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Offentlighetsprincipen – Bör den inskränkas ytterligare vid särskilda situationer?

Alros, Madelaine LU (2023) JURM02 20222
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic attention was paid to the right to access official documents. The COVID-19 pandemic constituted a crisis that meant various forms of stress for, among others, Swedish authorities.

The purpose of the essay is to examine and analyze whether there are any restrictions on the right to access official documents under normal conditions and during special situations such as crisis, danger of war or war. In addition, the essay aims to investigate and answer whether there are grounds for further restrictions on the right to access official documents in the event of a crisis, danger of war or war. The method used to answer the essay's questions is the legal dogmatic method.

It is noted that there are no special... (More)
During the COVID-19 pandemic attention was paid to the right to access official documents. The COVID-19 pandemic constituted a crisis that meant various forms of stress for, among others, Swedish authorities.

The purpose of the essay is to examine and analyze whether there are any restrictions on the right to access official documents under normal conditions and during special situations such as crisis, danger of war or war. In addition, the essay aims to investigate and answer whether there are grounds for further restrictions on the right to access official documents in the event of a crisis, danger of war or war. The method used to answer the essay's questions is the legal dogmatic method.

It is noted that there are no special rules for the right to access official doc-uments in the event of crisis, danger of war or war. The same rules that apply under normal conditions should therefore also apply in such situations. The requirements imposed under the Freedom of the Press Act apply regardless of whether the authority's other workload has increased due to the special situation. In relation to the right to access official documents, there are certain restrictions, so they apply regardless of the situation. The restrictions mean that the right to access official documents only covers official documents, that a document can be covered by confidentiality in whole or in part and that there may be significant obstacles to the right of access to an official document on the premises of an authority.

The essay describes various challenges that may arise regarding maintain-ing the right to access official documents in the event of crisis, danger of war and war. Through examples from the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and case law, it is shown that several authorities have failed to comply with the right to access official documents, e.g. during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conclusion is that the right to access official documents must be maintained and that there are no provisions that provide support for further restrictions in the event of crisis, danger of war and war. In several respects, the existing regulation is considered sufficient to deal with potential problems. On the other hand, in my judgment, there are grounds for considering whether a restriction in the form of significant obstacles should be introduced in relation to the right of access to a transcript or copy of an official document. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Under covid-19-pandemin uppmärksammades tillämpningen av handlings-offentligheten. Covid-19-pandemin utgjorde en kris som innebar olika former av påfrestningar för bl.a. svenska myndigheter.

Uppsatsens syfte är att utreda och analysera om det finns några inskränkningar i handlingsoffentligheten under normala förhållanden och under särskilda situationer som kris, krigsfara eller krig. Utöver det syftar uppsatsen till att utreda och besvara om det finns skäl för ytterligare inskränkningar i handlingsoffentligheten vid kris, krigsfara eller krig. Den metod som används för att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar är den rättsdogmatiska metoden.

Det konstateras att det saknas särskilda regler för handlingsoffentligheten vid kris,... (More)
Under covid-19-pandemin uppmärksammades tillämpningen av handlings-offentligheten. Covid-19-pandemin utgjorde en kris som innebar olika former av påfrestningar för bl.a. svenska myndigheter.

Uppsatsens syfte är att utreda och analysera om det finns några inskränkningar i handlingsoffentligheten under normala förhållanden och under särskilda situationer som kris, krigsfara eller krig. Utöver det syftar uppsatsen till att utreda och besvara om det finns skäl för ytterligare inskränkningar i handlingsoffentligheten vid kris, krigsfara eller krig. Den metod som används för att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar är den rättsdogmatiska metoden.

Det konstateras att det saknas särskilda regler för handlingsoffentligheten vid kris, krigsfara eller krig. Samma regler som gäller under normala förhållanden ska därmed tillämpas även under sådana situationer. De krav som uppställs enligt tryckfrihetsförordningen gäller oaktat om myndighetens övriga arbetsbelastning har ökat med anledning av den särskilda situationen. I förhållande till handlingsoffentligheten finns vissa inskränkningar, de gäller alltså oavsett vilken situation som råder. Inskränkningarna innebär att handlingsoffentligheten endast omfattar allmänna handlingar, att en handling helt eller delvis kan omfattas av sekretess och att betydande hinder kan föreligga gällande rätten att ta del av en allmän handling på plats hos en myndighet.

I uppsatsen redogörs för olika utmaningar som kan uppstå avseende upp-rätthållande av handlingsoffentligheten vid kris, krigsfara och krig. Genom exempel från JO och rättspraxis påvisas att flera myndigheter brustit i för-hållande till handlingsoffentligheten bl.a. under covid-19-pandemin.

Slutsatsen är att handlingsoffentligheten ska upprätthållas och att det saknas bestämmelser som ger stöd för ytterligare inskränkningar vid kris, krigsfara och krig. I flera avseenden anses den befintliga regleringen vara tillräcklig för att kunna hantera potentiella problem. Däremot finns det enligt min bedömning skäl att överväga om en inskränkning i form av betydande hinder bör införas i förhållande till rätten att ta del av en avskrift eller kopia av en allmän handling. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Alros, Madelaine LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
The principle of public access to official records – Should it be further curtailed in certain situations?
course
JURM02 20222
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Offentlighetsprincipen, Handlingsoffentligheten, Allmän handling, Offentlig rätt
language
Swedish
id
9112342
date added to LUP
2023-03-27 12:10:10
date last changed
2023-03-27 12:10:10
@misc{9112342,
  abstract     = {{During the COVID-19 pandemic attention was paid to the right to access official documents. The COVID-19 pandemic constituted a crisis that meant various forms of stress for, among others, Swedish authorities.

The purpose of the essay is to examine and analyze whether there are any restrictions on the right to access official documents under normal conditions and during special situations such as crisis, danger of war or war. In addition, the essay aims to investigate and answer whether there are grounds for further restrictions on the right to access official documents in the event of a crisis, danger of war or war. The method used to answer the essay's questions is the legal dogmatic method. 

It is noted that there are no special rules for the right to access official doc-uments in the event of crisis, danger of war or war. The same rules that apply under normal conditions should therefore also apply in such situations. The requirements imposed under the Freedom of the Press Act apply regardless of whether the authority's other workload has increased due to the special situation. In relation to the right to access official documents, there are certain restrictions, so they apply regardless of the situation. The restrictions mean that the right to access official documents only covers official documents, that a document can be covered by confidentiality in whole or in part and that there may be significant obstacles to the right of access to an official document on the premises of an authority.

The essay describes various challenges that may arise regarding maintain-ing the right to access official documents in the event of crisis, danger of war and war. Through examples from the Parliamentary Ombudsmen and case law, it is shown that several authorities have failed to comply with the right to access official documents, e.g. during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conclusion is that the right to access official documents must be maintained and that there are no provisions that provide support for further restrictions in the event of crisis, danger of war and war. In several respects, the existing regulation is considered sufficient to deal with potential problems. On the other hand, in my judgment, there are grounds for considering whether a restriction in the form of significant obstacles should be introduced in relation to the right of access to a transcript or copy of an official document.}},
  author       = {{Alros, Madelaine}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Offentlighetsprincipen – Bör den inskränkas ytterligare vid särskilda situationer?}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}