Review of European Administrative Law Blogpost

The organisation of the Swedish administration departs from what is traditional in the Western hemisphere, as Swedish public authorities are organisationally separated from the Government and legally semi-independent. Administrative authorities at the national level may thus only be commanded and controlled by the Government as a whole, not by any individual minister (Chap. 7, Sect. 3 Instrument of Government (IG)). Further, all authorities, both state and municipal, are granted a constitutionally protected sphere of independent decision-making (Chap. 12, Sect. 3 IG). An important part of the Swedish administrative model is the principle of transparency and access to official documents. The administration is thus to act transparently and in accordance with the law. The unique traits of the Swedish administrative model have had an impact on the Swedish Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Content-wise, the APA reflects the traditional Swedish understanding of the role that public authorities have in the Swedish administrative model. The partially independent authorities are to use the public powers bestowed on them to guide and assist the public and the individuals whose matters are being processed. In older legal doctrine, it was often emphasised that the administrative authorities should take the individual by the hand and guide them. Beyond these service-oriented features of the Swedish APA, the interest in legal certainty for individuals has increased.