The judicial system of Sweden consists of the law of Sweden and a number of government agencies tasked with upholding security and rule of law within the country.[1] The activities of these agencies include police and law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and prisons and other correctional services.
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Sweden has a penal law system and a civil law system with laws created by the Parliament of Sweden. However, Sweden also has an extensive system of "droit administratif".
The role of judicial review of legislation is not practiced by the courts; instead the Council on Legislation gives non-binding opinions on legality.[2] There is no stare decisis in that courts are not bound by precedent, although it is influential.[3]
The main body for law enforcement in Sweden is the Swedish Police Service (Polisen). The entire police service is under the national government; since January 1, 1965, there is no municipal police in Sweden.
The courts are divided into two parallel and separate systems, general courts (allmänna domstolar) for criminal and civil cases, and general administrative courts (allmänna förvaltningsdomstolar) for administrative cases.[4] Each of these systems has three tiers, where the top tier court of the respective system typically only will hear cases that may become precedent.
General courts:
General administrative courts:
There are also a number of special courts, which will hear a narrower set of cases, as set down by legislation. While independent in their rulings, some of these courts are operated as divisions within courts of the general or general administrative courts. The special courts usually have a one-tier or two-tier system.
A number of tribunals (nämnder) are also very similar to special courts in the way they operate:
Other examples of tribunals (nämnder):
The district coursts (tingsrätt) are the instances to appeal against certain resolutions by authorities like Bolagsverket, Överförmyndare, Kronofogdemyndigheten, Lantmäteriet and the police (Polisen). Likewise an administrative court (förvaltningsrätt) can overthrow a taxation made by the tax authorities (Skatteverket).
Swedish prosecutors are lawyers who are employed by the Swedish Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten) and who direct the work of the police in cases concerning severe criminality. In all criminal cases, the prosecutors make decisions concerning arrests and charges on behalf of the public, and are the only public officials who can make such decisions - there is a possibility, rarely used, for private individuals to present a private prosecution (enskilt åtal) as well. (The exception is cases concerning crimes against the freedom of the press, for which the Chancellor of Justice acts as prosecutor.) In court, the prosecutor is not necessarily in an adversarial relationship to the defendant, but is under an obligation to investigate and present information which is to the advantage of the defendant as well as to his or her disadvantage. He is not a member of the bench, nor does he participate in the private deliberations of the court.
The prosecutor is also the only public official who can decide to appeal cases to courts of appeal. (As well as the defence, victims, their representatives and other parties to the case (målsäganden) can also appeal.) When a case has been decided by a court of appeal, the right to appeal to the Supreme Court passes from the prosecutor of the individual case to the Prosecutor General (Riksåklagaren).
In Sweden, lay judges (nämndemän, also known as lay assessors) sit alongside professional judges as triers of fact in district and appellate general and administrative courts, but decide virtually no civil cases.[6][7] Lay judges are always in the majority in district courts, whereas the professional judges are in the majority in the appellate courts.
Municipal assemblies appoint lay judges for the district courts and the county councils appoint lay judges for the appellate and county administrative courts.[6] Lay judges are usually politicians from the local authority from which they are appointed, appointed in proportion to political party representation at the last local elections.[8][9] Typically, a lay judge will serve one day per month in court during his or her tenure. The use of lay judges in Sweden goes back to Medieval times.
In press libel cases and other cases concerning offenses against freedom of the press, the question of whether or not the printed material falls outside permissible limits is submitted to a jury of 9 members which provides a pre-screening before the case is ruled on by normal courts. In these cases 6 out of 9 jurors must find against the defendant, and may not be overruled in cases of acquittal.
The Prison and Probation Service is the government agency handling prisons in Sweden.
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