14
CENTRUM FÖR RÄTTVISA v. SWEDEN JUDGMENT
opinions of the Chancellor and the Ombudsmen command great respect in
Swedish society and are usually followed (see Segerstedt-Wiberg and
Others v. Sweden, no. 62332/00, § 118, ECHR 2006-VII). The Chancellor
has the same power as the Ombudsmen to initiate criminal or disciplinary
proceedings (sections 5 and 6).
53. The Chancellor of Justice is also authorised to determine complaints
and claims for damages directed against the State, including compensation
claims for alleged violations of the Convention. The Supreme Court and the
Chancellor of Justice have developed precedents in recent years, affirming
that it is a general principle of law that compensation for Convention
violations can be ordered without direct support in Swedish statute to the
extent that Sweden has a duty to provide redress to victims of Convention
violations through a right to compensation for damages (see Lindstrand
Partners Advokatbyrå AB v. Sweden, no. 18700/09, §§ 58-62 and 67,
20 December 2016, with further references). On 1 April 2018, through the
enactment of a new provision – Chapter 3, section 4 – of the Tort Liability
Act (Skadeståndslagen; 1972:207), the right to compensation for violations
of the Convention was codified.
54. In addition to its above-mentioned supervisory functions under the
Foreign Intelligence Inspectorate Instructions Ordinance and the FRA
Personal Data Processing Act (see paragraphs 38, 42 and 43 above), the
Data Protection Authority is generally entrusted with protecting individuals
against violations of their personal integrity through the processing of
personal data, under the Act with Supplementary Provisions to the EU
General Data Protection Regulation (Lagen med kompletterande
bestämmelser till EU:s dataskyddsförordning) which entered into force on
25 May 2018, the same day as the new EU regulation it supplements
(paragraph 81 below). In regard to the signals intelligence conducted by the
FRA – which falls outside the competence of the EU and is thus not
regulated by Community law – the Personal Data Act (Personuppgiftslagen;
1998:204) continues to apply, although it is otherwise replaced by the new
EU Regulation and the supplementary act. It gives the Data Protection
Authority the same general supervisory task. In performing this task, the
Authority may receive and examine individual complaints.
J. Secrecy at the FRA
55. The Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (Offentlighetsoch sekretesslagen; 2009:400) contains a specific provision on the FRA’s
signals intelligence activities. Secrecy applies to information on an
individual’s personal or economic circumstances, unless it is evident that
the information can be disclosed without the individual concerned or any
other person closely related to him or her being harmed. The presumption is
for secrecy (Chapter 38, section 4).