Anna-Sara Lind appointed expert in government inquiry on constitutional torts
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A committee was appointed last year to study the right to governmental damages upon breaches of rights and freedoms protected by the Swedish Constitution. Anna-Sara Lind, professor of public law at the Faculty of Law is one of the experts appointed to the inquiry.
The committee is a parliamentary committee comprised of MPs of all parties. It is chaired by Anders Eka, President of the Supreme Court. The experts appointed to the inquiry include representatives of academia, government agencies and the community.
According to Professor Lind, the matters being studied by the inquiry are very important.
"Under Swedish law, it has been possible for some time for damages to be awarded in tort claims pertaining to European law, but the issue of damages upon breaches of constitutionally protected rights and freedoms under Chapter 2 of the Instrument of Government (IG) has not yet been fully regulated. The committee’s remit is to analyse what rights to compensation exist under current law upon breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms under Chapter 2 IG, when, for example, new cases from the Supreme Court have shed new light on the matter. The committee is also tasked with determining whether the right to compensation from the government upon breaches of fundamental rights and freedoms under Chapter 2 IG should be expanded, and considering whether it is suitable and desirable that the right to governmental damages for injury caused by breaches of the fundamental rights and freedoms set forth in Chapter 2 IG is regulated by law,” says Professor Lind.
She adds: “An example of a breach that could lead to the award of damages from the government might be loss of citizenship, which is a matter that has been addressed in cases before the Supreme Court.”
The inquiry must report its findings by 31 March 2020.
Maria Cicilaki