The Appeal Process in Asylum cases in Sweden - a brief overview by Mona Aldestam 1 Swedish courts Administrative General courts courts Supreme Administrative Court Supreme Court 6 Court of Appeals 4 Courts of Appeal (1 Land and (1 Migration Court of Appeal) Environment Court) 48 District Courts 12 Administrative courts (5 Land and (4 Migrations Courts) Environment Courts) 2 Court district för the Administrative Court of Appeal • Gotland county (Stockholm) • Stockholm county (Stockholm) • Uppsala county (Uppsala) • Västmanland county (Uppsala) 3 Court district for the Migration Court of Appeal (and the Migration courts) Migration courts: • Administrative Court of Luleå • Administrative Court of Stockholm • Administrative Court of Göteborg • Administrative Court of Malmö 4 The Appeal Process in the Administrative Courts Administrative Administrative Supreme Authority Court Court of Administrative Appeal Court Leave to Leave to appeal appeal 5 The Appeal Process in the Migration Court system Migration Board Migration Court Migration Court of Appeal Leave to appeal 6 The Assessment In the Migration Board and in the Migration Courts • A full legal assessment by decision makers and judges with country specific knowledge In the Migration Court of Appeal • Leave to Appeal is only given - in cases which can serve as precedents, or - in cases where there is extraordinary circumstances (rare and often based on procedural errors) • If leave to appeal is granted the Court makes a full legal assessment. Usually leave to appeal is not granted in cases concerning country specific questions. 7 The Organisation of the Migration Court of Appeal President • Six divisions, whereof one Division1 Administrative division specifically deals with making Chief Judge Administrative Director precedents in the area of Division 2 Division 5 migration and asylum Chief Judge Chief Judge Division 3 Division 6 Chief Judge Chief Judge • Approximately 210 Division 4 employees, about 160 of Chief Judge these are lawyers 8 Employees Category Number Judges 56 Co-opted members, 38 Assistant Judges and Legal clerks Reporting clerks 61 Secretaries 25 Administrative staff 30 TOTAL 210 9 The process of making precedents The case is heared by three judges, two from Division 1 and one from Division 2-6 Division 1 If there is a case that might be turned into a good precedent it should be sent to Division 1. The reporting clerk and the Division 2-6 responsible judge continue with the case. 10 Number of cases in the Administrative Court of Appeal and in the Migration Court of Appeal • Filed and determined cases 2015 : Approximately 18 600 in total (Jan-Dec 2015) 11 Common cases Largest number of cases: • Migration and asylum cases (54 %) • Taxation cases (12 %) • Social security cases (8 %) Other cases, for example (of 600 types of cases): • Social assistance cases • Driving license cases • Public procurement • Secrecy cases • Preventive detention of children, addicts and mentaly ill 12 Consequence of the current situation – any Trends? • It seems that there is • A decrease in the amount of incoming asylum cases • An increase in the amount of detention and Dublin cases, and • That leave to appeal is granted more often due to extraordinary circumstances • A large increase of appeals are expected • Perhaps what we see is the calm before the storm? 13 Questions? 14.