The Supreme Court
To have your case tried by an impartial
court is a fundamental right. The general courts
comprise District Courts, Courts of Appeal and
the Supreme Court. Criminal cases, family-related
cases and disputes between companies or private
individuals are settled here. The Supreme Court
is the highest judicial body for such cases and
the decisions of the Court cannot be appealed.
The main assignment of the Supreme Court is to
create landmark guidance decisions.
What does the Supreme Court do?
The main function of the Supreme Court is
to settle cases referred from the Courts of
Appeal. The cases establish a precedent for
similar cases in the future – and they are
referred to as “landmark cases”. The Court
also tries rehearing and appeals of miscarriage of justice.
There are 16 judges at the Supreme Court. They
are referred to as “Justices of the Supreme Court”.
The justices are appointed by government and
their main function is to deliver judgments and
decisions. In their work they are assisted by jurists
known as judge referees. The judge referees deal
with the cases and present proposals for judgments and decisions. In addition, court secretaries, human resources administrators, accounts
administrators and other administrative officials
work at the Court.
The most common types of cases
The Supreme Court settles different kinds of
cases which have been appealed from the Courts
of Appeal. Criminal and civil cases are the most
common types of cases.
Criminal cases entail, for example, crimes of
violence, theft, drugs, tax and traffic.
Civil cases entail two or more parties that do not
agree. Disputes concerning money are common,
as are disputes concerning family law, for example,
custody cases or interpretations of a will.
The Supreme Court
6 Courts
of Appeal
48 District Courts
The Supreme Court is the highest body for
appeals of civil and criminal cases which
have been settled by the Courts of Appeal.
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The assignment of the Supreme Court is guidance
“Through our judgements we provide guidance to District Courts and Courts of Appeal
as well as lawyers and prosecutors on how to
apply the law”, explains Marianne Lundius,
President of the Supreme Court and one of
Sweden’s Justices of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is the final body for cases
which have been settled in the Courts of Appeal
and have been granted leave to appeal. Criminal
cases which have been appealed by the Office of
the Chancellor of Justice and the Parliamentary
Ombudsmen are also decided here. The Supreme
Court receives approximately 6,000 appealed
cases for evaluation of leave to appeal each year
and around 100 cases are granted leave to appeal.
“For
an appealed judgment to be granted
a hearing the case must contribute to
strengthening the legal security.”
When can you get leave to appeal?
“The Supreme Court can grant leave to appeal
when we assess that an appealed case can serve
as guidance to other bodies on how they should
adjudicate future and similar cases. It is not
sufficient that the party making the appeal is of the opinion
that the Court of Appeal has
judged incorrectly in the case.
Consequently, most of the cases
which we receive are not granted
leave to appeal and the judgment
Marianne Lundius is President and
Administrative Head of the roughly
100 employees at the Supreme Court.
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of the Court of Appeal stands firm”, Marianne
Lundius explains.
What happens when leave to appeal is granted?
“If the case is taken up for hearing the parties in
the case may express themselves in writing about
this”, explains Marianne Lundius. “Both parties
are also given the opportunity to submit additional documents which can be decisive for the
verdict. The Court may also seek assistance by
experts and other agencies.”
Marianne Lundius also says that only 20 hearings per year are held.
“Most cases are dealt with through written procedure. After processing the case is determined
by five Justices of the Supreme Court. Neither
the parties nor an audience may be present then”,
she says. “When the Supreme Court has deliberated and determined the case then the judgment
cannot be appealed.”
New trial in concluded cases
In addition to deciding on leave to appeal, the
Supreme Court can examine whether concluded
cases should be retried in the Court of Appeal
following a petition for a new trial.
“It is very rare that a case gets a new trial. This
only happens if new important evidence or new
decisive circumstances have emerged. If a case in
a District Court or Court of Appeal has not been
appealed or has not been granted leave to appeal
in the Supreme Court, the judgment of the Court
of Appeal applies.”
New trial
After a certain time a verdict from a Court of
Appeal can no longer be tried in the Supreme
Court. But in cases where new important
evidence or new decisive circumstances have
emerged the Supreme Court has the power
to annul the judgment of the lower court and
decide that the case should be tried again in
the Court of Appeal. This is very rare.
Miscarriage of justice
If a gross procedural error has been committed the Supreme Court can annul the
judgment of the lower court and decide that
the case should be tried again in the Court of
Appeal.
Restitution of time lost
After a certain time a verdict from a Court of
Appeal can no longer be tried in the Supreme
Court. But in certain cases where there is a
valid reason the Supreme Court can extend
the time to appeal.
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Additional functions of the Supreme Court
More time for the appeal
“If a gross procedural error has been committed,
that is, if the Court of Appeal has made a very
serious procedural error, the case can be tried
again. The Supreme Court then annuls the judgment of the Court of Appeal, after an appeal of
miscarriage of justice”, says Marianne Lundius.
“We are also responsible for cases where a
foreign state requests extradition of a person from
Sweden. Another function of the Court is to
examine the Disciplinary Board’s decisions where
lawyers have been disbarred from the Swedish
Bar Association or had their application for
becoming a lawyer rejected.”
Decisions by the Court of Appeal should be
appealed within a certain specified time.
“If you fail to submit an appeal within the
time specified, we can decide on a new time
for the appeal. A valid reason may be a serious
illness or another unpredictable event which has
prevented the person from appealing on time.
This is referred to as restitution of time lost. It is
very important that you have the opportunity to
try your case in the court”, Marianne Lundius
concludes. n
The Supreme Court is situated
in Bondeska Palatset, Riddarhustorget, Stockholm.
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What is the cost of the legal process?
The same rules for litigation costs apply for all
instances. However, to file an appeal or to request
leave to appeal is free of charge. Appointing a legal
councel, on the other hand, generates a cost which
you incur. If the appeal is rejected, you also risk
having to pay for the costs incurred by the counter-party. If the case is granted leave to appeal and
taken up for hearing in the Supreme Court, the principle is the same as in the lower courts – the losing
party normally has to pay the costs of both parties.
Transparency
In accordance with the principle of public access to
official records, everyone is entitled to access public
documents, for example, judgments and decisions.
Nevertheless, certain pieces of information in the
documents may be protected by secrecy. As a rule,
hearings in court are public and those who are interested may come and listen. However, in the Supreme
Court the majority of cases are dealt with through
written procedure, and hearings are not so common.
The justices’ deliberations are not open to the public.
Guidance judgments
You can access the judgments of the Supreme Court
in different ways. The judgments are published in
book form, Nytt juridiskt arkiv (New law archives).
You can also read guidance judgments on the websites www.hogstadomstolen.se/Avgoranden and on
www.lagrummet.se.
The judgments of the Supreme Court
are published in Nytt juridiskt arkiv
(New law archives).
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The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body for civil and
The judgments of the Supreme Court are important because
they provide guidance on how similar cases in the future should be
assessed by the general courts and the rest of the judicial system.
www.hogstadomstolen.se
www.domstol.se
Courts of Appeal.
The Swedish National Courts Administration/www.shepherdreklam.se Photo: CJ Erikson, Per Carlsson Print: Edita Bobergs AB, Falun Registration number: 1737-2012 | November 2014
criminal cases and matters which have been settled by the