The administrative courts of appeal in Sweden ( sv, kammarrätt) is the second tier for the
general administrative courts in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The next and final instance is the
Supreme Administrative Court ( sv, Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen). There are four administrative courts of appeal, and they mostly handle cases and other judicial issues that have already been dealt with by the
lower courts.
In addition to this, they also act as court of first instance in cases related to the
principle of public access to official records.
Organization
The territorial jurisdiction ( sv, domkrets) of the administrative courts of appeal, dividing Sweden into four court districts, is based on the geographic boundaries of several administrative courts, as prescribed by the government
1977:937. The administrative courts of appeal are:
*
Sundsvall
Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population.
History
Th ...
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Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
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Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
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Jönköping
Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland.
The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...
In the administrative courts of appeal, a judge other than the president of a court or a division of a court is titled ''Judge of Appeal'' ( sv, kammarrättsråd). A judge who presides over a division is titled ''Senior Judge of Appeal'' ( sv, kammarrättslagman), and the head official of the administrative court of appeal is titled ''President, Administrative Court of Appeal'' ( sv, kammarrättspresident).
Approximately 550 people work for the administrative courts of appeal in Sweden, and about 120 of them serve as permanent salaried judges ( sv, ordinarie domare).
Permanent salaried judges are appointed by the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. Special provisions apply for the selection of judges and their dismissal, to guarantee the independence of the court, making them almost impossible to fire.
There are also approximately 350
lay judges A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not permane ...
( sv, nämndeman) linked to the administrative courts of appeal. Lay judges are laymen, not legally qualified representatives of the people, appointed by the
county councils
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.
Ireland
The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
, serving four years at a time.
The composition of the court varies. The bench usually constitutes a
quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
with three qualified judges. However, two officers of the court is enough if they are in agreement about granting a leave to appeal. In certain cases, such as when the case involves decision about social welfare insurance and
child custody
Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the righ ...
cases, two lay judges are required to form part of the bench.
Appeal
The Supreme Administrative Court needs to grant a leave to appeal, to consider a case. A permission to appeal will only be granted if there is reason to believe the case may be of importance as a
precedent
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
. Erroneous judgement by the lower courts is usually not sufficient for the Supreme Administrative Court to consider a case.
List and map of general administrative courts
The clickable map shows geographic boundaries of the administrative courts of appeal and the lower courts.
Note
# Described in the
Instrument of Government (1974)
The Basic Laws of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges grundlagar) are the four constitutional laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries.
These four laws are: th ...
, Chapter 11, Articles 6 and 7. The Letters Patent Act
SFS 1994:261 governs the dismissal of judges.
#{{note, map}
Map of administrative courtson the official website of the
Swedish National Courts Administration
The Swedish National Courts Administration (SNCA) ( sv, Domstolsverket) is a Swedish administrative authority organized under the Ministry of Justice. It functions as a service organisation for the Swedish courts, including the general courts, t ...
an
SFS 1977:937
References
Courts in Sweden
Judiciary of Sweden