Straffrättsliga förhållningsregler : En rättsvetenskaplig studie av förbuds-, påbuds- och permissivregler som riktar sig till enskilda

This thesis focuses on conduct rules in criminal law. Such rules prohibit, proscribe and permit different courses of conduct that individuals are obligated to, or in the case of permissions, allowed to follow. The correlates to conduct rules are criminal adjudication rules. As a result, very little has been said in the literature about conduct rules and how they function. This knowledge gap raises concerns since it results in a lack of legal foreseeability for individuals regarding what they are legally supposed to do or not to do. The aim of this thesis is thus to give a clear presentation of conduct rules within criminal law. The aim is reached by applying a norm perspective on conduct rules. This simply means that the content within any legal order is seen as constituted by legal norms. When this perspective is applied on conduct rules it is possible to distinguish how these rules can be broken down into smaller units, where the units are legal norms. The task then becomes to analyze each legal norm in turn and only thereafter turn to considerations pertaining to how those norms connect to each other and give rise to conduct rules. The thesis contains seven chapters. The subject matter is introduced in chapter 1. Chapter 2 examines different types of legal orders and legal systems as well as norm typologies within such systems. Chapter 3 discusses how human agency is connected to rule-following. Chapter 4 explores the first part of conduct rules, i.e. conduct norms. Chapter 5 discusses the second part of conduct rules, i.e. normative modalities, the use and distribution of legal terms and other linguistic properties in a legal system as well as legal powers conferred on persons. Chapter 6 presents the third, and final, part of conduct rules, i.e. sanction norms. Chapter 7, finally, focuses on the normative context in which conduct rules emerge