Principle of public access (Sweden)
In Sweden the public principle is the right to inspect all files and documents at authorities and offices . This right has been anchored in the constitution since 1766 and is seen by many Swedes as irreplaceable for democracy .
In Sweden, all state and municipal activity should take place in the public eye. The provisions of this very old principle of the public are still in the Constitution today; H. in the Act on Freedom of the Press (Tryckfrihetsförordningen) .
The principle of the public is to guarantee general inspection by the fellow citizens. This means that all files and documents in an authority - including tape recordings and data stored in computers - are accessible to the general public. Openness is the basic rule here, secrecy the exception. There must therefore always be a legal justification if the disclosure of information or documents is refused by an authority. The authorities are also prohibited from investigating the identity of the inquiring citizen or asking about the reasons for the inspection. This does not apply to documents that are subject to partial confidentiality and for which the reasons for examining the right of inspection are decisive. There are also documents that are in principle subject to confidentiality; these include B. Medical records .
See also
literature
- Gustaf Petrén: The public records in Sweden. In: VerwArch . 1958, pp. 323-333
Web links
- The principle of public access in Sweden (Swedish)
- Public Information and Confidentiality Act (Swedish)