Greenland’s criminal law could move from Danish to Greenlandic control after the government in Nuuk formally launched the process of assuming responsibility for the field. The decision, announced by Naalakkersuisut on 22 July, has broad political support and could allow Greenland to reshape its justice system around local conditions, values and perceptions of justice.
An expert group will examine the legal and institutional requirements for the transfer. At the same time, the Greenlandic government will begin formal negotiations with the Danish authorities on an agreement defining how legislative responsibility will pass from Copenhagen to Nuuk.
The process does not immediately transfer control of the courts, police or prison system. It concerns the authority to draft and amend legislation governing criminal offences and their legal consequences.
Greenland criminal law remains under Danish authority
Greenland has extensive autonomy under the Act on Greenland Self-Government, which entered into force in 2009. The legislation allows the Greenlandic authorities to assume responsibility for fields that remain under the Danish state.
Criminal law is one of the areas that Nuuk has not yet taken over. The Danish Parliament (Folketinget) therefore continues to legislate on Greenland’s criminal code. Other parts of the justice system, including the police, prosecution service, courts and Greenland’s correctional institutions, also remain under Danish responsibility.
When Greenland assumes a new field of responsibility, it gains the legislative and administrative powers attached to it. The Greenlandic government must also assume the related financial costs.
The new initiative forms part of a gradual expansion of Greenlandic self-government. It would give the Greenlandic Parliament (Inatsisartut) greater control over how offences are defined and how people convicted of crimes are treated.
An expert group will examine sentencing rules
Naalakkersuisut has established an expert group to provide the legal foundation for the transfer. Its members were selected to combine professional expertise with knowledge of Greenlandic society and local conditions.
The group will also examine possible reforms to the current Greenland Criminal Code (Kriminalloven for Grønland). One of its main tasks will be to assess whether the law should introduce clearer limits for the sanctions imposed for specific offences.
Unlike the Danish penal code, Greenlandic legislation does not generally assign fixed minimum and maximum prison sentences to individual crimes. It formally refers to measures, rather than punishment, and gives courts considerable discretion when deciding the appropriate response.
Judges consider both the seriousness of the offence and the personal circumstances of the convicted person. The system was developed around rehabilitation and the prevention of further offences rather than punishment alone.
The approach reflects Greenland’s small and geographically dispersed communities, where social relationships, access to institutions and opportunities for reintegration can differ considerably from those in Denmark.
Nuuk considers tougher sanctions for violent and sexual offences
The Greenlandic government said the expert group should pay particular attention to violent offences, sexual crimes and offences against children.
Political debate in recent years has focused on whether the existing system provides sufficiently clear and severe consequences for serious crimes. Naalakkersuisut now wants to examine whether defined sentencing ranges could make legal outcomes more predictable and better reflect public perceptions of the gravity of different offences.
Introducing such limits would represent a significant change. Courts currently have broad freedom to select the measure considered most appropriate for the offence and the individual concerned.
The Danish Parliament has already amended the Greenland Criminal Code at Nuuk’s request. From 1 January 2026, the maximum period of placement in a correctional institution for adults increased from 10 to 16 years in the most serious cases. The maximum remains 10 years for people who were under 18 when the offence was committed.
That reform expanded the available sanctions without replacing the basic structure of Greenlandic criminal law. A future transfer of legislative authority would allow Inatsisartut to make such changes directly.
A justice system rooted in Greenlandic society
Minister responsible for justice Mariane Paviasen Jensen said Greenland’s legislation and its treatment of people who commit crimes should reflect the country’s own values, customs and social structure.
“It is crucial for our rule of law and for public confidence in the justice system that there is a connection between the seriousness that the population attributes to different forms of crime and the sanctions that are imposed,” she said.
According to Paviasen Jensen, assuming responsibility for criminal law would give Greenland greater capacity to adapt legislation to local needs while strengthening legal certainty and public trust.
The government has not set a date for completing the transfer. Its timing will depend on the expert group’s conclusions, negotiations with Denmark and Greenland’s ability to finance and administer the new responsibilities.
Taking control of criminal law would nevertheless mark another step in Greenland’s constitutional development. It would move an important area of public authority from Copenhagen to Nuuk and open a wider debate about how Greenland can preserve the rehabilitative principles of its justice system while responding to demands for clearer and, in some cases, tougher sanctions.
