Lag och rätt (law and justice): our walkthrough of chapter 5 of UHR’s Sverige i fokus

The fundamental laws and legal certainty

Sweden has four fundamental laws (grundlagar): the Instrument of Government (regeringsformen), the Freedom of the Press Act (tryckfrihetsförordningen), the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen) and the Act of Succession (successionsordningen). The Instrument of Government describes the roles of the riksdag and the government. It states that the people are the source of all public power, and it contains people’s basic freedoms and rights. The right to be out in nature, allemansrätten, is part of it. The Act of Succession decides who becomes the next head of state, that is, king or queen.

Free speech is protected by two fundamental laws, one for printed text and one for other media. Freedom of expression is wide, but it has a limit. Defaming or insulting an individual or a population group is forbidden. Defamation (förtal) and agitation against a population group (hets mot folkgrupp) are crimes.

Legal certainty (rättssäkerhet) means that the state must treat everyone by the same rules. No one is convicted until the evidence has been properly examined, and anyone who is accused has the right to a defence lawyer and a fair trial. No politician can interfere in how a court judges.

From crime to prosecution

When a crime has been committed, the police investigate it and gather evidence. After that it is the prosecutor, who works at the Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten), who decides whether the evidence is enough to bring charges and take the case to court.

The police have other tasks too. For example, they issue passports and national ID cards if you are a Swedish citizen, and they give permits for things such as demonstrations.

If a suspect is taken into custody (anhållen), the person may only be locked up for a short time. If the person is to be held longer, it is a court that decides on remand (häktning).

The courts

The courts are arranged in three levels. A criminal case begins in the district court (tingsrätten), which is the first instance. The court of appeal (hovrätten) reviews cases that have been appealed from there, and the Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen) takes up only certain important cases.

To appeal a judgment (överklaga) means to ask a higher court to review the case once more. The case then moves upward, from the district court to the court of appeal and in some cases on to the Supreme Court.

In the district court the judge rules together with lay judges (nämndemän). The lay judges are ordinary citizens appointed by the political parties. The idea is that citizens should be able to see how a court works.

The trial

A person suspected of a crime counts as innocent until a court has convicted them. Being charged is only a claim. It is the prosecutor who must prove that the accused is guilty.

The roles in the trial are divided. The prosecutor presents the evidence and the defence lawyer questions it. The judge listens to both sides and then decides whether the accused is guilty.

After the judgment

Responsibility is shared in turn: first the investigation, then the charge and trial, and finally the Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården). It takes over when the judgment has been given and is responsible for the prisons and for making sure that the convicted person serves the sentence.

A person sentenced for certain crimes is entered in the criminal record (belastningsregistret). Such an entry can cause problems later, for example when you look for a job, get a driving licence or apply for Swedish citizenship.