Om de döda inget annat än gott? En kritisk granskning av den avlidnes rättsliga skydd mot att bli förtalad
(2021) LAGF03 20212Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Förtal av avliden har varit kriminaliserat i svensk rätt sedan BrB:s ikraftträdande år 1962. Likväl har kriminaliseringen intagit en något undanskymd ställning i den svenska rättsordningen. Detta var åtminstone fallet innan den historiska presskonferensen den 10 juni 2020, där beslutet att lägga ned förundersökning om mordet på Olof Palme meddelades. I den efterföljande offentliga debatten har kritiska röster höjts angående åklagarens beslut att namnge den så kallade ”Skandiamannen”. Utpekandet av en avliden person som inte någon möjlighet att försvara sig, har i mångt och mycket uppfattats som stötande. Den avlidnes rättsliga skydd mot att bli förtalad, blev återigen ett diskussionsämne när Netflix-serien ”Den osannolika mördaren” hade... (More)
- Förtal av avliden har varit kriminaliserat i svensk rätt sedan BrB:s ikraftträdande år 1962. Likväl har kriminaliseringen intagit en något undanskymd ställning i den svenska rättsordningen. Detta var åtminstone fallet innan den historiska presskonferensen den 10 juni 2020, där beslutet att lägga ned förundersökning om mordet på Olof Palme meddelades. I den efterföljande offentliga debatten har kritiska röster höjts angående åklagarens beslut att namnge den så kallade ”Skandiamannen”. Utpekandet av en avliden person som inte någon möjlighet att försvara sig, har i mångt och mycket uppfattats som stötande. Den avlidnes rättsliga skydd mot att bli förtalad, blev återigen ett diskussionsämne när Netflix-serien ”Den osannolika mördaren” hade premiär i november 2021. Framställningen kan sägas utgöra en dramatisering av den teori som presenterades vid den tidigare presskonferensen. Nämligen att det var Stig Engström (ofta kallad ”Skandiamannen) som mördade Olof Palme. Syftet med denna framställning är att mot bakgrund av ovan beskrivna händelser, kritiskt utvärdera det rättsliga skyddet mot förtal en avliden person åtnjuter enligt den svenska rättsordningen.
Framställning utmynnar i följande slutsatser. Först och främst får den avlidnes intresse att undgå ärekränkande beskyllningar, i många situationer stå tillbaka för intresset av en vidsträckt yttrandefrihet. Ett passande exempel är åklagarens utpekande av Stig Engström som Olof Palmes misstänkta mördare vid presskonferensen. Det stora allmänintresset gällande varför en av världens största mordutredningar lades ner, ansågs vara av större intresse. Relevanta aspekter vid bedömningen är bland annat hur lång tid som passerat sen dödstillfället samt i vilken utsträckning minnet av den avlidne lever kvar hos de efterlevande. Avseende möjligheterna att väcka åtal, utgör enskilt åtalhuvudregeln. Allmänt åtal ska endast förekomma i undantagsfall. Likväl är kretsen åtalsberättigade enligt 20 kap. 13 § RB ytterst begränsad. Samtidigt saknas från lagstiftarens sida någon direkt motivering till detta. (Less) - Abstract
- Defamation of a deceased individual has been criminalized in Sweden since the entry into force of the Swedish Criminal Code (SFS 1962:700). However, this crime has been given a somewhat suppressed position in the Swedish legal system. At least, until the historical press conference on the 10th of June 2020, where the decision to close the preliminary investigation about the assassination of Olof Palme, was announced. In the following public debate, critical voices were raised regarding the prosecutor’s decision to name the suspected deceased murderer. The designation of a deceased individual who has no possibility to defend himself has, in the eyes of many people, been perceived as offensive. Deceased individuals’ protection against... (More)
- Defamation of a deceased individual has been criminalized in Sweden since the entry into force of the Swedish Criminal Code (SFS 1962:700). However, this crime has been given a somewhat suppressed position in the Swedish legal system. At least, until the historical press conference on the 10th of June 2020, where the decision to close the preliminary investigation about the assassination of Olof Palme, was announced. In the following public debate, critical voices were raised regarding the prosecutor’s decision to name the suspected deceased murderer. The designation of a deceased individual who has no possibility to defend himself has, in the eyes of many people, been perceived as offensive. Deceased individuals’ protection against defamatory accusations, once again became a topic of discussion, when the dramatization The unlikely murderer was released on Netflix. The series is based on the same theory as the one presented at the press conference. Namely that Stig Engström (often referred to as “Skandiamannen”) is the murderer of Olof Palme. In the light of these events, the purpose of this thesis is to critically examine the level of protection against defamation, which the Swedish legal system offers to deceased individual’s.
The essay results in the following conclusions. The interest of protecting a deceased individual’s honor, is in many cases considered to be subordinate to the interest of an extensive freedom of speech. A suitable example here is the designation of Stig Engström as the suspected murderer of Olof Plame, made by the prosecutor at the press conference. The widespread public interest in why, one of the world’s largest murder investigations was discontinued, was considered to be of greater interest. Relevant aspects of the assessment are among other things, whether a long time has passed since the time of death or if the memory of the deceased lives on, in the memory of relatives. Furthermore, regarding the possibilities of commencing a prosecution, the main rule is private prosecution. Public prosecution should only occur in exceptional cases. However, the circle of people who can commence a prosecution according to chapter 20 section 13 The Code of Judicial Procedure, is extremely limited. At the same time, there is no real motivation for this. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9070447
- author
- Romedahl, Sophie LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20212
- year
- 2021
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Processrätt, statsrätt, straffrätt, förtal av avliden
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9070447
- date added to LUP
- 2022-02-15 11:46:46
- date last changed
- 2022-02-15 11:46:46
@misc{9070447,
abstract = {{Defamation of a deceased individual has been criminalized in Sweden since the entry into force of the Swedish Criminal Code (SFS 1962:700). However, this crime has been given a somewhat suppressed position in the Swedish legal system. At least, until the historical press conference on the 10th of June 2020, where the decision to close the preliminary investigation about the assassination of Olof Palme, was announced. In the following public debate, critical voices were raised regarding the prosecutor’s decision to name the suspected deceased murderer. The designation of a deceased individual who has no possibility to defend himself has, in the eyes of many people, been perceived as offensive. Deceased individuals’ protection against defamatory accusations, once again became a topic of discussion, when the dramatization The unlikely murderer was released on Netflix. The series is based on the same theory as the one presented at the press conference. Namely that Stig Engström (often referred to as “Skandiamannen”) is the murderer of Olof Palme. In the light of these events, the purpose of this thesis is to critically examine the level of protection against defamation, which the Swedish legal system offers to deceased individual’s.
The essay results in the following conclusions. The interest of protecting a deceased individual’s honor, is in many cases considered to be subordinate to the interest of an extensive freedom of speech. A suitable example here is the designation of Stig Engström as the suspected murderer of Olof Plame, made by the prosecutor at the press conference. The widespread public interest in why, one of the world’s largest murder investigations was discontinued, was considered to be of greater interest. Relevant aspects of the assessment are among other things, whether a long time has passed since the time of death or if the memory of the deceased lives on, in the memory of relatives. Furthermore, regarding the possibilities of commencing a prosecution, the main rule is private prosecution. Public prosecution should only occur in exceptional cases. However, the circle of people who can commence a prosecution according to chapter 20 section 13 The Code of Judicial Procedure, is extremely limited. At the same time, there is no real motivation for this.}},
author = {{Romedahl, Sophie}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Om de döda inget annat än gott? En kritisk granskning av den avlidnes rättsliga skydd mot att bli förtalad}},
year = {{2021}},
}