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Uppgiftsplikten – illusorisk och bortglömd? – 42 kapitlet 8 § 1 stycket 4 meningen RB i ljuset av kontradiktorisk informationsanskaffning

Solenlind, Erik LU (2024) LAGF03 20241
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
In civil cases, the outcome is determined by the parties' access to evidence. The responsibility for locating, collecting, and presenting evidence lies with the parties, due to the principle of contradiction. The parties are motivated to disclose and present only the evidence that favours their case, which also means they have an interest in concealing unfavourable information. Consequently, an under-informed party may struggle to provide sufficient evidence. The Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure offers limited tools for gathering evidence, requiring the party seeking information to already know about the evidence in advance, reflecting the contradictional approach to information gathering.

Chapter 42 section 8 paragraph 1 sentence 4... (More)
In civil cases, the outcome is determined by the parties' access to evidence. The responsibility for locating, collecting, and presenting evidence lies with the parties, due to the principle of contradiction. The parties are motivated to disclose and present only the evidence that favours their case, which also means they have an interest in concealing unfavourable information. Consequently, an under-informed party may struggle to provide sufficient evidence. The Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure offers limited tools for gathering evidence, requiring the party seeking information to already know about the evidence in advance, reflecting the contradictional approach to information gathering.

Chapter 42 section 8 paragraph 1 sentence 4 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure, states that a party is obliged to disclose any written evidence it holds. This rule is referred to as the duty to provide information. This paper aims to examine the meaning of the duty, the requirements it imposes on the party providing information, and critically analyse how it aligns with the contradictional approach to information gathering in the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure.

The paper first examines how contradictional information gathering is regulated and compares it to alternative systems, where parties cooperate rather than compete. It then examines the duty to provide information, the requirements it imposes on the party providing the information, and the opportunities and limitations it entails for the party seeking the information. These include requirements of possession, written form, probative significance and thus which legal facts the listed evidence must prove. It also examines at what point in the process an injunction can be issued, and whether the court can conduct a proportionality evaluation and partially grant a request to provide information, or if such a request has mandatory effect. A chapter is then devoted to describing possible sanctions for a party that fails to produce a list of its written evidence or does not produce it truthfully.

In summary, the paper concludes that the duty to provide information lacks effective sanctions, and that its scope and requirements appear to be unclear. The effectiveness of the sanctions, the in-court hearing, and the evidential value are compromised by the difficulty of verifying the accuracy of the list and the parties' self-interest in withholding unfavorable information. It is concluded that the obligation to provide information is mandatory, but it is proposed that the court should be able to grant partial approval if the conditions are clearly defined. Furthermore, it is noted that the wording of the duty to provide information indicates elements of cooperative information gathering. However, the systematic placement of the rule, combined with the fact that the party seeking information has already stated the claims and grounds in its lawsuit, indicates that the duty to provide information remains consistent with the contradictional approach to information gathering in the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Parternas tillgång till bevisning i dispositiva tvistemål i allmän domstol är avgörande för utgången i målen. Ansvaret för att spåra upp, samla in, och presentera bevisning är placerat hos parterna, ett utflöde av kontradiktionsprincipen. Egenintresset i att endast avslöja och presentera bevisning fördelaktig för sin talan, medför ett intresse av att hemlighålla ofördelaktig information. En informationsfattig part riskerar därmed att stöta på svårigheter i sin bevisföring. De begränsade verktyg för bevisanskaffning som rättegångsbalken innehåller, kräver att bevisningen på förhand är känd för sökanden – ett resultat av kontradiktorisk informationsanskaffning.

I 42 kapitlet 8 § 1 stycket 4 meningen rättegångsbalken, anges att part är... (More)
Parternas tillgång till bevisning i dispositiva tvistemål i allmän domstol är avgörande för utgången i målen. Ansvaret för att spåra upp, samla in, och presentera bevisning är placerat hos parterna, ett utflöde av kontradiktionsprincipen. Egenintresset i att endast avslöja och presentera bevisning fördelaktig för sin talan, medför ett intresse av att hemlighålla ofördelaktig information. En informationsfattig part riskerar därmed att stöta på svårigheter i sin bevisföring. De begränsade verktyg för bevisanskaffning som rättegångsbalken innehåller, kräver att bevisningen på förhand är känd för sökanden – ett resultat av kontradiktorisk informationsanskaffning.

I 42 kapitlet 8 § 1 stycket 4 meningen rättegångsbalken, anges att part är skyldig att uppge vilka skriftliga bevis denne innehar. En regel som i uppsatsen benämns uppgiftsplikten. Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda innebörden av uppgiftsplikten, de krav den ställer på informationsgivande part, samt att kritiskt analysera hur den förhåller sig till rättegångsbalkens kontradiktoriska förhållningssätt till informationsanskaffning.

I uppsatsen utreds inledningsvis hur kontradiktorisk informationsanskaffning hanteras i dispositiva tvistemål, vilket jämförs med alternativa system där parterna samarbetar snarare än konkurrerar. Därefter utreds uppgiftsplikten, de krav som denna ställer på informationsgivaren, och de möjligheter och begränsningar den innebär för informationssökanden. Här kan nämnas krav på innehav, skriftlighet, bevisbetydelse och därmed vilka rättsfaktum förtecknade bevis ska styrka. Vidare utreds när i processen ett föreläggande kan utfärdas, samt huruvida domstolen får göra en proportionalitetsbedömning och därefter ge partiellt bifall till en begäran om uppgiftsplikt, eller om en begäran snarare har obligatorisk verkan. Härefter tillägnas ett kapitel åt en redogörelse för möjliga sanktioner då part underlåter att upprätta en förteckning över sina skriftliga bevis, eller inte upprättar den sanningsenligt.

Uppsatsen utmynnar sammanfattningsvis i att uppgiftsplikten saknar effektiva sanktioner, samt att dess omfattning och krav på flera punkter är oklara. Effektiviteten av sanktionerna editionsförhör respektive negativ bevisverkan, förtas av svårigheter att kontrollera förteckningens riktighet och det partsegoistiska intresset av att inte förse motparten med ofördelaktig information. Vidare konstateras exempelvis att uppgiftsplikten är obligatorisk, men det föreslås att domstol ges möjlighet till partiellt bifall utifrån tydligt angivna villkor. Därutöver konstateras att uppgiftspliktens utformning till sin ordalydelse indikerar inslag av kooperativ informationsanskaffning. Däremot resulterar regelns systematiska placering, i kombination med att informationssökanden redan angett yrkande och grunder i sin stämningsansökan, i att uppgiftsplikten trots allt överensstämmer med rättegångsbalkens kontradiktoriska förhållningssätt till informationsanskaffning. (Less)
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author
Solenlind, Erik LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
civilrätt, processrätt
language
Swedish
id
9152509
date added to LUP
2024-06-26 12:20:51
date last changed
2024-06-26 12:20:51
@misc{9152509,
  abstract     = {{In civil cases, the outcome is determined by the parties' access to evidence. The responsibility for locating, collecting, and presenting evidence lies with the parties, due to the principle of contradiction. The parties are motivated to disclose and present only the evidence that favours their case, which also means they have an interest in concealing unfavourable information. Consequently, an under-informed party may struggle to provide sufficient evidence. The Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure offers limited tools for gathering evidence, requiring the party seeking information to already know about the evidence in advance, reflecting the contradictional approach to information gathering.

Chapter 42 section 8 paragraph 1 sentence 4 of the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure, states that a party is obliged to disclose any written evidence it holds. This rule is referred to as the duty to provide information. This paper aims to examine the meaning of the duty, the requirements it imposes on the party providing information, and critically analyse how it aligns with the contradictional approach to information gathering in the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure.

The paper first examines how contradictional information gathering is regulated and compares it to alternative systems, where parties cooperate rather than compete. It then examines the duty to provide information, the requirements it imposes on the party providing the information, and the opportunities and limitations it entails for the party seeking the information. These include requirements of possession, written form, probative significance and thus which legal facts the listed evidence must prove. It also examines at what point in the process an injunction can be issued, and whether the court can conduct a proportionality evaluation and partially grant a request to provide information, or if such a request has mandatory effect. A chapter is then devoted to describing possible sanctions for a party that fails to produce a list of its written evidence or does not produce it truthfully.

In summary, the paper concludes that the duty to provide information lacks effective sanctions, and that its scope and requirements appear to be unclear. The effectiveness of the sanctions, the in-court hearing, and the evidential value are compromised by the difficulty of verifying the accuracy of the list and the parties' self-interest in withholding unfavorable information. It is concluded that the obligation to provide information is mandatory, but it is proposed that the court should be able to grant partial approval if the conditions are clearly defined. Furthermore, it is noted that the wording of the duty to provide information indicates elements of cooperative information gathering. However, the systematic placement of the rule, combined with the fact that the party seeking information has already stated the claims and grounds in its lawsuit, indicates that the duty to provide information remains consistent with the contradictional approach to information gathering in the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure.}},
  author       = {{Solenlind, Erik}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Uppgiftsplikten – illusorisk och bortglömd? – 42 kapitlet 8 § 1 stycket 4 meningen RB i ljuset av kontradiktorisk informationsanskaffning}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}