tilltalad

Tilltalad is a Swedish term used primarily in criminal law. It derives from tilltala, meaning to address or speak to, and the form tilltalad can function as an adjective or as a noun. In legal usage, tilltalad most commonly refers to the defendant—the person who has been charged with a crime. The standard expression in court is den tilltalade.

In a Swedish criminal case, the prosecutor väcker åtal mot den tilltalade. The tilltalade has rights typical of a defendant, including the right to legal counsel, the right to present and challenge evidence, and the right to be heard in court. The proceedings aim to determine guilt or innocence and to determine any appropriate penalties, in accordance with Swedish criminal procedure. The term appears regularly in official filings, court decisions, and legal commentary.

Outside the courtroom, tilltalad can be used in a broader sense to mean “addressed to” or “spoken to,” but this sense is less common in modern everyday Swedish and is more often seen in literary or historical contexts.

Etymologically, tilltalad is the past participle form of tilltala, with the grammatical shift to a definite noun phrase in legal language. The definite form den tilltalade is the standard way to refer to the person charged, while the indefinite form is rarely used in practice. In summary, tilltalad is a principal legal term for the defendant in Swedish criminal proceedings, as well as a general descriptor meaning “addressed to” in non-legal contexts.