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Går det att sätta ner foten mot barnäktenskap? - Om Sveriges möjligheter att på juridisk väg stoppa en oönskad företeelse som är legal utomlands

Segerfelt, Louise LU (2018) LAGF03 20182
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
Child marriage is a phenomenon existing in many parts of the world. In 2004 a new law came into force stating that Sweden does not recognize foreign child marriages if at least one of the parts has ties to Sweden. In order to achieve an increased protection against child marriage the legislation was further strengthened in 2014. In 2018 the Swedish government presented a proposition to a new law forbidding the recognition of child marrige even though the couple had no ties to Sweden when they got married. Despite criticism from the legal counsel the parliament voted for passing the law which will enter into force 1 January 2019.

In Sweden there is a political consensus that child marriage is not to be accepted and with new laws the... (More)
Child marriage is a phenomenon existing in many parts of the world. In 2004 a new law came into force stating that Sweden does not recognize foreign child marriages if at least one of the parts has ties to Sweden. In order to achieve an increased protection against child marriage the legislation was further strengthened in 2014. In 2018 the Swedish government presented a proposition to a new law forbidding the recognition of child marrige even though the couple had no ties to Sweden when they got married. Despite criticism from the legal counsel the parliament voted for passing the law which will enter into force 1 January 2019.

In Sweden there is a political consensus that child marriage is not to be accepted and with new laws the Swedish legislator are trying to thwart the appearance of child marriage. Marrying a child is not a crime according to Swedish law but it has been considered several times. However, in the proposition 2013/14:208 the government concluded that such a crime was not necessary due to the two new offenses that were established; forced marrige and luring to forced marriage trip. They reasoned that these crimes would include cases regarding child marriage. Although it is not a crime to marry a child, penal law can come at issue because of the crime rape against children in 6 kap. 4 § BrB. It is common that young children under 15 years old are entering child marriage, although not considered a crime, the one married to the child could be penalized if the couple had intercourse. According to the regulation it is considered a crime whether there was consent or not. In the autumn of 2018 the district court in Kalmar convicted a man for the crime rape against children when he had intercourse with his 13-year-old wife in Turkey. Similar cases have been withdrawn with referents to the rule of prosecution order in 2 kap 5 § BrB.

The opinion about what to define as a crime and what to criminalize are very distinct around the world. When countries criminalize different actions, important principles of international law arise, for example the principle of legality and the principle of non-intervention. What these principles mean and how they are being practised are crucial for how Sweden prosecutes different matters.
The purpose with this essay is to investigate the opportunities Sweden has to take legal proceedings against unwanted behaviors such as child marriage which is legal in many parts of the world. The problems that may come as an effect of the new law are to be discussed. The legal counsel has expressed concerns that the new law is incompatible with the right to respect for private and family life in article 8 ECHR and the right to free movement in article 21 FEUF. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Barnäktenskap är ett fenomen som är vanligt förekommande i stora delar av världen. År 2004 infördes lagbestämmelser om att utländska barnäktenskap inte ska erkännas i Sverige om minst en av parterna haft anknytning till Sverige. För att stärka skyddet mot barnäktenskap skärptes lagen ytterligare år 2014. Under år 2018 lade regeringen fram ett förslag till ny lag om att förbjuda erkännandet av utländska barnäktenskap helt, även i de fall då parterna saknat anknytning till Sverige vid äktenskapets ingående. Trots kritik från lagrådet röstades lagen igenom av riksdagen och den nya lagen träder ikraft 1 januari 2019.

Det råder politisk enighet i Sverige kring att barnäktenskap inte bör accepteras och genom ny lagstiftning söker Sverige... (More)
Barnäktenskap är ett fenomen som är vanligt förekommande i stora delar av världen. År 2004 infördes lagbestämmelser om att utländska barnäktenskap inte ska erkännas i Sverige om minst en av parterna haft anknytning till Sverige. För att stärka skyddet mot barnäktenskap skärptes lagen ytterligare år 2014. Under år 2018 lade regeringen fram ett förslag till ny lag om att förbjuda erkännandet av utländska barnäktenskap helt, även i de fall då parterna saknat anknytning till Sverige vid äktenskapets ingående. Trots kritik från lagrådet röstades lagen igenom av riksdagen och den nya lagen träder ikraft 1 januari 2019.

Det råder politisk enighet i Sverige kring att barnäktenskap inte bör accepteras och genom ny lagstiftning söker Sverige motarbeta företeelsen. Något barnäktenskapsbrott finns inte i svensk lag men har varit föremål för övervägande vid flera tillfällen. I proposition 2013/14:208 gjorde emellertid regeringen bedömningen att ett sådant brott inte skulle införas då man ansåg att brotten äktenskapstvång och vilseledande till tvångsäktenskapsresa också skulle kunna betraktas som barnäktenskapsbrott och därmed träffa sådana fall. Även om inget specifikt barnäktenskapsbrott finns kan straffrättsliga frågor ändå komma att bli relevanta i och med brottet våldtäkt mot barn enligt 6 kap. 4 § BrB. Då det är vanligt att så unga barn som under 15 år gifts bort kan brottet aktualiseras då barnets samtycke till samlag inte har betydelse för huruvida gärningsmannen kan bli dömd för våldtäkt mot barn. Under hösten 2018 dömde Kalmar tingsrätt en man för brottet våldtäkt mot barn då han haft samlag med sin 13 åriga hustru i Turkiet. Liknande fall har dock lagts ned med hänvisning till regeln om åtalsförordnande enligt 2 kap. 5 § BrB.

I samband med att länders syn på vad som ska utgöra ett brott skiljer sig avsevärt och att länder kriminaliserar olika handlingar, aktualiseras viktiga internationella straffrättsliga principer t.ex. legalitetsprincipen och principen om non-intervention. Hur dessa principer tillämpas och vad de innebär är avgörande för vad Sverige har möjlighet att lagföra.
Denna uppsats syftar till att utreda vilka möjligheter det finns att stoppa barnäktenskap, som i Sverige ses som en oönskad företeelse men är legal i andra delar av världen. De problem som riskerar uppkomma då Sverige inför en lag som förbjuder erkännandet av utländska barnäktenskap kommer även att belysas. Exempel på sådana problem är enligt Lagrådet att den nya lagen riskerar att vara oförenlig med rätten till respekt för familjelivet enligt artikel 8 i EKMR och att den kan innebära en inskränkning av den fria rörlighet som garanteras enligt artikel 21 i FEUF. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Segerfelt, Louise LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20182
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Straffrätt, internationell privaträtt, folkrätt, barnäktenskap, barnäktenskapsbrott, åtalsförordnande, legalitetsprincipen
language
Swedish
additional info
Louise Segerfelt
louise.segerfelt@outlook.com
19951222-3901
0704613883
Uppsatsseminarium 17/2
id
8965364
date added to LUP
2019-03-10 13:47:47
date last changed
2019-03-10 13:47:47
@misc{8965364,
  abstract     = {{Child marriage is a phenomenon existing in many parts of the world. In 2004 a new law came into force stating that Sweden does not recognize foreign child marriages if at least one of the parts has ties to Sweden. In order to achieve an increased protection against child marriage the legislation was further strengthened in 2014. In 2018 the Swedish government presented a proposition to a new law forbidding the recognition of child marrige even though the couple had no ties to Sweden when they got married. Despite criticism from the legal counsel the parliament voted for passing the law which will enter into force 1 January 2019.

In Sweden there is a political consensus that child marriage is not to be accepted and with new laws the Swedish legislator are trying to thwart the appearance of child marriage. Marrying a child is not a crime according to Swedish law but it has been considered several times. However, in the proposition 2013/14:208 the government concluded that such a crime was not necessary due to the two new offenses that were established; forced marrige and luring to forced marriage trip. They reasoned that these crimes would include cases regarding child marriage. Although it is not a crime to marry a child, penal law can come at issue because of the crime rape against children in 6 kap. 4 § BrB. It is common that young children under 15 years old are entering child marriage, although not considered a crime, the one married to the child could be penalized if the couple had intercourse. According to the regulation it is considered a crime whether there was consent or not. In the autumn of 2018 the district court in Kalmar convicted a man for the crime rape against children when he had intercourse with his 13-year-old wife in Turkey. Similar cases have been withdrawn with referents to the rule of prosecution order in 2 kap 5 § BrB.

The opinion about what to define as a crime and what to criminalize are very distinct around the world. When countries criminalize different actions, important principles of international law arise, for example the principle of legality and the principle of non-intervention. What these principles mean and how they are being practised are crucial for how Sweden prosecutes different matters.
The purpose with this essay is to investigate the opportunities Sweden has to take legal proceedings against unwanted behaviors such as child marriage which is legal in many parts of the world. The problems that may come as an effect of the new law are to be discussed. The legal counsel has expressed concerns that the new law is incompatible with the right to respect for private and family life in article 8 ECHR and the right to free movement in article 21 FEUF.}},
  author       = {{Segerfelt, Louise}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Går det att sätta ner foten mot barnäktenskap? - Om Sveriges möjligheter att på juridisk väg stoppa en oönskad företeelse som är legal utomlands}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}