conspiracy to murder
Not a separate offence in Danish law; charged as attempted homicide or complicity.
Conspiracy to murder is, in everyday language, a prior agreement between two or more persons to kill a specific individual. Under Danish law, however, there is no separate penal provision bearing this name — the concept is not codified as an independent offence in the way it is in, for example, Anglo-American law, which operates with 'conspiracy to commit murder'. When two or more persons in Denmark enter into an agreement to commit homicide, the matter is instead assessed under the general rules of the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven).
The killing itself is governed by the Penal Code § 237, which lays down the penalty for homicide. If the killing is not carried out, the central legal basis is the Penal Code § 21 on attempt, which allows punishment for acts aimed at promoting or bringing about an offence, even where it is not fully completed. Where a person has provided assistance, given advice, incited or otherwise participated in a planned or executed killing, the Penal Code § 23 on complicity applies. That provision means that everyone who has contributed to the criminal act — regardless of whether they personally carried out the killing — may be punished, although the penalty may be reduced depending on the nature and extent of the participation.
In practice, a conspiracy to murder will therefore typically lead, under Danish law, to charges of attempted homicide and/or complicity in homicide, depending on the specific circumstances of the case and the role of the individual concerned. What is decisive is not the making of the agreement as an isolated punishable act, but the acts connected with putting the plan into effect.
