CENTRUM FÖR RÄTTVISA v. SWEDEN JUDGMENT
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substantial harm or inconvenience could be avoided through a notification.
No such notification has to be given if it is impossible or would involve a
disproportionate effort (Chapter 2, section 4).
49. The FRA’s decisions on disclosure and corrective measures in
regard to personal data may be appealed against to the Administrative Court
in Stockholm (Chapter 6, section 3).
50. The State is liable for damages following a violation of personal
integrity caused by treatment of personal data not in accordance with the
FRA Personal Data Processing Act (Chapter 2, section 5). A request for
damages shall be submitted to the Chancellor of Justice.
51. In addition to the above remedies, laid down in the legislation
relating to signals intelligence, Swedish law provides for a number of other
means of scrutiny and complaints mechanisms. The Parliamentary
Ombudsmen (Justititeombudsmannen) supervise the application of laws and
regulations in public activities; courts and authorities are obliged to provide
information and opinions at the request of the Ombudsmen (Chapter 13,
section 6 of the Instrument of Government – Regeringsformen), including
access to minutes and other documents. The Ombudsmen shall ensure, in
particular, that the courts and authorities observe the provisions of the
Instrument of Government on objectivity and impartiality and that citizens’
fundamental rights and freedoms are not encroached upon in public
activities (section 3 of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen Instructions Act –
Lagen med instruktion för Riksdagens ombudsmän; 1986:765). The
supervision, under which the Foreign Intelligence Court and the FRA come,
is conducted by means of examining complaints from the public and
through inspections and other investigations (section 5). The examination is
concluded by a decision in which, although not legally binding, the opinion
of the Ombudsman is given as to whether the court or authority has
contravened the law or otherwise taken a wrongful or inappropriate action;
the Ombudsman may also initiate criminal or disciplinary proceedings
against a public official who has committed a criminal offence or neglected
his or her duty in disregarding the obligations of the office (section 6).
52. With a mandate similar to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen, the
Chancellor of Justice scrutinises whether officials in public administration
comply with laws and regulations and otherwise fulfil their obligations
(section 1 of the Chancellor of Justice Supervision Act – Lagen om
justitiekanslerns tillsyn; 1975:1339). The Chancellor does so by examining
individual complaints or conducting inspections and other investigations,
which could be directed at, for instance, the Foreign Intelligence Court and
the FRA. At the request of the Chancellor, courts and authorities are obliged
to provide information and opinions as well as access to minutes and other
documents (sections 9 and 10). The decisions of the Chancellor of Justice
are similar in nature to the decisions of the Parliamentary Ombudsmen,
including their lack of legally binding power. By tradition, however, the