Sweden
ORGANIZATION
Parliamentary Ombudsman Jan Pennlöv, who has served for 12 years, has retired. He left office on November 30, 2002.
Parliament has elected Anna-Karin Lundin Parliamentary Ombudsman. She took office on January 1, 2003. Until then, Mrs. Lundin held office as President of the Court of Appeal ofor Northern Norrland.
As Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mrs. Lundin supervises the Armed forces, the Tax and Customs Authorities, Authorities for Execution of Judgements, the Prisons and Prison administration, the Social Insurance Agencies and the Chief Guardians.
Cases of Special Interest
Parliamentary Ombudsman Nils-Olof Berggren has prosecuted the Bishop of Stockholm Diocese for failure to handle a case concerning public access to official documents in a correct way. The Bishop was acquitted by the Court of First Instance, but the Court of Appeal found her guilty of negligent use of public power and imposed a substantial fine on her. The sentence of the Court of Appeal has gained legal force.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Albania, October 24 – 25, 2002
On October 24 – 25, 2002, Ms. Marianne von der Esch, Head of International Division, participated in a Training Workshop for Public Officials on “The Implementation of the Albanian Law on the Right to Access of Official Documents” in Tirana, Albania. She then i.a. gave a presentation of “ The Swedish Freedom of Information Legislation”. The Workshop was organised by the non-governmental organisation ARTICLE 19 in cooperation with the Albanian Women’s Centre, European Centre, Albanian Human Rights Group, the Office of the People’s Advocate and the European Commission.
Uzbekistan, November 12 – December 7, 2002
On November 12 – December 7, 2002, Mr. Timo Manninen, Head of Division, carried out an expert mission in Uzbekistan within the EU-Tacis Project ”Support to Democracy, Republic of Uzbekistan”. His task was i.a. to provide advise to the Authorised Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) concerning institutional strengthening and to comment on a draft Ombudsman law and draft Regulations for the Regional representatives.
Burkina Faso, November 30 – December 7, 2002
On November 30 – December 7, 2002, Ms. Marianne von der Esch, Head of International Division, carried out an expert mission at the Office of Le Médiateur (Ombudsman) du Faso, in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Africa, in accordance with a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) project. The purpose of the mission was i.a. to study the work of the Office and to provide Le Médiateur and his staff with advices concerning the present running of the Institution and also to try to get an opinion of the future aims and needs of the Institution in its role as an important tool in the struggle for promoting respect for Human Rights in Burkina Faso.
Romania, November 15, 2002
On November 15, 2002 Mr. Kjell Swanström, Head of Staff, made a contribution to a seminar in Bucharest on Ombudsman´s Role in Protecting Free Access to Information. This round table seminar was arranged by Asociatia Romana pentru Transparenta (Transparency International Romania).
ANNUAL REPORT
The annual report, covering the period July 1, 2001–June 30, 2002 was handed over to Parliament in November 2002. Basic information and statistics from the summary in English of the report is quoted below. The printed version of the summary and of the full report (in Swedish) can be ordered from the Parliamentary Ombudsman Office; Address: Box 16 327, SE 103 26 Stockholm, Sweden. The report (including the summary in English) is also available on the Parliamentary Ombudsmen´s website, http://www.jo.se
The Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen
Report for the period 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002
During the period covered by the report, the following have held office as Parliamentary Ombudsmen: Mr. Claes Eklundh, who is Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr. Jan Pennlöv, Mrs. Kerstin André and Mr. Nils-Olof Berggren. The Deputy Ombudsmen Mrs Gunnel Norell Söderblom and Mr. Leif Ekberg have handled and decided cases of supervision during a number of shorter periods.
Mr. Eklundh has supervised the courts of law, the public prosecution service and the police, while Mr. Pennlöv has dealt with matters concerning the prisons, the armed forces, taxation, customs, the execution of judgements, social insurance and chief guardians. Mrs. André has supervised the fields of social welfare, public health and medical care and education. Mr. Berggren, finally, has been responsible for the supervision of the administrative courts, building and construction, immigration, administration of foreign affairs, environmental protection, farming and protection of animals, labour market, and all additional aspects of civil administration not supervised by any other Parliamentary Ombudsman.
During the year, 4 574 new cases were registered with the Ombudsmen;
4 463 of them were complaints and other cases received (a decrease by 48 compared to the number of cases received during the previous year) and 111 were cases initiated by the Ombudsmen themselves on the basis of observations made during inspections, of newspaper reports or on other grounds.
4 588 cases were concluded during the period; out of them 4 467 were complaint cases and other cases received, whereas 121 were cases initiated by the Ombudsmen themselves. It should be noted that the schedules overleaf show cases concluded during the period, not all cases lodged. This summary also comprises full reports of some of the cases dealt with by the Ombudsmen during the period.
Schedule of cases initiated by the Ombudsmen and concluded during the period 1 July 2001–30 June 2002
Activity concerned | Closed without final Critisism | Admonitions or other critisism | Preliminary criminal investigati-on; no prosecution | Referred to other Agencies or state organs | Proposal to Parliament or to the Government | Total |
Courts | – | 12 | – | – | – | 12 |
Public prosecutors | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 7 |
Police authorities | 5 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 17 |
Armed forces | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | 5 |
Prison administration | 4 | 7 | – | – | – | 11 |
Social welfare | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
Medical care | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Social insurance | – | 17 | – | – | – | 17 |
Labour market | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Education, culture | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
Taxation, customs | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Environmental management, public health, protection of animals | – | 13 | – | – | – | 13 |
Planning, construction | – | 4 | – | – | – | 4 |
Execution of judgements | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Communications | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Local government | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
Immigration | 2 | - | – | – | – | 2 |
Central state authorities | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
Chief guardians | 2 | 10 | - | – | – | 12 |
Access to official docu-ments, Freedom of the press | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | 4 |
Total | 23 | 95 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 121 |
Schedule of complaint cases concluded during the period 1 July 2001–30 June 2002
Activity concerned | Dismissed without investigation | Referred to other agencies or state organs | No critisism after investigation | Admonitions or other critisism | Prosecutions or disciplinary proceedings | Proposal to Parliament or Government | Total |
Courts of law | 162 | – | 109 | 17 | 1 | – | 289 |
Administrative courts | 30 | – | 32 | 3 | – | – | 65 |
Public prosecutors | 88 | 6 | 77 | 9 | 1 | – | 181 |
Police authorities | 210 | 43 | 178 | 23 | – | – | 454 |
Armed forces | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
Prison administration | 352 | – | 167 | 59 | – | – | 578 |
Social welfare | 254 | 7 | 305 | 54 | – | – | 620 |
Medical care | 130 | 3 | 80 | 8 | – | – | 221 |
Social insurance | 147 | – | 85 | 36 | – | 1 | 269 |
Labour market etc. | 46 | 1 | 49 | 11 | – | – | 107 |
Planning, construction | 53 | – | 35 | 15 | – | – | 103 |
Execution of judgements | 73 | – | 35 | 11 | – | – | 119 |
Local government | 63 | – | 25 | 1 | – | – | 89 |
Communications | 68 | – | 35 | 16 | – | – | 119 |
Taxation, customs | 100 | – | 42 | 32 | – | – | 174 |
Education, culture | 75 | 2 | 83 | 23 | – | – | 183 |
Church | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 |
Chief guardians | 27 | – | 18 | 12 | – | – | 57 |
Agriculture, environ- mental management, public health, protection of animals | 53 | – | 63 | 13 | – | – | 129 |
Immigration | 41 | – | 31 | 7 | – | – | 79 |
Other cases at County administrative boards, control of lotteries e.a. | 18 | – | 8
| 3 | – | – | 29 |
Employment of civil servants etc. | 68 | – | 15 | 4 | – | –
| 87 |
Access to official documents; Freedom of the press | 97 | 2 | 74 | 89 | – | – | 262 |
Administration of Parliamentary and foreign affairs; general elections | 11 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 13 |
Miscellaneous | 36 | – | 26 | 4 | – | – | 66 |
Complaints outside jurisdiction, complaints of obscure meaning | 76 | – | – | – | – | – | 76 |
Total | 2 288 | 64 | 1 575 | 452 | 2 | 1 | 4 382 |
Newsletter No. 29
ORGANIZATION
Parliamentary Ombudsman Jan Pennlöv, who has served for 12 years, has retired. He left office on November 30, 2002.
Parliament has elected Anna-Karin Lundin Parliamentary Ombudsman. She took office on January 1, 2003. Until then, Mrs. Lundin held office as President of the Court of Appeal ofor Northern Norrland.
As Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mrs. Lundin supervises the Armed forces, the Tax and Customs Authorities, Authorities for Execution of Judgements, the Prisons and Prison administration, the Social Insurance Agencies and the Chief Guardians.
Cases of Special Interest
Parliamentary Ombudsman Nils-Olof Berggren has prosecuted the Bishop of Stockholm Diocese for failure to handle a case concerning public access to official documents in a correct way. The Bishop was acquitted by the Court of First Instance, but the Court of Appeal found her guilty of negligent use of public power and imposed a substantial fine on her. The sentence of the Court of Appeal has gained legal force.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Albania, October 24 – 25, 2002
On October 24 – 25, 2002, Ms. Marianne von der Esch, Head of International Division, participated in a Training Workshop for Public Officials on “The Implementation of the Albanian Law on the Right to Access of Official Documents” in Tirana, Albania. She then i.a. gave a presentation of “ The Swedish Freedom of Information Legislation”. The Workshop was organised by the non-governmental organisation ARTICLE 19 in cooperation with the Albanian Women’s Centre, European Centre, Albanian Human Rights Group, the Office of the People’s Advocate and the European Commission.
Uzbekistan, November 12 – December 7, 2002
On November 12 – December 7, 2002, Mr. Timo Manninen, Head of Division, carried out an expert mission in Uzbekistan within the EU-Tacis Project ”Support to Democracy, Republic of Uzbekistan”. His task was i.a. to provide advise to the Authorised Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights (Ombudsman) concerning institutional strengthening and to comment on a draft Ombudsman law and draft Regulations for the Regional representatives.
Burkina Faso, November 30 – December 7, 2002
On November 30 – December 7, 2002, Ms. Marianne von der Esch, Head of International Division, carried out an expert mission at the Office of Le MĂ©diateur (Ombudsman) du Faso, in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Africa, in accordance with a Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) project. The purpose of the mission was i.a. to study the work of the Office and to provide Le MĂ©diateur and his staff with advices concerning the present running of the Institution and also to try to get an opinion of the future aims and needs of the Institution in its role as an important tool in the struggle for promoting respect for Human Rights in Burkina Faso.
Romania, November 15, 2002
On November 15, 2002 Mr. Kjell Swanström, Head of Staff, made a contribution to a seminar in Bucharest on Ombudsman´s Role in Protecting Free Access to Information. This round table seminar was arranged by Asociatia Romana pentru Transparenta (Transparency International Romania).
ANNUAL REPORT
The annual report, covering the period July 1, 2001–June 30, 2002 was handed over to Parliament in November 2002. Basic information and statistics from the summary in English of the report is quoted below. The printed version of the summary and of the full report (in Swedish) can be ordered from the Parliamentary Ombudsman Office; Address: Box 16 327, SE 103 26 Stockholm, Sweden. The report (including the summary in English) is also available on the Parliamentary Ombudsmen´s website, http://www.jo.se
The Swedish Parliamentary Ombudsmen
Report for the period 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002
During the period covered by the report, the following have held office as Parliamentary Ombudsmen: Mr. Claes Eklundh, who is Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman, Mr. Jan Pennlöv, Mrs. Kerstin André and Mr. Nils-Olof Berggren. The Deputy Ombudsmen Mrs Gunnel Norell Söderblom and Mr. Leif Ekberg have handled and decided cases of supervision during a number of shorter periods.
Mr. Eklundh has supervised the courts of law, the public prosecution service and the police, while Mr. Pennlöv has dealt with matters concerning the prisons, the armed forces, taxation, customs, the execution of judgements, social insurance and chief guardians. Mrs. André has supervised the fields of social welfare, public health and medical care and education. Mr. Berggren, finally, has been responsible for the supervision of the administrative courts, building and construction, immigration, administration of foreign affairs, environmental protection, farming and protection of animals, labour market, and all additional aspects of civil administration not supervised by any other Parliamentary Ombudsman.
During the year, 4 574 new cases were registered with the Ombudsmen;
4 463 of them were complaints and other cases received (a decrease by 48 compared to the number of cases received during the previous year) and 111 were cases initiated by the Ombudsmen themselves on the basis of observations made during inspections, of newspaper reports or on other grounds.
4 588 cases were concluded during the period; out of them 4 467 were complaint cases and other cases received, whereas 121 were cases initiated by the Ombudsmen themselves. It should be noted that the schedules overleaf show cases concluded during the period, not all cases lodged. This summary also comprises full reports of some of the cases dealt with by the Ombudsmen during the period.
Schedule of cases initiated by the Ombudsmen and concluded during the period 1 July 2001–30 June 2002
Activity concerned | Closed without final Critisism | Admonitions or other critisism | Preliminary criminal investigati-on; no prosecution | Referred to other Agencies or state organs | Proposal to Parliament or to the Government | Total |
Courts | – | 12 | – | – | – | 12 |
Public prosecutors | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 7 |
Police authorities | 5 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 17 |
Armed forces | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | 5 |
Prison administration | 4 | 7 | – | – | – | 11 |
Social welfare | – | 3 | – | – | – | 3 |
Medical care | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Social insurance | – | 17 | – | – | – | 17 |
Labour market | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Education, culture | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
Taxation, customs | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Environmental management, public health, protection of animals | – | 13 | – | – | – | 13 |
Planning, construction | – | 4 | – | – | – | 4 |
Execution of judgements | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Communications | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
Local government | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
Immigration | 2 | - | – | – | – | 2 |
Central state authorities | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
Chief guardians | 2 | 10 | - | – | – | 12 |
Access to official docu-ments, Freedom of the press | 1 | 3 | – | – | – | 4 |
Total | 23 | 95 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 121 |
Schedule of complaint cases concluded during the period 1 July 2001–30 June 2002
Activity concerned | Dismissed without investigation | Referred to other agencies or state organs | No critisism after investigation | Admonitions or other critisism | Prosecutions or disciplinary proceedings | Proposal to Parliament or Government | Total |
Courts of law | 162 | – | 109 | 17 | 1 | – | 289 |
Administrative courts | 30 | – | 32 | 3 | – | – | 65 |
Public prosecutors | 88 | 6 | 77 | 9 | 1 | – | 181 |
Police authorities | 210 | 43 | 178 | 23 | – | – | 454 |
Armed forces | 5 | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
Prison administration | 352 | – | 167 | 59 | – | – | 578 |
Social welfare | 254 | 7 | 305 | 54 | – | – | 620 |
Medical care | 130 | 3 | 80 | 8 | – | – | 221 |
Social insurance | 147 | – | 85 | 36 | – | 1 | 269 |
Labour market etc. | 46 | 1 | 49 | 11 | – | – | 107 |
Planning, construction | 53 | – | 35 | 15 | – | – | 103 |
Execution of judgements | 73 | – | 35 | 11 | – | – | 119 |
Local government | 63 | – | 25 | 1 | – | – | 89 |
Communications | 68 | – | 35 | 16 | – | – | 119 |
Taxation, customs | 100 | – | 42 | 32 | – | – | 174 |
Education, culture | 75 | 2 | 83 | 23 | – | – | 183 |
Church | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 |
Chief guardians | 27 | – | 18 | 12 | – | – | 57 |
Agriculture, environ- mental management, public health, protection of animals | 53 | – | 63 | 13 | – | – | 129 |
Immigration | 41 | – | 31 | 7 | – | – | 79 |
Other cases at County administrative boards, control of lotteries e.a. | 18 | – | 8
| 3 | – | – | 29 |
Employment of civil servants etc. | 68 | – | 15 | 4 | – | –
| 87 |
Access to official documents; Freedom of the press | 97 | 2 | 74 | 89 | – | – | 262 |
Administration of Parliamentary and foreign affairs; general elections | 11 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 13 |
Miscellaneous | 36 | – | 26 | 4 | – | – | 66 |
Complaints outside jurisdiction, complaints of obscure meaning | 76 | – | – | – | – | – | 76 |
Total | 2 288 | 64 | 1 575 | 452 | 2 | 1 | 4 382 |
