Ty hvad är väl ära? Om förtalsbrottets skyddsintresse och tillämplighet i de sociala mediernas tidsålder
(2014) JURM02 20142Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Ärekränkningsbrotten i 5 kap. BrB syftar till att skydda enskilda mot kränkningar av äran. I arbetet utreds hur skyddsintresset ära ska förstås med utgångspunkt i förtalsbrottet (5 kap. 1-2 §§ BrB). Rekvisitet ”ägnad att utsätta denne för andras missaktning” i 5 kap. 1 § BrB är därvid centralt.
Brottsbeskrivningarna i 5 kap. BrB har inte ändrats sedan brottsbalkens ikraftträdande år 1965 men sedan dess har samhället förändrats. Av intresse för framställningen är framväxten av internet och sociala medier, som gjort att kränkande uppgifter på kort tid kan få stor spridning. Skyddsintresset ära har gamla anor och regler om ärekränkningar fanns redan i de allra äldsta svenska lagarna. I förarbetena till dagens bestämmelser hänvisas till en... (More) - Ärekränkningsbrotten i 5 kap. BrB syftar till att skydda enskilda mot kränkningar av äran. I arbetet utreds hur skyddsintresset ära ska förstås med utgångspunkt i förtalsbrottet (5 kap. 1-2 §§ BrB). Rekvisitet ”ägnad att utsätta denne för andras missaktning” i 5 kap. 1 § BrB är därvid centralt.
Brottsbeskrivningarna i 5 kap. BrB har inte ändrats sedan brottsbalkens ikraftträdande år 1965 men sedan dess har samhället förändrats. Av intresse för framställningen är framväxten av internet och sociala medier, som gjort att kränkande uppgifter på kort tid kan få stor spridning. Skyddsintresset ära har gamla anor och regler om ärekränkningar fanns redan i de allra äldsta svenska lagarna. I förarbetena till dagens bestämmelser hänvisas till en ”traditionell” uppfattning om syftet med kriminaliseringen. Det blir därför viktigt att sätta ärekränkningsbrotten i en rättshistorisk kontext. Slutsatsen kan dras att kärnan i skyddsintresset såväl förr som nu handlar om människans utsatthet för andras omdömen i den gruppgemenskap och det samhälle som alla är hänvisade att leva i. Spridning av nedsättande uppgifter om en person kan innebära uteslutning ur gruppen och ett stort lidande på flera plan, vilket kräver beivran. När nu nedsättande uppgifter kan spridas med hjälp av sociala medier blir utsattheten och skyddsintresset än mer påtagligt.
Skyddsintressen kan förändras över tid. På 1990-talet kom två avgöranden från HD (NJA 1992 s. 594 och NJA 1994 s. 637) som innebar att förtalsbrottet tillämpades på vad som kan sägas ha utgjort kränkningar av den personliga integriteten, nämligen uppgifter med sexuellt innehåll. I arbetet analyseras om förtalsbrottet skyddar enskilda mot kränkningar av den personliga integriteten. Potentiella konsekvenser av denna utvidgning eller förändring av förtalsbrottets tillämpningsområde diskuteras. En slutsats som kan dras är att integritetskränkningar och ärekränkningar ibland sammanfaller, men att tillämpningen med hänsyn till legalitetsprincipen och syftet bakom kriminaliseringen av förtalsbrottet är tveksam.
En viktig del av arbetet utgörs av en rättsfallsstudie där förtalsdomar från hovrätterna från perioden mellan april 2011 och oktober 2014 granskas. Syftet är att lyfta fram exempel på, och problem med, den aktuella tillämpningen av förtalsbrottet. Ur ett vidare perspektiv är det också relevant för frågan om vilket skydd som förtalsbrottet erbjuder mot vår tids kränkningar enskilda emellan. Fokus riktas mot att granska vilken typ av uppgifter som anses respektive inte anses nedsättande, d.v.s. ärekränkande, samt hur domstolarna motiverar detta. Vidare diskuteras domstolarnas uppfattning av förhållandet mellan ära och personlig integritet samt hur domstolarna beaktar att en uppgift fått omfattande spridning på internet. (Less) - Abstract
- The offenses regulated in the 5th chapter of the Swedish Penal Code aim to protect individuals from assaults against their honor. In this thesis, the legal interest justifying the criminalization of defamation in chapter 5 of the Penal Code is investigated. The legal prerequisite “meant to expose someone to the contempt of others” in 1 § of chapter 5 is analyzed and discussed.
The wording of the defamation paragraph has not been revised since the Penal Code entered into force in 1965. However, society has obviously evolved during the course of this past half-century. For the purpose of this thesis, the emergence of the Internet and social media is of particular interest, since it facilitates the distribution of defamatory material to an... (More) - The offenses regulated in the 5th chapter of the Swedish Penal Code aim to protect individuals from assaults against their honor. In this thesis, the legal interest justifying the criminalization of defamation in chapter 5 of the Penal Code is investigated. The legal prerequisite “meant to expose someone to the contempt of others” in 1 § of chapter 5 is analyzed and discussed.
The wording of the defamation paragraph has not been revised since the Penal Code entered into force in 1965. However, society has obviously evolved during the course of this past half-century. For the purpose of this thesis, the emergence of the Internet and social media is of particular interest, since it facilitates the distribution of defamatory material to an unlimited group of recipients. The legal interest of protecting honor has ancient roots. Examples of this can be found in some of the oldest Swedish statutes. In the preparatory works of the current defamation regulation, the legislator refers to a “traditional” understanding of the purpose of the criminalization. It is thus necessary to place the defamation regulation in its legal-historical context. A conclusion that can be made is that the main justification for prosecuting defamatory behavior, now, and then, can be understood in terms of vulnerability towards other people’s judgments. In this thesis it is argued that the abovementioned vulnerability is even more urgent today, as defamatory material can be disseminated through social media.
The social and legal interest of regulating a certain behavior can be subject to change over time. In the 1990s, two rulings of the Swedish Supreme Court (NJA 1992 s. 594 and NJA 1994 s. 637) applied the crime of defamation to materials that mainly constituted violations of privacy – or so it can be argued since the materials held sexual content. This thesis thus tries to analyze whether defamation protects individuals against violations of privacy. The implications that can follow from such extended application of the defamation crime are discussed. It is concluded that violations of honor and violations of privacy sometimes coincide; however, the application of defamation on violations of privacy is questionable both in light of the principle of legality and given the purpose of the criminalization of defamation.
Moreover, the thesis contains a legal case study in which defamation cases of the Swedish courts of appeal from the period between April 2011 and October 2014 are reviewed. The aim is to highlight examples and caveats of the current application of the defamation crime. From a broader perspective, this study may also elucidate to what extent the defamation crime protects individuals against the defamations of our age. The analysis of the case study is focused on examining what type of information that is or is not considered defamatory by the courts, and to review how the courts motivate their assessment in this matter. The courts’ perception of the relationship between honor and privacy, as well as how they take into consideration that a case of defamation has been widely spread on the Internet, is also discussed. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4913989
- author
- Karlsbad, Elisabeth LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- For what is honor? On the Legal Interest of Protecting Honor and the Application of Defamation in the Age of Social Media
- course
- JURM02 20142
- year
- 2014
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- straffrätt, criminal law
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4913989
- date added to LUP
- 2015-04-14 14:29:31
- date last changed
- 2015-04-14 14:29:31
@misc{4913989,
abstract = {{The offenses regulated in the 5th chapter of the Swedish Penal Code aim to protect individuals from assaults against their honor. In this thesis, the legal interest justifying the criminalization of defamation in chapter 5 of the Penal Code is investigated. The legal prerequisite “meant to expose someone to the contempt of others” in 1 § of chapter 5 is analyzed and discussed.
The wording of the defamation paragraph has not been revised since the Penal Code entered into force in 1965. However, society has obviously evolved during the course of this past half-century. For the purpose of this thesis, the emergence of the Internet and social media is of particular interest, since it facilitates the distribution of defamatory material to an unlimited group of recipients. The legal interest of protecting honor has ancient roots. Examples of this can be found in some of the oldest Swedish statutes. In the preparatory works of the current defamation regulation, the legislator refers to a “traditional” understanding of the purpose of the criminalization. It is thus necessary to place the defamation regulation in its legal-historical context. A conclusion that can be made is that the main justification for prosecuting defamatory behavior, now, and then, can be understood in terms of vulnerability towards other people’s judgments. In this thesis it is argued that the abovementioned vulnerability is even more urgent today, as defamatory material can be disseminated through social media.
The social and legal interest of regulating a certain behavior can be subject to change over time. In the 1990s, two rulings of the Swedish Supreme Court (NJA 1992 s. 594 and NJA 1994 s. 637) applied the crime of defamation to materials that mainly constituted violations of privacy – or so it can be argued since the materials held sexual content. This thesis thus tries to analyze whether defamation protects individuals against violations of privacy. The implications that can follow from such extended application of the defamation crime are discussed. It is concluded that violations of honor and violations of privacy sometimes coincide; however, the application of defamation on violations of privacy is questionable both in light of the principle of legality and given the purpose of the criminalization of defamation.
Moreover, the thesis contains a legal case study in which defamation cases of the Swedish courts of appeal from the period between April 2011 and October 2014 are reviewed. The aim is to highlight examples and caveats of the current application of the defamation crime. From a broader perspective, this study may also elucidate to what extent the defamation crime protects individuals against the defamations of our age. The analysis of the case study is focused on examining what type of information that is or is not considered defamatory by the courts, and to review how the courts motivate their assessment in this matter. The courts’ perception of the relationship between honor and privacy, as well as how they take into consideration that a case of defamation has been widely spread on the Internet, is also discussed.}},
author = {{Karlsbad, Elisabeth}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Ty hvad är väl ära? Om förtalsbrottets skyddsintresse och tillämplighet i de sociala mediernas tidsålder}},
year = {{2014}},
}