Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations - New York ...

I. COUNTRY PROFILE (Civil Law)
SWEDEN
Konungariket Sverige (Kingdom of Sweden)
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy comprised of twenty-one counties (län) and 289
municipalities (kommuner). Sweden’s official language is Swedish. Its legal system is based
primarily on the civil law tradition, although it also incorporates aspects of the common law
tradition. Sweden is a Member State of the European Union.
The Swedish Constitution, adopted in 1975, establishes the form of government.
Executive power is vested in the Government (Regering), which consists of the Prime Minister
(Statsminister), who is the head of Government, and the Cabinet. The Monarch, who is the head
of state, plays a largely ceremonial and symbolic role. The Prime Minister is elected by the
Parliament (Riksdag). Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister. The
Government submits proposals to Parliament concerning legislation and the national budget.
Parliament may dissolve the Government at any time.
Legislative power is vested in the unicameral Parliament. The 349 Members of
Parliament are elected by the people on the basis of proportional representation to four-year
terms. Parliament enacts laws (lagar) based on the Government’s proposals. It may delegate
legislative power to the Government in certain areas. A regulation issued by the Government is
called förordning.
Judicial power is vested in the courts. Sweden has a dual court system, which is
composed of the civil and criminal courts and the administrative courts. In Sweden, the rule of
precedent is relative, not absolute. The Supreme Courts include the High Court of General
Jurisdiction (Högsta domstolen), the High Administrative Court (Regeringsrätten), the High
Labor and Employment Court (Arbetsdomstolen), and the High Market and Competition Court
(Marknadsdomstolen). Lower courts include General Courts (Hovrätt and Tingsrätt) and
Administrative Courts (Lansrätt and Kammarrätt).
Internet Resources:
Parliament
http://www.riksdagen.se
Government
http://www.regeringen.se
Legislation in full text:
http://www.notisum.se
II. CITATION GUIDE
There is no uniform code of citation in Sweden. The following represents some accepted
practices.
1.0 Constitution
The four Constitutional laws may be abbreviated for citation purposes as follows:
179