties are the punishment that a particular crime carries.
In the Danish penal code, for example, murder is punishable by imprisonment from five years to life.
In Greenland instead, the courts choose the measure that is best suited to ensure that the criminal does not commit new crimes.
The Self-Government Act implies that Greenland may decide to take over a number of areas of responsibility.
As it is now, among other things, the police, the courts, Greenland Prisons and the criminal court in Greenland are regulated by the Danish Parliament.
Mariane Paviasen Jensen, who is the minister responsible for the area of justice, says in the press release that the legislation and the way people who commit crimes are handled must be based on Greenlandic customs and values.
– It is therefore also crucial for our legal society and the public’s trust in the judiciary that there is a connection between the seriousness the public attaches to various forms of crime and the sanctions that are imposed.
– With the repatriation of the criminal law, we take over the competence to prepare legislation in the area, which gives us a better opportunity to ensure that it is developed and adapted to the wishes and needs that apply in our society, for the benefit of legal certainty and the public’s trust in the judiciary, she says.
If Greenland takes over a case area, this implies that the self-government takes over the financing of the area.
RITZAU
