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”Än slank hon dit och än slank hon dit, och än slank hon ner i diket” – En rättshistorisk studie av fylleribrottet och dess avskaffande

Svensson, Alexander LU (2020) LAGF03 20202
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
In 1977, drunkenness in public spaces was decriminalized in Swedish law.
The crime had its roots in royal decrees from the 18th century. The crime
was first categorized in the former penalty law as an offense against decency
but became later reclassified as a crime against the public order. The
punishment was a fine and a person that was intoxicated in public spaces
could be arrested and placed in a sobering up-cell. Around the time of the
late 19th and early 20th century, criticism started to emerge that the penalty
wasn’t an effective means to deter from and prevent public intoxication.
Instead, it was suggested that more preventive and caring measures be
prioritized. The opinion came to be that a person that suffered from
... (More)
In 1977, drunkenness in public spaces was decriminalized in Swedish law.
The crime had its roots in royal decrees from the 18th century. The crime
was first categorized in the former penalty law as an offense against decency
but became later reclassified as a crime against the public order. The
punishment was a fine and a person that was intoxicated in public spaces
could be arrested and placed in a sobering up-cell. Around the time of the
late 19th and early 20th century, criticism started to emerge that the penalty
wasn’t an effective means to deter from and prevent public intoxication.
Instead, it was suggested that more preventive and caring measures be
prioritized. The opinion came to be that a person that suffered from
alcoholism should not be considered a disturbance to the public order that
should be removed, but instead a victim of addiction that requires medical
treatment. In the early 1960’s, the old penalty law (strafflagen) from 1864
was replaced by the current Swedish penal code (brottsbalken). During this
time, the question of decriminalisation was again raised. The Swedish
government appointed a committee to investigate the matter. The
committee, that took the name the committee for reviewing the penalty of
public intoxication (fylleristraffutredningen) presented its findings in 1968.
They recommended that the act of public intoxication should be
decriminalised and replaced with a system of medical clinics around the
country that could cater to those who were publicy intoxicated. The source
of inspiration for this model was Poland.

The proposed system of medicinal clinics was rejected by the Swedish
parliament (Sveriges riksdag), the reason for this being that it was deemed
to demand to much of the resources from the health care system in general.
Intoxication in public spaces as a criminal offense was repealed, but in
accordance with the new act of care of intoxicated persons (lagen om
omhändertagande av berusade person, LOB) the police would continue to
have responsibility to tender to the publicy intoxicated, as they had under
the previous law. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
1977 avkriminaliserades fylleri på allmän plats i svensk rätt. Brottet har sina anor i kungliga förordningar från 1700-talet. Från början klassificerades förseelsen som ett sedlighetsbrott och sedan som ett brott mot den allmänna ordningen. Brottet var förenat med böter och den som påträffades berusad på allmän plats kunde bli föremål för omhändertagande av ordningsmakten. Runt förra sekelskiftet började röster höjas för att kriminaliseringen inte var ett effektivt medel mot att förebygga och stävja alkoholism. Istället borde förebyggande och mer vårdinriktade insatser prioriteras framför bestraffande. Detta till följd att synen kom att ändras så att en berusad person istället för att betraktas som en allmän olägenhet till att stället... (More)
1977 avkriminaliserades fylleri på allmän plats i svensk rätt. Brottet har sina anor i kungliga förordningar från 1700-talet. Från början klassificerades förseelsen som ett sedlighetsbrott och sedan som ett brott mot den allmänna ordningen. Brottet var förenat med böter och den som påträffades berusad på allmän plats kunde bli föremål för omhändertagande av ordningsmakten. Runt förra sekelskiftet började röster höjas för att kriminaliseringen inte var ett effektivt medel mot att förebygga och stävja alkoholism. Istället borde förebyggande och mer vårdinriktade insatser prioriteras framför bestraffande. Detta till följd att synen kom att ändras så att en berusad person istället för att betraktas som en allmän olägenhet till att stället betraktas som en lidande av ett missbruk och sjukdomstillstånd. Frågan väcktes vid ett flertal tillfällen under början och mitten av 1900-talet om ett avkriminaliserande. I samband med det arbete som skedde när den gamla strafflagen ersattes av brottsbalken i början på 1960-talet kom frågan att åter aktualiseras. Regeringen tillsatte en regering som tog sig namnet fylleristraffutredningen som presenterade sitt slutbetänkande 1968. Utredningen föreslog att fylleri på allmän plats skulle avkriminaliseras och därtill kompletteras med typ av vårdkliniker för att ta hand om akut berusade personer enligt polsk förebild. När frågan väl slutligt kom att avgöras i riksdagen 1976 avvisades förslaget om den nya vårdformen men hänvisning till att detta skulle ta alltför stora resurser inom sjukvården i anspråk. Dock så avkriminaliserades fylleri på allmän plats, men likt tidigare lagstiftning så kom på polisen även fortsättningsvis genom LOB att ansvara för omhändertagandet av berusande personer på allmän plats. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Svensson, Alexander LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20202
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
rättshistoria, straffrätt, socialrätt
language
Swedish
id
9034608
date added to LUP
2021-02-09 11:10:47
date last changed
2021-02-09 11:10:47
@misc{9034608,
  abstract     = {{In 1977, drunkenness in public spaces was decriminalized in Swedish law.
The crime had its roots in royal decrees from the 18th century. The crime
was first categorized in the former penalty law as an offense against decency
but became later reclassified as a crime against the public order. The
punishment was a fine and a person that was intoxicated in public spaces
could be arrested and placed in a sobering up-cell. Around the time of the
late 19th and early 20th century, criticism started to emerge that the penalty
wasn’t an effective means to deter from and prevent public intoxication.
Instead, it was suggested that more preventive and caring measures be
prioritized. The opinion came to be that a person that suffered from
alcoholism should not be considered a disturbance to the public order that
should be removed, but instead a victim of addiction that requires medical
treatment. In the early 1960’s, the old penalty law (strafflagen) from 1864
was replaced by the current Swedish penal code (brottsbalken). During this
time, the question of decriminalisation was again raised. The Swedish
government appointed a committee to investigate the matter. The
committee, that took the name the committee for reviewing the penalty of
public intoxication (fylleristraffutredningen) presented its findings in 1968.
They recommended that the act of public intoxication should be
decriminalised and replaced with a system of medical clinics around the
country that could cater to those who were publicy intoxicated. The source
of inspiration for this model was Poland.

The proposed system of medicinal clinics was rejected by the Swedish
parliament (Sveriges riksdag), the reason for this being that it was deemed
to demand to much of the resources from the health care system in general.
Intoxication in public spaces as a criminal offense was repealed, but in
accordance with the new act of care of intoxicated persons (lagen om
omhändertagande av berusade person, LOB) the police would continue to
have responsibility to tender to the publicy intoxicated, as they had under
the previous law.}},
  author       = {{Svensson, Alexander}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{”Än slank hon dit och än slank hon dit, och än slank hon ner i diket” – En rättshistorisk studie av fylleribrottet och dess avskaffande}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}