Legal aid is provided for anyone who wants it. The general penalties for convictions are fines and imprisonment. Fines are set in proportion to the person’s daily income. Offenders under 18 years of age are sentenced to prison only in exceptional cases.
The decisions of administrative authorities, which cannot be appealed to an ordinary court of justice, can be appealed to higher administrative authorities and ultimately to the government or to administrative courts, such as county administrative courts (länsrätter) in matters of taxation. Higher administrative courts of appeal are called kammarrätter. The highest administrative tribunal is the Supreme Administrative Court (regeringsrätten), which tries cases involving such issues as taxation, insanity, alcoholism, and juvenile delinquency.
The Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen) is a special body that deals with controversies in the interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements. Of its seven members, two represent labour and two represent management.
The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (Justitieombudsman) is an original Swedish institution, established in 1809; it has become a model for similar offices in other countries. The ombudsman’s chief duty is to see that the courts and civil service enforce the laws properly, especially those laws that safeguard the freedom, security, and property of citizens. They have the power to institute prosecutions in court and, in particular, to act against officials who abuse their powers or act illegally. Other ombudsmen are not appointed by the Riksdag but have similar duties of surveillance in other areas. Thus, there are an antitrust ombudsman, a consumer ombudsman, an equal-opportunities ombudsman, and an ethnic-discrimination ombudsman.
The chancellor of justice (justitiekansler) is a government appointee who supervises courts and administrative organs with particular concern for safeguarding the state’s interests. Political process
All citizens of Sweden who are 18 years of age or older may vote in elections. Members of the parliament must be Swedish citizens and of voting age. Representation by party is in strict proportion to the national vote. A quota rule excludes parties with less than 4 percent of the national vote or 12 percent of the votes in at least one electoral district. Only in 1919, after decades of work by Elin Wägner and other dedicated suffragettes, were women in Sweden first able to vote in general elections, and not until 1921 could women vote in all elections. Five women entered the Swedish parliament as a result of that election; at the beginning of the 21st century, nearly half of the members of the parliament were women.
Historically, the political party system in Sweden has been relatively stable. Prominent parties include four nonsocialist parties—the Moderate Party (formerly the Conservative Party), the Centre Party, the Liberal Party, and the Green Party—and two socialist parties—the Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SAP; commonly called the Social Democratic Labour Party) and the Left Party (former Communist Party). The SAP is closely allied with the trade unions and was in power for a considerable part of the 20th century (1932–76 [except briefly in 1936] and 1982–91). At the end of the century and into the 21st century, power alternated between the Social Democrats and the Moderates. The traditional political order was dramatically altered in the 2010s by the growing influence of the Sweden Democrats, a right-wing anti-immigration party that was founded in 1988 but did not pass the threshold for representation in the Riksdag until 2010, when it took 5.7 percent of the vote. The party increased its share of the national vote to about 13 percent in the 2014 election and to about 18 percent in the 2018 election. Security
Sweden has not been under military occupation since the 16th century or been at war since 1814. Until joining the European Union (EU) in 1995, Sweden actively avoided all military alliances through a policy of detachment or neutrality. As a member of the EU, Sweden fully participates in the organization’s foreign and security policy.
To safeguard its neutrality and to protect its territory, Sweden maintains a strong military consisting of an army, a navy, and an air force. In 2010 the country ended conscription, but it was reinstituted in 2017, effective the next year, with both men and women eligible this time.
Sweden actively supports international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and takes an energetic role in resolving security issues through this organ. Together with the other Nordic countries, Sweden has worked to develop and reinforce UN peacekeeping operations. Since multilateral disarmament negotiations began in Switzerland in 1962, Sweden also has been key player in international efforts to control and restrict transfers of conventional arms, to enforce the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons, and missile technology, and to achieve a total ban on antipersonnel mines.
Sweden’s national police service is responsible to the Ministry of Justice and includes the National Police Board, the National Security Service, the National Criminal Investigation Department, the National Laboratory of Forensic Science, and the county police authorities. Women make up one-third of all police employees and about one-fifth of police officers. Health and welfare
In return for high taxes, Swedes are provided with a broad spectrum of public services and social welfare benefits that guarantee a minimum living standard, provide aid in emergencies, and narrow the gap between income groups. All residents are covered by national health insurance administered by the counties.
Health conditions in Sweden are among the best in the world. Infant mortality is low, and the average life expectancy at birth is high. Sweden has one of the world’s oldest populations, with a significant slice of the population age 65 or over. The ratio of doctors to population is also relatively high. Primary health care centres are available in every community. For highly specialized health care, Sweden has several major hospitals, which generally have affiliated medical schools. The county councils (and the local authority in the case of Gotland) are responsibility for providing health services.
Extremely liberal benefits are available to parents. They are entitled to 13 months of paid family leave from work, which can be shared between them before a child is age 8. They also receive tax-free child allowances, equal for everyone, until a child’s 16th birthday. Students who continue their education are entitled to study allowances. At the university level the majority of student funding consists of repayable loans. Municipalities provide an increasing number of day-care and youth activities.
National accident insurance pays all medical costs for on-the-job injuries. Many working people in Sweden have unemployment insurance through their trade unions, while the unemployed without such coverage can receive a smaller cash benefit from the state. There are extensive government programs for job retraining and sheltered employment (jobs reserved for disabled workers), as well as relocation grants to help the unemployed find work. A basic old-age pension is available to everyone starting at age 65. The state also pays an income-related supplementary pension financed through a payroll plan. Housing
Today, Swedish cities are generally noted for their efficient planning and lack of slums. Up until the 1930s, however, Sweden’s housing standards were low compared with those of other European countries. Many dwellings lacked basic sanitation and were overcrowded. In the 1940s the central government addressed these concerns through housing policy by subsidizing rents and instituting rent control. In the post-World War II period, the Swedish government oversaw a new focus on the general improvement of housing standards. Housing subsidies were introduced for the poor and elderly pensioners. From the late 1940s through the 1950s, most municipalities founded their own housing companies. Low-interest loans and interest subsides were provided by the state to these nonprofit companies.