Dolus eventualis - 15 år senare

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this essay is to investigate the disappearance of dolus eventualis from the Swedish legal system, and if the legislator’s intentions have been fulfilled. To do so, one must understand the origin of dolus eventualis, its effects and the problems that arose therewith. A comparison has then been made with the current intent of indifference to find out if the legal application differs from the previous legal situation. The results of this comparison have then been analysed and discussed. For nearly half a century, dolus eventualis with a hypothetical test constituted the lower limit of intent in Swedish law. This construction of intent was widely debated and criticized already when it was introduced but was not replaced until 2004 by the intent of indifference, which still is in force today. The criticism was based on the fact that this construction of intent was very theoretical and permeated by theories from the second half of the 19th century, making it difficult to apply and understand when assessed by the courts. The two constructions of intent are similar in many aspects, but the intent of indifference has shifted the assessment from the criminal to the criminal act.This has led to more appropriate and structured assessments, and an increased legal certainty. As a result of this many of the problems that characterized the dolus eventualis do not exist with the current applicable law; however, the intent of indifference still needs to be developed and clarified. This development should clarify the importance of the indicators of indifference and the defendant’s supposition for the assessment of indifference.