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Det man inte vet, det lider man inte av - En studie av förhållandet mellan tillfällig sinnesförvirring och allvarlig psykisk störning i svensk rätt

Wellenstam, Johanna LU (2016) LAGF03 20161
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
För att en gärning ska anses som brottslig i svensk rätt krävs att den begåtts uppsåtligen, om inte annat har angetts. Detta framgår av första kapitlet i BrB. Men det finns situationer då det inte är självklart att gärningsmannen agerat uppsåtligen. Exempel på dessa situationer är då personen i fråga drabbats av tillfällig sinnesförvirring alternativt lider av en allvarlig psykisk störning, kortvarig såväl som långvarig. Syftet med arbetet är att klargöra dessa begrepp, vad som krävs för att de ska kunna tillämpas och huruvida det råder en tydlighet i när respektive bestämmelse ska gälla.

Det framgår av 1 kap. 2 § andra stycket BrB att en gärning som begås under tillfällig sinnesförvirring som varit självförvållad inte ska föranleda... (More)
För att en gärning ska anses som brottslig i svensk rätt krävs att den begåtts uppsåtligen, om inte annat har angetts. Detta framgår av första kapitlet i BrB. Men det finns situationer då det inte är självklart att gärningsmannen agerat uppsåtligen. Exempel på dessa situationer är då personen i fråga drabbats av tillfällig sinnesförvirring alternativt lider av en allvarlig psykisk störning, kortvarig såväl som långvarig. Syftet med arbetet är att klargöra dessa begrepp, vad som krävs för att de ska kunna tillämpas och huruvida det råder en tydlighet i när respektive bestämmelse ska gälla.

Det framgår av 1 kap. 2 § andra stycket BrB att en gärning som begås under tillfällig sinnesförvirring som varit självförvållad inte ska föranleda att den inte anses som brott. Men huruvida ett brott som begåtts under tillfällig sinnesförvirring som inte uppstått genom gärningsmannens vållande ska föranleda ansvar för brottet, råder det oenighet om. I doktrin har hävdats att det finns en sådan oskriven undantagsregel om ansvarsfrihet för gärningar som begåtts under tillfällig sinnesförvirring som inte varit självförvållad. I praxis har dock ifrågasatts om så är fallet och domstolarna har istället utgått från gärningsmannens medvetande vid uppsåtsbedömningen.

Resultatet visar att gränsen mellan tillståndet tillfällig sinnesförvirring och allvarlig psykisk störning är diffus, särskilt när det rör sig om en kortvarig psykos. Denna problematik har gett upphov till en diskussion i förarbeten kring om det inte borde finnas en gemensam bestämmelse för de olika tillstånden. I förarbetena har föreslagits en gemensam bestämmelse där avgörande för ansvarsbedömningen skulle vara om gärningsmannen i gärningstillfället hade möjlighet att rätta sig efter lagen. Min slutsats är att en sådan bestämmelse skulle lösa problematiken kring gränsdragningen mellan tillfällig sinnesförvirring och allvarlig psykisk störning, varför en sådan med fördel borde införas i svensk rätt. (Less)
Abstract
Unless otherwise stated, an act shall be regarded as a crime only if it is committed intentionally. Otherwise it is not considered a crime in Swedish law according to the first chapter in the Swedish penal code. It does, however, occur circumstances where it is difficult to determine whether the perpetrator acted with intent. For example, there is an uncertainty in determining whether a person acted intentionally when he or she is affected by a temporary mental aberration or a serious mental disturbance. The purpose of this essay is to examine these conditions, to elucidate under which circumstances they are applicable and whether this is evident to the Swedish courts.

Chapter 1, Section 2, Paragraph 2 in the Swedish penal code states... (More)
Unless otherwise stated, an act shall be regarded as a crime only if it is committed intentionally. Otherwise it is not considered a crime in Swedish law according to the first chapter in the Swedish penal code. It does, however, occur circumstances where it is difficult to determine whether the perpetrator acted with intent. For example, there is an uncertainty in determining whether a person acted intentionally when he or she is affected by a temporary mental aberration or a serious mental disturbance. The purpose of this essay is to examine these conditions, to elucidate under which circumstances they are applicable and whether this is evident to the Swedish courts.

Chapter 1, Section 2, Paragraph 2 in the Swedish penal code states that a criminal act committed by a perpetrator who has a temporary loss of the use of his senses, shall not cause the act to be considered non-criminal, given that he has brought the condition on himself. Whether this Paragraph should be interpreted e contrario has become a topic of discussion in doctrine and precedents. In Swedish doctrine the existence of an unwritten rule of exception from criminal liability has been claimed, while such a rule of exception has been questioned in precedents. In precedents it is obvious that the courts have based the assessment of the perpetrators intent on his or hers awareness, rather than applying the alleged rule of exception for temporary mental aberration.

The result indicates that the borderline between temporary mental aberration and serious mental disturbance is not obvious. This becomes evident especially when the serious mental disturbance is temporary. In the legislative history a common regulation has been proposed, with the purpose of regulating these two conditions. Essential for assessing the legal liability in this regulation, would be if the perpetrator had the opportunity to comply with the law during the criminal act.

My final conclusion is that a common regulation would solve the dispute about when to apply the regulation about temporary mental aberration or the regulation about serious mental disturbance. I therefor propose that this becomes a part of the Swedish penal code. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Wellenstam, Johanna LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20161
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Straffrätt, Tillfällig sinnesförvirring, Allvarlig psykisk störning
language
Swedish
id
8874510
date added to LUP
2016-07-04 11:46:44
date last changed
2016-07-04 11:46:44
@misc{8874510,
  abstract     = {{Unless otherwise stated, an act shall be regarded as a crime only if it is committed intentionally. Otherwise it is not considered a crime in Swedish law according to the first chapter in the Swedish penal code. It does, however, occur circumstances where it is difficult to determine whether the perpetrator acted with intent. For example, there is an uncertainty in determining whether a person acted intentionally when he or she is affected by a temporary mental aberration or a serious mental disturbance. The purpose of this essay is to examine these conditions, to elucidate under which circumstances they are applicable and whether this is evident to the Swedish courts. 

Chapter 1, Section 2, Paragraph 2 in the Swedish penal code states that a criminal act committed by a perpetrator who has a temporary loss of the use of his senses, shall not cause the act to be considered non-criminal, given that he has brought the condition on himself. Whether this Paragraph should be interpreted e contrario has become a topic of discussion in doctrine and precedents. In Swedish doctrine the existence of an unwritten rule of exception from criminal liability has been claimed, while such a rule of exception has been questioned in precedents. In precedents it is obvious that the courts have based the assessment of the perpetrators intent on his or hers awareness, rather than applying the alleged rule of exception for temporary mental aberration. 

The result indicates that the borderline between temporary mental aberration and serious mental disturbance is not obvious. This becomes evident especially when the serious mental disturbance is temporary. In the legislative history a common regulation has been proposed, with the purpose of regulating these two conditions. Essential for assessing the legal liability in this regulation, would be if the perpetrator had the opportunity to comply with the law during the criminal act. 

My final conclusion is that a common regulation would solve the dispute about when to apply the regulation about temporary mental aberration or the regulation about serious mental disturbance. I therefor propose that this becomes a part of the Swedish penal code.}},
  author       = {{Wellenstam, Johanna}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Det man inte vet, det lider man inte av - En studie av förhållandet mellan tillfällig sinnesförvirring och allvarlig psykisk störning i svensk rätt}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}