Emotions in court

The purpose is to study emotions and emotion management in Swedish courts. It is often assumed that emotions do not belong in bureaucracy and administration to disrupt the principle of "impartiality and objectivity". However, we base ourselves on research that has shown that emotions and rational action are not opposite but intertwined and see "impartiality and objectivity" as directives for how emotions should be handled, rather than expressions that emotions do not matter. Previous research on emotions and law in the UK, the US and Australia shows that the justice system is directly and indirectly related to emotions. The feelings of the perpetrators and victims are weighed into the assessments, as well as general perceptions of how emotions can affect criminal acts.