Ordets makt i rätten - Bevisvärdering i sexualbrottsmål där muntliga utsagor står i centrum
(2025) LAGF03 20251Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Sexualbrott är en brottstyp som präglas av betydande bevissvårigheter. I många fall saknas teknisk bevisning eller vittnesiakttagelser, vilket innebär att domstolens bedömning i hög grad vilar på parternas muntliga utsagor. Dessutom präglas sexualbrott av ett lågt lagföringsutfall och ett stort mörkertal, vilket gör rättsområdet särskilt angeläget att undersöka. Frågan är vad detta beror på, och hur domstolen hanterar dessa mål.
Mot bakgrund av detta undersöker denna uppsats hur svenska domstolar genom trovärdighets- och tillförlitlighetsbedömningar i sexualbrottsmål där bevisningen huvudsakligen består av parternas utsagor. Den behandlar även hur dessa bedömningar förhåller sig till rättssäkerhet. Inom svensk rätt gäller prin-cipen om... (More) - Sexualbrott är en brottstyp som präglas av betydande bevissvårigheter. I många fall saknas teknisk bevisning eller vittnesiakttagelser, vilket innebär att domstolens bedömning i hög grad vilar på parternas muntliga utsagor. Dessutom präglas sexualbrott av ett lågt lagföringsutfall och ett stort mörkertal, vilket gör rättsområdet särskilt angeläget att undersöka. Frågan är vad detta beror på, och hur domstolen hanterar dessa mål.
Mot bakgrund av detta undersöker denna uppsats hur svenska domstolar genom trovärdighets- och tillförlitlighetsbedömningar i sexualbrottsmål där bevisningen huvudsakligen består av parternas utsagor. Den behandlar även hur dessa bedömningar förhåller sig till rättssäkerhet. Inom svensk rätt gäller prin-cipen om fri bevisvärdering, och det saknas närmare lagreglering för hur bevisvärderingen ska genomföras. Detta rättsliga tomrum fylls delvis av HD:s praxis, vilket gör en analys av rättsfall central för att förstå hur bedömningarna sker i praktiken.
Med rättsdogmatisk metod som utgångspunkt analyseras rättspraxis och doktrin, med fokus på avgöranden såsom NJA 2009 s. 447 II och NJA 2010 s. 671. Även det uppmärksammade fallet mot Jean-Claude Arnault behandlas, i syfte att belysa bevisvärderingens tillämpning i praktiken och hur instanser kan värdera samma bevismaterial olika.
Analysen behandlar bland annat stödbevisningens betydelse, oskyldighetspresumtionen, icke-verbala uttryck och domstolens tolkningsutrymme. Uppsatsen visar att trots HD:s försök att skapa vägledning kvarstår betydande osäkerhet inom flera områden. Det stora tolkningsutrymmet påverkar rättssäker-heten för både målsäganden och tilltalad, och skapar dessutom en osäkerhet för domstolarna själva i hur bevisvärderingen bör genomföras. Sammantaget visar uppsatsen att det råder ett behov av ökad rättslig vägledning för att säkerställa en mer förutsebar och rättssäker tillämpning i mål som präglas av muntlig bevisning och djup bevisosäkerhet. (Less) - Abstract
- Sexual offences are characterised by significant evidentiary challenges. In many cases, there is a lack of technical evidence or eyewitnesses, meaning that the court’s assessment largely relies on the parties’ oral statements. Combined with a low prosecution rate and a large number of unreported cases, this makes the legal area particularly important to examine. It raises questions about how credibility and reliability are actually assessed in practice, and what rule of law issues may arise in so-called word-against-word situations.
This thesis investigates how Swedish courts conduct credibility and reliability assessments in sexual offence cases where the evidence primarily consists of oral statements. Under Swedish law, the principle... (More) - Sexual offences are characterised by significant evidentiary challenges. In many cases, there is a lack of technical evidence or eyewitnesses, meaning that the court’s assessment largely relies on the parties’ oral statements. Combined with a low prosecution rate and a large number of unreported cases, this makes the legal area particularly important to examine. It raises questions about how credibility and reliability are actually assessed in practice, and what rule of law issues may arise in so-called word-against-word situations.
This thesis investigates how Swedish courts conduct credibility and reliability assessments in sexual offence cases where the evidence primarily consists of oral statements. Under Swedish law, the principle of free evaluation of evidence applies, and there are no detailed statutory rules regulating how such evaluation should be carried out. This legal gap is partially filled by case law from the Supreme Court, making the analysis of precedent central to understanding how these assessments are made in practice.
Applying a legal dogmatic method, the thesis analyses case law and legal doctrine, with a focus on decisions such as NJA 2009 p. 447 II and NJA 2010 p. 671. The widely publicised case against Jean-Claude Arnault is also examined to illustrate how courts apply evidentiary principles in practice and how different courts may assess the same material differently.
The analysis addresses the role of corroborative evidence, the presumption of innocence, non-verbal behaviour, and the courts’ interpretive discretion. The study concludes that, despite attempts by the Supreme Court of Sweden to provide guidance, considerable uncertainty remains. The wide margin of interpretation affects legal certainty for both complainants and defendants and creates uncertainty even for courts when conducting evidentiary assessments. Overall, the thesis shows a need for increased legal guidance to ensure a more predictable and legally secure application of evidentiary principles in cases characterised by oral evidence and evidentiary ambiguity. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9190683
- author
- Berggren, Elin LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Straffrätt, processrätt, sexualbrott
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9190683
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-23 12:12:50
- date last changed
- 2025-06-23 12:12:50
@misc{9190683,
abstract = {{Sexual offences are characterised by significant evidentiary challenges. In many cases, there is a lack of technical evidence or eyewitnesses, meaning that the court’s assessment largely relies on the parties’ oral statements. Combined with a low prosecution rate and a large number of unreported cases, this makes the legal area particularly important to examine. It raises questions about how credibility and reliability are actually assessed in practice, and what rule of law issues may arise in so-called word-against-word situations.
This thesis investigates how Swedish courts conduct credibility and reliability assessments in sexual offence cases where the evidence primarily consists of oral statements. Under Swedish law, the principle of free evaluation of evidence applies, and there are no detailed statutory rules regulating how such evaluation should be carried out. This legal gap is partially filled by case law from the Supreme Court, making the analysis of precedent central to understanding how these assessments are made in practice.
Applying a legal dogmatic method, the thesis analyses case law and legal doctrine, with a focus on decisions such as NJA 2009 p. 447 II and NJA 2010 p. 671. The widely publicised case against Jean-Claude Arnault is also examined to illustrate how courts apply evidentiary principles in practice and how different courts may assess the same material differently.
The analysis addresses the role of corroborative evidence, the presumption of innocence, non-verbal behaviour, and the courts’ interpretive discretion. The study concludes that, despite attempts by the Supreme Court of Sweden to provide guidance, considerable uncertainty remains. The wide margin of interpretation affects legal certainty for both complainants and defendants and creates uncertainty even for courts when conducting evidentiary assessments. Overall, the thesis shows a need for increased legal guidance to ensure a more predictable and legally secure application of evidentiary principles in cases characterised by oral evidence and evidentiary ambiguity.}},
author = {{Berggren, Elin}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Ordets makt i rätten - Bevisvärdering i sexualbrottsmål där muntliga utsagor står i centrum}},
year = {{2025}},
}