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Sweden Courts Overview:
Sweden has a three-tiered hierarchy of general courts; the
district courts, the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court.
Appeals against judgments of district courts can normally be
carried to a court of appeal. Appeals against the decision of
courts of appeal can be carried to the Supreme Court. However,
the possibility of having an appeal heard in the Supreme Court
is subject to special permission, such permission being given
only if it is important for enforcement of the law that the
appeal should be heard by the Supreme Court. The majority of
cases are resolved by summary sentences and fines.
Sweden Judicial and Prosecutorial Process:
Rights of the accused at trial. It is the task of the
prosecutor to prove that the accused is guilty beyond reasonable
doubt. The accused do not need to prove that they are innocent.
There are no jury trials. A decision to prosecute cannot be
taken unless the suspect and his counsel has been informed of
the suspicion and have had an opportunity to read and comment on
the records as long as this can be done without harming the
investigation. The accused are initially tried by a panel of a
professional judge, who always is a trained jurist or lawyer,
and three or five lay judges. In higher courts all panels
consist of professional judges.
Assistance to the accused. If necessary the court is required
to ensure that the accused is provided with the assistance of a
public defense counsel. Such a counsel is appointed by the
court. Counsel for the defense must be a trained lawyer and a
member of the Swedish Bar Association and is remunerated for his
assistance to the defendant out of public funds. However, if the
defendant is well off, he or she may be ordered to pay these
costs if convicted. The defendant may, if he or she wishes,
appoint a private counsel. There is no requirement that private
counsel have legal training.
Preparatory procedures for bringing a suspect to trial. The
basic prosecutorial and judicial process can be described in the
following stages. If there are reasons to believe that a
criminal offense under public prosecution has been committed, a
pre-trial investigation should be initiated to find out who is
reasonably suspected of the crime and if there is sufficient
evidence to prosecute him or her. The police or the public
prosecutor initiate the pre-trial investigation. During the
investigation every fact must be taken into consideration,
whether it is in a suspect's favor or against. Normally the
police carry out the pre-trial investigation, but, as soon as
someone is reasonably suspected of the crime, the prosecutor
takes over the case. However, the prosecutor has the right to
assume control of the case at any stage in the pre-trial
investigation if it is deemed advisable.
Official who conducts prosecution. When the pre-trial
investigation has been completed the public prosecutor decides
whether to press charges or not. It is the prosecutor's duty to
prosecute everyone who is reasonably suspected of having
committed a crime and the prosecutor's judgement is that there
is enough evidence to expect the court to find the suspect
guilty.
Alternatives to trial. Exceptions will often be made for
juvenile offenders but in these cases, before a waiver of
prosecution, the prosecutor is normally required to get in touch
with the social welfare authorities and see to it that
appropriate action will be taken. Also, for less serious
offenses the prosecutor may decide, if the offender agrees to
this, that the case will be resolved by a summary fine and not
taken to trial. There is no plea bargaining and the accused
cannot plead guilty to a lesser offence.
Proportion of prosecuted cases going to trial. Since there is
no plea bargaining, all persons prosecuted for a crime that
carries a prison sentence must stand trial.
Pre-trial incarceration conditions. The public prosecutor
decides whether a suspect is to be kept under arrest. Twelve
hours is the maximum period for which a suspect can be held
without a warrant of arrest. The statuary maximum time for
arrest is 48 hours. A request for a pre-trial detention order is
normally made the same day as the arrest but in extreme cases
this time may be extended to, but no longer than, the third day
after the arrest. Decisions to retain a person in detention are
made by the court after hearing the issue at hand; the suspect,
his counsel and the prosecutor are all present at this hearing.
Normally, following a request for pre-trial detention, the court
should, on the same day hold a session to decide on detention
but never more than four days should pass from the day the
suspect was arrested. If the court decides to remand someone in
custody it shall at the same time set a date on which the person
shall be presented to the court. A person can be detained only
if he or she is suspected of an offense punishable by
imprisonment for a year or more and it is likely that he or she
will either flee or destroy evidence. An exception can be made
to these requirements for detention if the suspect is not
domiciled in Sweden and there is a risk that he or she will flee
the country.
Bail procedures. Sweden has no bail.
Swedish Police
The Swedish training of police is carried out by the National
Police College in Stockholm. There are basically two careers:
one for uniformed police officers and one for criminal
investigators. The qualifications for a new police officer
recruit includes Swedish citizenship, a high school education, a
minimum of one year work experience outside the police, good
health and a suitable body for police work, a drivers license,
the ability to swim, and having reached the age of 20 by or
during the year of application. In August 1994, 5,812 persons
applied for police officer training and of these 191 were
accepted, 51 of whom were females. For a position as a criminal
investigator a university degree in law is required. In 1991 700
persons applied to the police commissioner training program and
30 were accepted. The training for police officer recruits is
for three years including 10 months basic training at the police
college, followed by 18 months as a trainee at one of the 117
police districts, and concluded with five months final training
at the police college. The training for police commissioner
recruits lasts three years and includes theoretical studies at
the Police College covering police work, analysis and planning,
administration and workplace psychology. It also entails working
as a trainee in all areas of the criminal justice system
including the police, courts and prosecutors.
Use of force. One of the powers of police officers in
accordance with the Police Act, is use of force. A policeman
may, to the extent other means are inadequate and when
defensible in the circumstances, use force to carry out an
action in the course of his duty, if (1) he is faced with
violence or threat of violence, (2) someone who is to be
detained, arrested or otherwise deprived of his freedom with the
support of the law tries to escape or the policeman is otherwise
faced with resistance when he is to deprive a person of freedom
in this manner (3) it is a question of warding off a punishable
act or danger to life, health or valuable property or extensive
damage to the environment, (4) a policeman, with the support of
the law, is to expel or remove a person from a certain area or
space or execute or assist in a personal search or other similar
measure in connection with confiscation or other retention of
property or in connection with the type of search referred to in
the Code of Judicial Procedure, (5) the policeman must in some
other manner and with the support of the law gain access to,
cordon off, seal, or evacuate a building, room or area, assist
someone in the exercise of authority by means of such an action
or a similar one or in the case of foreclosure, in accordance
with procedure, or (6) the measure, in another case, is
unavoidably necessary for maintenance of general order or safety
and it is obvious that this cannot be carried out without
force(1984:387).
Stop/apprehend a suspect. Any person, who on probable
grounds, is suspected of a crime for which one years'
imprisonment or more is prescribed, may be detained if, taking
into account the nature of the crime, the situation of the
suspect or some other circumstance, there is a risk that he will
abscond or otherwise evade legal proceedings, remove evidence or
hinder the investigation, or continue his criminal activity.
Suspects cannot be detained for crimes for which it is assumed
that the suspect will be sentenced to pay a fine, other than in
special cases, such as the suspect refusing to give his name,
giving a false name or having no residence in the country and
where it may be assumed that he might leave the country. An
unknown person who it may be assumed is wanted by the police may
be taken in for identification. The Code of Judicial Procedure
chapter 24 is the source of this information.
Decision to arrest. When a policeman receives information
about a crime that falls under general prosecution, he must
submit a report on this to his supervisor as soon as possible. A
policeman may grant report concession in certain cases in
accordance with rules announced by the Government. This applies
in the first place to crimes where the sanctions would be no
harsher than fines and the crime is of an insignificant
character.
Search and seizure. Searches may take place if it may be
suspected that a crime has been committed for which one year's
imprisonment may be the punishment and objects are to be
searched for that are to be confiscated or otherwise used in the
investigation. The search is announced by the head of
investigation, the prosecutor or the court. A policeman may
undertake a search without a decision as above, if there is
danger. A policeman may also perform a body search of the
suspect if 1) crime has been committed that may lead to
imprisonment, or 2) an object may be confiscated which may have
significance for the investigation. A body search may take place
if it may be assumed that the suspect possesses weapons or other
dangerous objects, or in order to confirm his identity. For
specific statutory guidelines see the Code of Judicial
Procedure, chapter 28.
Confessions. Confession is never binding. All alleged
offenders must stand trial.
Sweden Extradition and Treaties:
Extradition. A person who is suspected, accused or found
guilty of a punishable act by a foreign state and is staying in
Sweden may, by government decision, be extradited to that state
in accordance with the act 1957:668. According to this act, the
crime must have been perpetrated wholly or partly in Sweden. The
act must be equivalent to a crime for which Swedish law
prescribes at least one year's imprisonment. Swedish nationals
may not be extradited, nor may persons who have committed
political crimes or who risk being subject to persecution owing
to political or religious affiliation. According to the European
Extradition Convention agreements apply between the following
countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
UK, Israel. Otherwise the following extradition agreements apply
between Sweden and Belgium and Sweden and non-European
countries: USA, Australia, Canada and areas under the
responsibility of the UK.
Specific conditions. Within the Nordic countries special
agreements apply. Swedish citizens may under certain
circumstances be extradited to another Nordic country in
accordance with act 1959:254 and for political crimes if the act
has any equivalent in Swedish law. In principle these European
conventions apply: The European Extradition Convention of 13
Dec. 1957. The European Convention of 28 May 1970 on the
international legal consequences of criminal sentences. Transfer
of legal proceedings in criminal cases, act 15 May 1972. |
