Klarspråk i Högsta domstolen – En analys av den språkliga utformningen av Högsta domstolens domar under perioden 1971–2024
(2024) JURM02 20242Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Sedan 1970-talet har det förts en aktiv diskussion om modernisering av språket som används av myndigheter och andra offentliga organ. För domstolarnas del var det den så kallade Förtroendeutredningen, vars betänkande presenterades år 2008, som blev startskottet för arbetet med att se över den språkliga utformningen av domar och beslut. Detta klarspråksarbete är numera ett naturligt inslag i domstolarnas verksamhetsutveckling; gemensamma strategier och handlingsplaner har utarbetats och Domstolsverket arrangerar bland annat ett återkommande forum för diskussioner och erfarenhetsutbyte kring frågor som rör bemötande och domskrivning med mera. Hittills har det dock främst varit underinstansernas domar som har stått i fokus, och förvånansvärt... (More)
- Sedan 1970-talet har det förts en aktiv diskussion om modernisering av språket som används av myndigheter och andra offentliga organ. För domstolarnas del var det den så kallade Förtroendeutredningen, vars betänkande presenterades år 2008, som blev startskottet för arbetet med att se över den språkliga utformningen av domar och beslut. Detta klarspråksarbete är numera ett naturligt inslag i domstolarnas verksamhetsutveckling; gemensamma strategier och handlingsplaner har utarbetats och Domstolsverket arrangerar bland annat ett återkommande forum för diskussioner och erfarenhetsutbyte kring frågor som rör bemötande och domskrivning med mera. Hittills har det dock främst varit underinstansernas domar som har stått i fokus, och förvånansvärt lite har sagts om Högsta domstolens domar i klarspråkssammanhang.
Syftet med denna framställning är att bredda klarspråksdiskussionen genom att belysa den utveckling som den språkliga utformningen av Högsta domstolens domar har genomgått sedan 1970-talets början, samt genom att undersöka hur väl Högsta domstolens nutida domar överensstämmer med de kriterier som uppställs i lagstiftningen och de rådande tankarna om klarspråk. Detta genomförs genom att fem av Högsta domstolens domar från varje decennium från och med 1970-talet till och med 2020-talets första hälft analyseras, och språket i de fem domarna från 2020-talets första hälft relateras till domskrivningens rättsliga utgångspunkter och de rådande klarspråksidealen.
Analysen av Högsta domstolens domar visar att den språkliga utformningen har genomgått en omfattande modernisering under den aktuella perioden. Mellan 1970-talets början och 1990-talets slut skedde förändringarna framför allt på mikronivå genom att ålderdomliga uttryck och stela meningskonstruktioner i stort sett utmönstrades. Från och med 2000-talet skedde sedan ett skifte mot förändringar på makronivå, som utvecklingen av en tydlig tematisk disposition, en mer välutvecklad styckeindelning, och användning av informativa rubriker. Sammanfattningar och orienterande information som vägleder läsaren används också i större utsträckning, särskilt från 2000-talet och framåt. Jämfört med 1970-talets tidiga avgöranden utmärks 2020-talets domar således av ett mycket lättillgängligt språk, en logisk och systematisk struktur med informativa och tydliga rubriker, samt ett läsarorienterat perspektiv med ökad användning av sammanfattande och vägledande information.
Jämförelsen med domskrivningens rättsliga utgångspunkter avseende språket – framför allt språklagens krav på ett ”vårdat, enkelt och begripligt” språk – visar att Högsta domstolens nutida domar uppfyller samtliga krav som uppställs i lagstiftningen. Likaså överensstämmer språket i domstolens nutida domar väl med de klarspråksideal som har utvecklats sedan 1970-talets början. Ett visst utrymme för att utforska informationsförmedlande element som samspelar med texten finns dock fortfarande kvar. (Less) - Abstract
- Since the 1970s there has been an ongoing public discussion in Sweden centered around efforts to modernize the language of the public sector. In 2008 an official report about communication between courts of law and citizens highlighted the necessity of improving the language of judgements and decisions, sparking further discussions and action. Since then, the courts have been actively working to promote the use of plain and easy-to-understand language in judgments and decisions by formulating common strategies and encouraging judges to discuss and share ideas related to judgment writing and other related topics. So far, however, the public discussion has mainly been concerned with the judgments of lower courts, and little has been said... (More)
- Since the 1970s there has been an ongoing public discussion in Sweden centered around efforts to modernize the language of the public sector. In 2008 an official report about communication between courts of law and citizens highlighted the necessity of improving the language of judgements and decisions, sparking further discussions and action. Since then, the courts have been actively working to promote the use of plain and easy-to-understand language in judgments and decisions by formulating common strategies and encouraging judges to discuss and share ideas related to judgment writing and other related topics. So far, however, the public discussion has mainly been concerned with the judgments of lower courts, and little has been said about the language of the Supreme Court of Sweden.
The objective of the present thesis is to broaden the scope of the discussion about the language in judgments and decisions by elucidating the evolution of the language and structure of the judgments of the Supreme Court since the early 1970s. A secondary objective is to determine whether the present-day judgments of the Supreme Court are consistent with the language-related criteria set forth by law as well as current ideas on what constitutes plain and easy-to-understand language. To answer these questions, five Supreme Court judgments from each decade, starting with the 1970s and going up to and including the 2020s, have been analyzed. The five judgments from the first half of the 2020s have then been compared with the legal rules pertaining to the writing of judgments as well as the current ideas regarding what constitutes plain and easy-to-understand language.
The results of the analysis show that the Supreme Court judgments have undergone comprehensive modernization during the time period. Between the early 1970s and the late 1990s most of the changes concerned micro aspects of the texts such as discontinued use of antiquated vocabulary and overly formal sentence structures. Starting during the 2000s, a shift towards changes concerning macro aspects of the texts can be observed as the judgments take on a more clearly defined and thematic structure, paragraphing becomes more refined, and informative headings are implemented. Summaries and information that guides the reader are also increasingly used to provide an easier reading experience, in particular in the later judgments from the 2000s and forward. Thus, compared to the early judgments of the 1970s the language of the judgments from the 2020s is more accessible, the information is structured in a more logical and systematic way with easy-to-understand headers, and there is a greater emphasis on the needs of the recipient which is reflected in the increased use of summaries and information that helps guide the reader through the text among other things.
The comparison with the legal requirements on the language of judgments—in particular the provision of the language act that “[t]he language of the public sector is to be cultivated, simple and comprehensible”—shows that the present-day judgments of the Supreme Court fulfill all relevant requirements set forth by law. Similarly, the Court’s present-day judgments are found to be consistent with the current ideas regarding what constitutes plain and easy-to-understand language—a concept which has evolved and taken on a more comprehensive meaning since the 1970s. A certain margin for further innovation is found to exists, though, with regards to the potential for incorporating non-textual elements that complement the text and increase readability. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9179277
- author
- Eveson-Videpil, Jacob LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- The Use of Plain and Easy-to-understand Language by the Supreme Court of Sweden — An Analysis of the Language and Structure of Supreme Court Judgments from 1971 to 2024
- course
- JURM02 20242
- year
- 2024
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- rättsvetenskap, rättshistoria, klarspråk, domskrivning, Högsta domstolen, språklig utformning, språklagen, språklig analys
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9179277
- date added to LUP
- 2025-01-13 16:03:22
- date last changed
- 2025-01-13 16:03:22
@misc{9179277,
abstract = {{Since the 1970s there has been an ongoing public discussion in Sweden centered around efforts to modernize the language of the public sector. In 2008 an official report about communication between courts of law and citizens highlighted the necessity of improving the language of judgements and decisions, sparking further discussions and action. Since then, the courts have been actively working to promote the use of plain and easy-to-understand language in judgments and decisions by formulating common strategies and encouraging judges to discuss and share ideas related to judgment writing and other related topics. So far, however, the public discussion has mainly been concerned with the judgments of lower courts, and little has been said about the language of the Supreme Court of Sweden.
The objective of the present thesis is to broaden the scope of the discussion about the language in judgments and decisions by elucidating the evolution of the language and structure of the judgments of the Supreme Court since the early 1970s. A secondary objective is to determine whether the present-day judgments of the Supreme Court are consistent with the language-related criteria set forth by law as well as current ideas on what constitutes plain and easy-to-understand language. To answer these questions, five Supreme Court judgments from each decade, starting with the 1970s and going up to and including the 2020s, have been analyzed. The five judgments from the first half of the 2020s have then been compared with the legal rules pertaining to the writing of judgments as well as the current ideas regarding what constitutes plain and easy-to-understand language.
The results of the analysis show that the Supreme Court judgments have undergone comprehensive modernization during the time period. Between the early 1970s and the late 1990s most of the changes concerned micro aspects of the texts such as discontinued use of antiquated vocabulary and overly formal sentence structures. Starting during the 2000s, a shift towards changes concerning macro aspects of the texts can be observed as the judgments take on a more clearly defined and thematic structure, paragraphing becomes more refined, and informative headings are implemented. Summaries and information that guides the reader are also increasingly used to provide an easier reading experience, in particular in the later judgments from the 2000s and forward. Thus, compared to the early judgments of the 1970s the language of the judgments from the 2020s is more accessible, the information is structured in a more logical and systematic way with easy-to-understand headers, and there is a greater emphasis on the needs of the recipient which is reflected in the increased use of summaries and information that helps guide the reader through the text among other things.
The comparison with the legal requirements on the language of judgments—in particular the provision of the language act that “[t]he language of the public sector is to be cultivated, simple and comprehensible”—shows that the present-day judgments of the Supreme Court fulfill all relevant requirements set forth by law. Similarly, the Court’s present-day judgments are found to be consistent with the current ideas regarding what constitutes plain and easy-to-understand language—a concept which has evolved and taken on a more comprehensive meaning since the 1970s. A certain margin for further innovation is found to exists, though, with regards to the potential for incorporating non-textual elements that complement the text and increase readability.}},
author = {{Eveson-Videpil, Jacob}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Klarspråk i Högsta domstolen – En analys av den språkliga utformningen av Högsta domstolens domar under perioden 1971–2024}},
year = {{2024}},
}