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Ord mot (trovärdigare eller tillförlitligare?) ord: En undersökning om bedömningen av målsägandens utsaga i våldtäktsmål

Ahlgren, Olivia LU (2023) LAGF03 20232
Faculty of Law
Department of Law
Abstract
In rape cases, the evidence often consists exclusively of the injured party’s testimony. The evidentiary value of this testimony can therefore be crucial in determining whether the evidentiary requirement is met. The Swedish Supreme Court has suggested several criteria for this assessment. However, according to Swedish law, the evaluation of evidence is free, meaning that courts are not bound by the Supreme Court’s statements regarding evidence evaluations. Additionally, it is common during these assessments to evaluate the credibility and reliability of the injured party. Nevertheless, the use of these concepts is inconsistent, often leading to confusion.
The purpose of this essay is to try to create understanding of how the concepts of... (More)
In rape cases, the evidence often consists exclusively of the injured party’s testimony. The evidentiary value of this testimony can therefore be crucial in determining whether the evidentiary requirement is met. The Swedish Supreme Court has suggested several criteria for this assessment. However, according to Swedish law, the evaluation of evidence is free, meaning that courts are not bound by the Supreme Court’s statements regarding evidence evaluations. Additionally, it is common during these assessments to evaluate the credibility and reliability of the injured party. Nevertheless, the use of these concepts is inconsistent, often leading to confusion.
The purpose of this essay is to try to create understanding of how the concepts of credibility and reliability are used in the evaluation of the injured party’s testimony, and to investigate if, and in that case how, the criteria suggested by the Supreme Court are applied in this assessment. The essay also takes a multidisciplinary perspective and examines some psychological research on the subject. The investigation is conducted through an empirical case study of five rape cases where the primary evidence consists of the injured party’s statement. The study primarily focuses on identifying the criteria considered important in determining the evidentiary value of the statement, as well as examining the distinctions made between credibility and reliability. In addition to the empirical study, both legal dogmatic and interdisciplinary methods have been used to some extent.
The results of the study showed that the courts in the analyzed cases largely used the criteria suggested by the Supreme court when assessing the injured party’s statement. In cases where the evidentiary requirement was met, criteria such as length, clarity, richness in details, constancy and absence of exaggerations were emphasized. In cases where the evidentiary requirement was not met, criteria such as exaggerations, lack of clarity, and lack of constancy were emphasized. Another conclusion drawn from the study was that a consistent distinction between credibility and reliability was maintained in only one of the analyzed cases. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
I våldtäktsmål saknas ofta bevisning utöver målsägandens utsaga. Bevisvärdet av denna utsaga kan därmed vara avgörande för huruvida beviskravet anses uppfyllt. För denna bedömning har Högsta domstolen föreslagit ett antal kriterier som kan vara behjälpliga. Samtidigt gäller principen om fri bevisvärdering, vilket innebär att underrätterna inte är bundna av HD:s uttalanden i dessa frågor. Vid bedömningen förekommer även begreppen trovärdighet och tillförlitlighet. Begreppsanvändningen är emellertid inkonsekvent och det är vanligt att begreppen sammanblandas, vilket leder till oklarhet kring bedömningarna.
Syftet med denna uppsats är att försöka skapa klarhet i hur begreppen trovärdighet och tillförlitlighet används vid bevisvärderingen av... (More)
I våldtäktsmål saknas ofta bevisning utöver målsägandens utsaga. Bevisvärdet av denna utsaga kan därmed vara avgörande för huruvida beviskravet anses uppfyllt. För denna bedömning har Högsta domstolen föreslagit ett antal kriterier som kan vara behjälpliga. Samtidigt gäller principen om fri bevisvärdering, vilket innebär att underrätterna inte är bundna av HD:s uttalanden i dessa frågor. Vid bedömningen förekommer även begreppen trovärdighet och tillförlitlighet. Begreppsanvändningen är emellertid inkonsekvent och det är vanligt att begreppen sammanblandas, vilket leder till oklarhet kring bedömningarna.
Syftet med denna uppsats är att försöka skapa klarhet i hur begreppen trovärdighet och tillförlitlighet används vid bevisvärderingen av målsägandeutsagor samt om, och i så fall hur, HD:s kriterier tillämpas vid denna bedömning. Uppsatsen har även en tvärvetenskaplig ansats och redogör för viss rättspsykologisk forskning på området. Syftet utreds genom en empirisk rättsfallsstudie av fem tingsrättsavgöranden i våldtäktsmål där den huvudsakliga bevisningen bestått av målsägandens utsaga. I studien undersöks vilka kriterier som har tillämpats för att bedöma bevisvärdet av utsagorna, och vilka distinktioner av trovärdighets- och tillförlitlighetsbegreppen som har förekommit i dessa fall. Utöver rättsfallsstudien har rättsdogmatisk och tvärdisciplinär metod använts i viss utsträckning.
Av studien framgick att tingsrätterna i de analyserade rättsfallen i hög utsträckning använde HD:s föreslagna kriterier vid utsagevärderingen. I fallen där beviskravet uppfylldes betonades kriterier såsom längd, klarhet, detaljrikedom samt frihet från konstansbrister och överdrifter vid bedömningen av målsägandens utsaga. I fallen där beviskravet inte uppfylldes framhölls bland annat konstansbrister, överdrifter och oklarheter. Det kunde också konstateras att en konsekvent distinktion mellan begreppen trovärdighet och tillförlitlighet endast upprätthölls i ett fall. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ahlgren, Olivia LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20232
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
processrätt, straffrätt, bevisvärdering, trovärdighet, tillförlitlighet, våldtäktsmål
language
Swedish
id
9144700
date added to LUP
2024-04-19 16:23:48
date last changed
2024-04-19 16:23:48
@misc{9144700,
  abstract     = {{In rape cases, the evidence often consists exclusively of the injured party’s testimony. The evidentiary value of this testimony can therefore be crucial in determining whether the evidentiary requirement is met. The Swedish Supreme Court has suggested several criteria for this assessment. However, according to Swedish law, the evaluation of evidence is free, meaning that courts are not bound by the Supreme Court’s statements regarding evidence evaluations. Additionally, it is common during these assessments to evaluate the credibility and reliability of the injured party. Nevertheless, the use of these concepts is inconsistent, often leading to confusion.
The purpose of this essay is to try to create understanding of how the concepts of credibility and reliability are used in the evaluation of the injured party’s testimony, and to investigate if, and in that case how, the criteria suggested by the Supreme Court are applied in this assessment. The essay also takes a multidisciplinary perspective and examines some psychological research on the subject. The investigation is conducted through an empirical case study of five rape cases where the primary evidence consists of the injured party’s statement. The study primarily focuses on identifying the criteria considered important in determining the evidentiary value of the statement, as well as examining the distinctions made between credibility and reliability. In addition to the empirical study, both legal dogmatic and interdisciplinary methods have been used to some extent. 
The results of the study showed that the courts in the analyzed cases largely used the criteria suggested by the Supreme court when assessing the injured party’s statement. In cases where the evidentiary requirement was met, criteria such as length, clarity, richness in details, constancy and absence of exaggerations were emphasized. In cases where the evidentiary requirement was not met, criteria such as exaggerations, lack of clarity, and lack of constancy were emphasized. Another conclusion drawn from the study was that a consistent distinction between credibility and reliability was maintained in only one of the analyzed cases.}},
  author       = {{Ahlgren, Olivia}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ord mot (trovärdigare eller tillförlitligare?) ord: En undersökning om bedömningen av målsägandens utsaga i våldtäktsmål}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}