Annual Report 2019/20 SUMMARY IN ENGLISH the swedish parliamentary ombudsmen Annual Report 2019/20 THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMEN Photos Photos by Pernille Tofte: The parliamentary ombudsmen Page 6 - Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman Elisabeth Rynning Page 18 - Parliamentary Ombudsman Thomas Norling Page 28 - Parliamentary Ombudsman Katarina Påhlsson Page 38 - Parliamentary Ombudsman Per Lennerbrant Photos by Anders Jansson: The Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s office and the surroundings Page 9 - The garden of Kungsträdgården and the office Page 12 - The Parliament Page 17 - The ship called af Chapman (nowdays a hostel) Page 22 - The Royal Palace to the left, Kungsträdgården in the centre and Nationalmuseum (museum of art and design) to right Page 27 - Stockholm City Hall Page 33 - The garden of Kungsträdgården Page 37 - Kastellholmen (the citadel) Page 42 - Seaview © Riksdagens ombudsmän (JO) 2021 Production: Riksdagens ombudsmän (JO) 2 Contents History in short ..........................................................................................................4 Observations made by the Ombudsmen ....................................................................6 Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman Elisabeth Rynning ................................................. 6 Parliamentary Ombudsman Thomas Norling ...............................................................18 Parliamentary Ombudsman Katarina Påhlsson ............................................................28 Parliamentary Ombudsman Per Lennerbrant ..............................................................38 Summaries of individual cases .................................................................................. 47 Courts................................................................................................................................. 48 Public courts ................................................................................................................. 48 Administrative courts .................................................................................................. 48 Education and research ................................................................................................... 48 The Enforcement Authority ............................................................................................ 49 Evironmental and health protection ............................................................................. 49 Health and medical care ................................................................................................. 49 Migration ............................................................................................................................53 Planning and buildning ...................................................................................................55 Cases involving police, prosecutors and custom officers ............................................56 Prison and probation service .........................................................................................60 Public access to documents and secrecy as well as freedom of expression................63 Social insurance ................................................................................................................65 Social services .................................................................................................................. 66 Social Services Act ....................................................................................................... 66 Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (LVU) ..........................................71 Family law ......................................................................................................................73 Other areas .........................................................................................................................75 Statistics ..................................................................................................................... 77 3 History in short 1809 New constitution and the office of The Parliamentary Ombudsmen is established. 1810 The first Parliamentary Ombudsman is elected, L.A. Mannerheim. 1915 A Military Ombudsman, MO is established. 1941 The term of office for the ombudsmen is extended to four years. The rule that only men could be elected as ombudsmen is removed. 1957 Supervison of local/regional authorities. 1967 The office of The Military Ombudsman is abolished and the number of ombudsmen increases to three. 1975 The number of ombudsmen increases to four. 2011 The Parliamentary Ombudsmen is designated National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) under the OPCAT. Anyone can complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen if they believe that a public authority has treated them in a deficient manner. The office of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen was established in Sweden in 1809 as part of the new constitution that was adopted that year. At that time the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, decided that it needed an institution that could act on its behalf and independently of the King to make sure that public authorities obeyed the laws and other statutes. In 1810 the Riksdag elected its first Parliamentary Ombudsman. Since then more than two centuries have passed and the work of the Par- liamentary Ombudsmen is still based on the same principles, even though some changes have been made through the years, for instance, the number of Parliamentary Ombudsmen has increased from one to four to cope with the authority’s rising workload. One of the ombudsmen has the title of Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman and is responsible for administration, deciding, for instance, which areas of responsibility are to be allocated to the other ombudsmen. However, he or she cannot ’intervene’ in another ombudsman’s inquiry or decision. Currently the Parliamentary Ombudsmen receive more than 9,000 com- plaints per year. Each ombudsman independently conducts investigations and takes decisions within their area of responsibility and is directly accountable to the Riksdag. Sweden has been a pioneer in this context and the idea of a Parliamentary Ombudsman has been spread all over the world. Today many countries have an ombudsman built on the Swedish model, although their routines may differ and they are appointed in different ways. 5 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year Elisabeth Rynning Chief Parliamentary Ombudsman As of January 2020, my supervisory area includes, inter alia, the general administrative courts, defence, healthcare, education and research as well as tax and population registration. The supervisory area also includes matters relating to public procurement and various central agencies such as the Financial Supervisory Authority, Companies Registration Office, Compe- tition Authority, Equality Ombudsman and National Board for Consumer Disputes. Until December 2019, the prison and probation regime was in my supervisory area. At the turn of the year, I handed over responsibility for this group of cases to Parliamentary Ombudsman Katarina Påhlsson, whilst assuming responsibility for supervision of the general administrative courts and the area of ​​education and research from her. In the supervision of places where people may be deprived of their liberty, which for my area includes prisons and remand prisons as well as insti- tutions for psychiatric compulsory care and forensic psychiatric care, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen must pay special attention to its role as Swe- den’s national preventive mechanism pursuant to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) to the UN. We are assisted in this role by the Parliamentary Ombudsmen’s special Opcat Unit, which is organised into my supervisory area, although the unit’s inspections are always conduct- ed on behalf of the particular Parliamentary Ombudsman who supervises the agency under inspection1. The inspections are one of the investigative measures which were particularly affected by the ongoing pandemic during 1 A more detailed account of the Opcat Unit’s work is provided in the Opcat Annual Report. 6 observations made by the ombudsmen during the year Areas of responsibility • Adminstrative courts within industry and commerce, price • The Armed Forces and other cases rela- regulation, cases concerning limited ting to the Ministry of Defence and its companies and partnerships, trade subordinate agencies which do not fall names, trade registers, patents, trade- within other areas of responsibility marks, registered designs, and other ca- ses pertaining to agencies subordinate • The National Fortifications Agency. to the Ministry of Industry, Employment • Health and medical care as well as dental and Communications which do not fall care, pharmaceuticals; forensic medicine within other areas of responsibility. agencies, forensic psychology agencies; • The Agency for Public Management; protection from infection. the National Financial Management • The school system; higher education (in- Authority; the Legal, Financial and Admi- cluding the Swedish University of Agri- nistrative Services Agency, the National cultural Sciences); student finance; The Appeals Board, the National Claims Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs; Adjustment Board; the National Agency other cases pertaining to the Ministry of for Government Employers, the Arbitra- Education and agencies subordinate to tion Board on Certain Social Security it which do not fall within other