PART TWO
ON CRIMES

Chapter 15 On Perjury, False Prosecution and Other Untrue Statements

Section 1

A person who, under legal oath, gives untrue information or withholds the truth, shall be sentenced for perjury to imprisonment for at most four years or, if the crime is petty, to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months.

If the crime is gross, imprisonment for at least two and at most eight years shall be imposed. In assessing whether the crime is gross, special attention shall be paid to whether it was done with the intent that an innocent person be convicted of a serious crime or that very considerable harm was done to someone. (Law 1975:1292)

Section 2

A person who, during a hearing in court proceedings, after declaring that he will tell the truth gives untrue information or withholds the truth, shall be sentenced for untrue statement by a party to imprisonment for at most two years or, if the crime is petty, to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months.

Section 3

A person who commits an act, as described in Section 1 or 2, through gross carelessness, shall be sentenced for careless statement to a fine or imprisonment for at most six months.

Section 4

No punishment shall be imposed if a statement described in Sections 1-3 is proved to be without significance for the issue.

The foregoing shall also apply if a person has given untrue information or has withheld the truth with regard to something about which he would have had the right to refuse to express himself and the circumstances furnish him with a reasonable excuse.

Section 4 a

A person who under liability to punishment gives untrue information or withholds the truth from a court in Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway, shall be sentenced for false statement before a Nordic court to a sanction as provided in Section 1, if the testimony would have been given under legal oath in this Realm, and in accordance with Section 2 in the case of testimony by a party to a civil case. If the act is committed through gross carelessness, the person shall be sentenced for careless statement before a Nordic court to a sanction as provided in Section 3.

The provisions of Sections 4, 14 and 15 shall be applied correspondingly to an act referred to in the first paragraph.(Law 1975:1292)

Section 4 b

If a witness or expert under oath before the Court of Justice of the European Communities, before the Court of First Instance of that Court or before the European Free Trade Area Court (the EFTA Court), gives untrue information or withholds the truth, a sentence for untrue statement before an international court shall be imposed in accordance with Section 1, provided the statement would have been given under legal oath in this Realm. If the act is committed through gross carelessness, a sentence for careless statement before an international court shall be imposed in accordance with Section 3.

The applicable parts of the provisions of Sections 4, 14 and 15 shall also apply to an act described in the first paragraph. (Law 1995:316)

PART TWO
ON CRIMES

Chapter 15 On Perjury, False Prosecution and Other Untrue Statements

Section 15

Punishment shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 23 for preparation to commit perjury or conspiracy to commit perjury involving efforts to instigate such act, as well as attempt to tamper with evidence. If the crime, had it been completed, would have been regarded as petty, no punishment as here provided shall be imposed.