Hit, men inte längre! – En granskning av målsägandens begränsade rätt till målsägandebiträde i hovrättsprocessen ur ett brottsofferperspektiv
(2024) JURM02 20241Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Lagen (1988:609) om målsägandebiträde, vilken medger en rätt till biträde för brottsoffer som utsatts för särskilt allvarlig brottslighet, har varit en central lagstiftning för att stärka brottsoffrets intressen i rättsprocessen. Till följd av en lagreform som genomfördes år 2018 har dock rätten begränsats i högre rätt. Detta har i sin tur mötts av omfattande kritik med hänsyn till brottsoffrens intressen. Parallellt med detta har EU-kommissionen framfört ett förslag till ändring av det så kallade brottsofferdirektivet, vilket fastställer vissa miniminormer för att ge brottsoffer en bättre möjlighet att medverka i straffrättsliga förfaranden. När förslaget behandlades i svensk rätt var det några remissinstanser som menade att ändringarna... (More)
- Lagen (1988:609) om målsägandebiträde, vilken medger en rätt till biträde för brottsoffer som utsatts för särskilt allvarlig brottslighet, har varit en central lagstiftning för att stärka brottsoffrets intressen i rättsprocessen. Till följd av en lagreform som genomfördes år 2018 har dock rätten begränsats i högre rätt. Detta har i sin tur mötts av omfattande kritik med hänsyn till brottsoffrens intressen. Parallellt med detta har EU-kommissionen framfört ett förslag till ändring av det så kallade brottsofferdirektivet, vilket fastställer vissa miniminormer för att ge brottsoffer en bättre möjlighet att medverka i straffrättsliga förfaranden. När förslaget behandlades i svensk rätt var det några remissinstanser som menade att ändringarna medför att begränsningen av målsägandebiträdet måste justeras.
Med användning av en rättanalytiskt metod har syftet med uppsatsen varit att granska rätten och begränsningen av målsägandebiträde i hovrättsprocessen ur ett brottsofferperspektiv. Avsikten har framförallt varit att undersöka hur begränsningen påverkar målsägandens behov och perspektiv på rättvisa samt vilka konsekvenser begränsningen kan medföra. Ett annat syfte har också varit att undersöka i vilken utsträckning brottsofferdirektivet tillgodoser behovet av målsägandebiträde och om EU-kommissionens föreslagna ändring kan medföra en utvidgad rätt till målsägandebiträde i hovrätten. Inledningsvis undersöktes därför, med hjälp av viktimologisk forskning, vad som utgör brottsoffrets behov och perspektiv på rättvisa samt vilka konsekvenser ett åsidosättande av dessa kan medföra. Därefter utreddes rätten till målsägandebiträde och biträdets huvudsakliga uppdrag utifrån den svenska regleringen. Sedan studerades begränsningen av rätten i hovrättsprocessen utifrån ett mångfacetterat material bestående av bland annat lagstiftning, rättsliga vägledningar och två olika utredningar. Detta åtföljdes sedan av en undersökning av både brottsofferdirektivet och EU-kommissionens förslag i förhållande till begränsningen av målsägandebiträdet i svensk rätt.
I ljuset av vad som framkom i den viktimologiska forskningen kunde det konstateras att målsägandebiträdet har en central roll för behoven och synen på rättvisan. Vidare fastställdes det att begränsningen medför problem för de målsäganden som är i behov av mer ingående informationsförmedling och stöttning under processen, vilket i sin tur kan leda till misstro för rättssystem samt sekundär traumatisering. Med beaktande av brottsofferdirektivet och EU-kommissionens förslag till ändring gjordes slutligen bedömningen att ingen av dessa medför en definitiv ändring av nuvarande begränsning i hovrätten. Däremot noterades att två artiklar i förslaget, avseende omprövning av vissa beslut (artikel 10b) och rätten till rättshjälp (artikel 26d), kan motivera en lagändring, beroende på hur förfarandet för rättsmedlen utformas i svensk rätt. (Less) - Abstract
- The Act (1988:609) on Counsel for Injured Parties, which grants the right to counsel for victims of particularly serious crimes, has been a significant piece of legislation for strengthening the interests and rights of crime victims within the legal process. However, a legal reform enacted in 2018 has limited this right in higher courts. This has been met with extensive criticism concerning the interests of crime victims. Concurrently, the European Commission has proposed an amendment to the so-called Victims' Rights Directive, which sets certain minimum standards to better enable victims to participate in criminal proceedings. During the consideration of this proposal in Swedish law, some consultation bodies argued that the amendments... (More)
- The Act (1988:609) on Counsel for Injured Parties, which grants the right to counsel for victims of particularly serious crimes, has been a significant piece of legislation for strengthening the interests and rights of crime victims within the legal process. However, a legal reform enacted in 2018 has limited this right in higher courts. This has been met with extensive criticism concerning the interests of crime victims. Concurrently, the European Commission has proposed an amendment to the so-called Victims' Rights Directive, which sets certain minimum standards to better enable victims to participate in criminal proceedings. During the consideration of this proposal in Swedish law, some consultation bodies argued that the amendments necessitate changes to the limitations on counsel for injured parties in higher courts.
In using a legal analytical method, the purpose of this thesis has been to examine the right and limitation of counsel for injured parties in the Court of Appeal process from a victim's perspective. The primary aim has been to investigate how the limitation affects the needs and perspective on justice of the injured party, as well as the potential consequences of this limitation. Another aim has been to assess the extent to which the Victims' Rights Directive meets the need for counsel for injured parties and whether the European Commission's proposed amendment could lead to an expanded right to counsel for injured parties in the Court of Appeal. Initially, the thesis examined, with the help of victimological research, what constitutes the needs and perspective on justice of crime victims and the consequences of neglecting these. It then explored the right to counsel for injured parties and the primary duties of such counsel under Swedish regulation. The limitation of this right in the Court of Appeal process was then studied using a multifaceted material consisting of legislation, legal guidelines, and two different investigations. This was followed by an examination of both the Victims' Rights Directive and the European Commission's proposal in relation to the limitation of counsel for injured parties in Swedish law.
In light of the findings from victimological research, it was established that counsel for injured parties plays a central role in meeting the needs and perspectives on justice of crime victims. Furthermore, it was determined that the limitation poses problems for those victims who require more detailed information and support during the process, which can lead to distrust in the legal system and secondary traumatisation. Considering the Victims' Rights Directive and the European Commission's proposed amendments, it was ultimately assessed that neither necessitates a definitive change to the current limitation in the Court of Appeal. However, it was noted that two articles in the proposal, regarding the review of certain decisions (Article 10b) and the right to legal aid (Article 26d), could justify a legislative amendment, depending on how the procedures for these remedies are implemented in Swedish law. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9152972
- author
- Skarelid, Klara LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- To here, but no further! – A review of the injured party's limited right to legal representation in the court of appeal process from a victim's perspective
- course
- JURM02 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Straffrätt (en. criminal law), EU-rätt (en. EU law), Processrätt, Brottsofferperspektiv, Lagen om målsägandebiträde, Brottsofferdirektivet
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9152972
- date added to LUP
- 2024-05-30 12:20:26
- date last changed
- 2024-05-30 12:20:26
@misc{9152972,
abstract = {{The Act (1988:609) on Counsel for Injured Parties, which grants the right to counsel for victims of particularly serious crimes, has been a significant piece of legislation for strengthening the interests and rights of crime victims within the legal process. However, a legal reform enacted in 2018 has limited this right in higher courts. This has been met with extensive criticism concerning the interests of crime victims. Concurrently, the European Commission has proposed an amendment to the so-called Victims' Rights Directive, which sets certain minimum standards to better enable victims to participate in criminal proceedings. During the consideration of this proposal in Swedish law, some consultation bodies argued that the amendments necessitate changes to the limitations on counsel for injured parties in higher courts.
In using a legal analytical method, the purpose of this thesis has been to examine the right and limitation of counsel for injured parties in the Court of Appeal process from a victim's perspective. The primary aim has been to investigate how the limitation affects the needs and perspective on justice of the injured party, as well as the potential consequences of this limitation. Another aim has been to assess the extent to which the Victims' Rights Directive meets the need for counsel for injured parties and whether the European Commission's proposed amendment could lead to an expanded right to counsel for injured parties in the Court of Appeal. Initially, the thesis examined, with the help of victimological research, what constitutes the needs and perspective on justice of crime victims and the consequences of neglecting these. It then explored the right to counsel for injured parties and the primary duties of such counsel under Swedish regulation. The limitation of this right in the Court of Appeal process was then studied using a multifaceted material consisting of legislation, legal guidelines, and two different investigations. This was followed by an examination of both the Victims' Rights Directive and the European Commission's proposal in relation to the limitation of counsel for injured parties in Swedish law.
In light of the findings from victimological research, it was established that counsel for injured parties plays a central role in meeting the needs and perspectives on justice of crime victims. Furthermore, it was determined that the limitation poses problems for those victims who require more detailed information and support during the process, which can lead to distrust in the legal system and secondary traumatisation. Considering the Victims' Rights Directive and the European Commission's proposed amendments, it was ultimately assessed that neither necessitates a definitive change to the current limitation in the Court of Appeal. However, it was noted that two articles in the proposal, regarding the review of certain decisions (Article 10b) and the right to legal aid (Article 26d), could justify a legislative amendment, depending on how the procedures for these remedies are implemented in Swedish law.}},
author = {{Skarelid, Klara}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Hit, men inte längre! – En granskning av målsägandens begränsade rätt till målsägandebiträde i hovrättsprocessen ur ett brottsofferperspektiv}},
year = {{2024}},
}