National laws on children's rights
Status of the CRC in National Law
The Swedish legal and constitutional tradition is such that international conventions are implemented in national law by amending legislation to meet the requirements of the agreement rather than making them directly applicable. As such, the Convention on the Rights of the Child can only be applied in Sweden insofar as its principles and provisions have been enacted in domestic legislation. The Convention can be cited in Swedish courts.
Constitution: The Swedish Constitution is made up of four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government, the Act of Succession, The Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression. The Instrument of Government contains a number of rights provisions that apply to citizens regardless of age, but also two provisions that specifically address the rights of children:
- Art. 7: contains provisions related to the determination of the nationality of children
- Art. 18: provides that all children covered by compulsory schooling are entitled to free basic education in the public education system
Legislation: Swedish law does not have a comprehensive Children's Act, though it does have a small number of Codes and Acts that address broad areas of the law relevant to children's rights. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:
- The Penal Code (1962:700)
- The Children and Parents Code (1949:381)
- The Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (1990:52)
- The Children's Ombudsman Act (1993:335)
- The Act on investigations regarding children who have died as a consequence of crime (2007:606)
- The Act Prohibiting Discrimination and Other Forms of Degrading Treatment of Children and School Students (2006:67)
- The Anti-Discrimination Act (2008:567)
- The Act on health care for asylum-seekers (2008:344)
- The Social Services Act (2001:453)
Legal Research:
Swedish legislation, including the Constitution, is available in English through the website of the Swedish government (http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/3288), and the Swedish Code of Statutes is available in Swedish through the website of the Swedish Parliament (http://www.riksdagen.se/templates/R_SubStartPage____5029.aspx). Legal information is also available in Swedish through the Lagrummet website (http://www.lagrummet.se/). In addition, the GlobbaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Sweden (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Sweden1.htm), and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/sweden.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2121.html) both offer a selection of relevant government and legal research links.
Case law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Case Law Research
Case law of the Supreme Court is available in Swedish from the Court's website (http://www.hogstadomstolen.se/Templates/Pages/DV_InfoPageWide.aspx?id=4264&epslanguage=sv), but only for cases decided since 2003.
Compliance with the CRC
In its 2009 Observations on the implementation of the CRC in Swedish law, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed many legislative reforms to incorporate aspects of the Convention into national law, but expressed concern at the lack of formal recognition of the Convention. The Committee recommended that "the Convention should always prevail whenever domestic law provisions are in conflict with the law enshrined in the Convention".
In depth analysis
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has generally expressed favourable views as to the compatibility of Swedish law with the Convention, but has highlighted a small number of areas of national law as of concern. Specifically, the Committee has expressed concern at aspects of the regime of juvenile justice, in that the Care of Young People Act and the Act on the Enforcement of Closed Juvenile Care may allow for the inappropriate isolation of children in detention centres. The Committee recommended, among other things, that the legislation in this area be reviewed with a view to ensuring that solitary confinement is only imposed on children when absolutely necessary, and for periods no longer than 24 hours.
With regards to sexual exploitation and trafficking, the Committee recommended that the State consider reviewing and amending national law to abolish requirements pertaining to double criminality so as to ensure that offences relating to "sex tourism" can be consistently prosecuted in Sweden. The Committee also recommended that the State train law enforcement officials, judges and prosecutors working in this area of the law on how to monitor and investigate complaints with regards to sexual offences against children in a child-sensitive manner.
Current legal reform projects
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.
National laws on children's rights
Status of the CRC in National Law
The Swedish legal and constitutional tradition is such that international conventions are implemented in national law by amending legislation to meet the requirements of the agreement rather than making them directly applicable. As such the Convention on the Rights of the Child can only be applied in Sweden insofar as its principles and provisions have been enacted in domestic legislation.
Constitution: the Swedish Constitution is made up of four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government, the Act of Succession, The Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression. The Instrument of Government contains a number of rights provisions that apply to citizens regardless of age, but also two provisions that specifically address the rights of children:
-
Art. 7: contains provisions related to the determination of the nationality of children
-
Art. 18: provides that all children covered by compulsory schooling are entitled to free basic education in the public education system
Legislation: Swedish law does not have a comprehensive Children's Act, though it does have a small number of Codes and Acts that address broad areas of the law relevant to children's rights. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to:
-
The Penal Code (1962:700)
-
The Children and Parents Code (1949:381)
-
The Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (1990:52)
-
The Children's Ombudsman Act (1993:335)
-
The Act on investigations regarding children who have died as a consequence of crime (2007:606)
-
The Act Prohibiting Discrimination and Other Forms of Degrading Treatment of Children and School Students (2006:67)
-
The Anti-Discrimination Act (2008:567)
-
The Act on health care for asylum-seekers (2008:344)
-
The Social Services Act (2001:453)
Legal Research:
Swedish legislation, including the Constitution, is available in English through the website of the Swedish government (http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/3288) and the Swedish Code of Statutes is available in Swedish through the website of the Swedish Parliament (http://www.riksdagen.se/templates/R_SubStartPage____5029.aspx). Legal information is also available in Swedish through the Lagrummet website (http://www.lagrummet.se/).
In addition, the GlobbaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Sweden (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Sweden1.htm), and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/sweden.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2121.html) offer a selection of relevant government and legal research links.
Case law
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Case Law Research
Case law of the Supreme Court is available in Swedish from the Court's website (http://www.hogstadomstolen.se/Templates/Pages/DV_InfoPageWide.aspx?id=4264&epslanguage=sv), but only for cases decided since 2003.
Compliance with the CRC
In its 2009 Observations on implementation of the CRC into Swedish law, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed many legislative reforms to incorporate aspects of the Convention into national law, but expressed concern at the lack of formal recognition of the Convention. The Committee recommended that “the Convention should always prevail whenever domestic law provisions are in conflict with the law enshrined in the Convention”.
In depth analysis
The Committee on the Rights of the Child has generally expressed favourable views as to the compatibility of Swedish law with the Convention, but has highlighted a small number of areas of national law as of concern. Specifically, the Committee has expressed concern at aspects of the regime of juvenile justice, in that the Care of Young People Act and the Act on the Enforcement of Closed Juvenile Care may allow for the inappropriate isolation of children in detention centres. The Committee recommended, inter alia, that the legislation in this area be reviewed with a view to ensuring that solitary confinement is only imposed on children when absolutely necessary, and for periods no longer than 24 hours.
With regards to sexual exploitation and trafficking, the Committee recommended that the State consider reviewing and amending national law to abolish requirements of double criminality so as to ensure that offences relating to “sex tourism” can be consistently prosecuted in Sweden. The Committee also recommended that the State train law enforcement officials, judges and prosecutors working in this area of the law on how to monitor and investigate complaints with regards to sexual offences against children in a child-sensitive manner.
Current legal reform projects
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.
