LEANDER v. SWEDEN JUGDMENT
11
from the requirement of informing the person concerned of the personnel
control (see paragraph 33 below).
32. At the time of the proceedings in Mr. Leander’s case, the National
Police Board was, under section 14, prohibited from adding any comments
to the information released to the requesting authority.
33. Section 19 provided that before an authority initiated a personnel
control, it had to inform the person concerned thereof - with one exception
not relevant in the present case.
34. Section 20 prescribed that it was the requesting authority that should
independently assess the importance of the information released from the
police register(s), having regard to the nature of the activities connected
with the post in question, the authority’s own knowledge of the person
concerned and other circumstances.
D. Safeguards
1. Minister of Justice
35. Over the years, the Minister of Justice has been actively engaged in
the supervision of the security police and the personnel control. He has
made a number of investigations of varying depth. The investigations made
by the Minister of Justice do not result in any reports. However, the
Government stated that the deliberations between the Minister and the
National Police Board have led to amendments of both the public and the
secret instructions.
2. Chancellor of Justice
36. The Office of the Chancellor of Justice has a long tradition and is
now established in Chapter 11, section 6, of the Constitution. His functions
and powers are set out in the 1975 Act on Supervision by the Chancellor of
Justice (lag 1975:1339 om justitiekanslerns tillsyn) and in the Government’s
Instruction to the Chancellor (förordning 1975:1345 med instruktion för
justitiekanslern).
The duties of the Chancellor of Justice, as laid down by Parliament
(riksdag), include supervising the public authorities and their employees in
order to ensure that their powers are exercised in accordance with the law
and the applicable regulations. In this capacity, he often receives and
examines complaints from individuals. He also has to act on the
Government’s behalf in order to safeguard the rights of the State and has to
assist the Government with advice and investigations in legal matters.
The appointment as Chancellor of Justice is made by the Government
and continues until retirement age. According to Chapter 11, section 6, of
the Constitution, the Chancellor is subordinate to the Government.