The specifcity of the criminal law of the Nordic states is reflected in the fact that, in the trend of expanding punitiveness in the world and intensifcation in penal policy, one of the key features is avoiding the application of the prison sentence wherever it is possible and turning to its alternatives. Namely, the Nordic countries have remained on the same course for decades as regards the sanctioning of perpetrators of criminal offenses, and their mild penal policy, especially in the eyes of the Anglo-Saxon countries and countries under their influence, is directly related to high social spending in these societies and the existence of real social egalitarianism among citizens. The aim of this paper is to present a system of criminal sanctions in the law of the Scandinavian countries, with a key review of alternatives to prison sentence and their practical application, as well as to point out the reasons for the existence of such a system of sanctioning and its advantages in relation to legal systems with highly repressive elements in criminal policy.Specifčnost krivičnih prava nordijskih država ogleda se u tome što u trendu sverastuće punitivnosti u svetu i zaoštravanja kaznene politike, njihova jedna od ključnih odlika jeste izbegavanje izricanja kazne lišenja slobode kad god je to moguće i okretanje ka njenim alternativama. Naime, nordijske zemlje već decenijama ostaju na istom kursu u pogledu sankcionisanja učinilaca krivičnih dela, te njihova blaga kaznena politika, naročito u očima anglosaksonskih zemalja i zemalja koje su pod njihovim uticajem, u direktnoj je relaciji sa visokim socijalnim izdvajanjima u ovim društvima i postojanjem realne društvene egalitarnosti među građanima. Cilj ovog rada jeste da se prezentuje sistem krivičnih sankcija u pravu skandinavskih država, sa ključnim osvrtom na alternative kazni zatvora i njihovu praktičnu primenu, kao i da se ukaže na razloge postojanja takvog sistema sankcionisanja i njegove prednosti u odnosu na pravne sisteme sa izrazito reperesivnim elementima u kaznenoj politici
