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Background: The point of departure for this study is that people with immigrant backgrounds are discriminated in the Swedish labour market and they are discriminated on several grounds. Discrimination is violation against human rights and it affects gender equality and integration policy negatively. Different studies show that immigrants hold the jobs which are lowest paid and not preferred by the swedes. The studies show also that immigrants from Africa and middle east are those who are discriminated most. This discrimination occurs despite the Swedish clear anti-discrimination policy and its regional and international obligations to combat discrimination. The Swedish discriminations act prohibits discrimination on the seven grounds mentioned in the act. This thesis analyses the Swedish discriminations act, its implementation and efficacy. It sheds some light on Sweden’s regional and international obligations in this regard. Finally, the impact of discrimination against immigrants on Swedish gender equality and integrations policy is discussed.

Purpose: The purposes of this thesis are, based on the earlier studies, to highlight the ways in which immigrants are discriminated in the Swedish labour market and contributing to the improvement of the anti-discrimination policy in a long run. To accomplish this task, I have Scrutinized and analysed the efficacy of the Swedish discrimination policy, based on earlier studies, I have analysed different ways in which immigrants are discriminated in the Swedish labour market and discussed the impact of immigration on gender equality and integrations policy.

Method: For conducting this research, qualitative method has been used. For accomplishing this study, both primary sources such as legal documents and legislations and secondary sources such as books, article, newspapers and internet websites have been used. To achieve this task, I have used intersectional analysis, and this is because immigrants are discriminated on multiple grounds and intersectional perspective is the best perspective in analysing such grounds.

Conclusion: Based on earlier studies, the idea that people with immigrant background are discriminated in Swedish labour market is supported. They are discriminated in different ways such as recruitment process, in salaries, working conditions and promotion process. Discrimination can be due to different reasons and based on different grounds. According to the studies, though discrimination affects immigrants in general, immigrants from Middle east and Africa most discriminated. The same studies show that Muslim women who can be identified as Muslims due to headscarves, burqa or niqab are discriminated most and the face harassment in the public areas. Additional findings in this thesis are that discrimination in general is obstacle to gender equality and integrations policy given that it widens the already wide gap between women and men as well as between immigrants and swedes. Besides this, discrimination in the criminal system also leads to discrimination in the labour market. This is because prejudices based on the reports of biased police, judges, prosecutors etc. lead to discrimination against immigrants by relating them to crime. Therefore, though it is not deeply studied, there is a significant correlation between discrimination in the criminal legal system and discrimination in the labour market.

For the first time in the Swedish Supreme Court, a small Sami reindeer herding community has won an important victory affirming the community’s small game hunting and fishing rights. Because of protracted use and the concept of immemorial prescription, the Court recognised the community’s exclusive hunting and fishing rights, including the right to lease these rights to others. Such leases have long been prohibited by legislation and the State has retained its powers to administer such leases. This case signifies a considerable development in the area of Sami law. In its decision, the Supreme Court made some adjustments to the age-old doctrine of immemorial prescription, and provided insights into how historic evidence should be evaluated when the claimant is an Indigenous people. A common motivator for these adjustments is an enhanced awareness of international standards protecting Indigenous peoples and minorities. Even ILO Convention No. 169 – the only legally binding convention concerning Indigenous rights, but which Sweden has not yet ratified – is relevant when it comes to evaluating Sami customary uses. The Court addressed the problem of gaps in the historical material and used evidence from other parts of Swedish Lapland and adjacent time-periods, making reasonable assumptions to fill in these gaps. The Court imposes on the State the burden of proof regarding the extinguishment of already established Sami rights, as well as proof that extinguishment by legislation or expropriation, is “clear and definitive”. These conditions were not met in this case.

Varje dag ställs förskollärare och lärare inför juridiska frågor. Det kan handla om tillsynsansvar, rätten att omhänderta en elevs mobil under en lektion eller vad som gäller för elevers inflytande över sin skolgång. Juridik för lärare ger tydliga och överskådliga svar på sådana frågor.

Boken redogör för regler kopplade till förskollärarens och lärarens roll som tjänsteman, regler om handläggning samt offentlighet och sekretess. De centrala reglerna i skollagen, som handlar om skolplikt, barns och elevers utveckling mot målen, trygghet och studiero samt inflytande, presenteras ingående. Kränkande behandling och diskriminering har fått ett eget kapitel. Bokens avslutande del handlar om vårdnadshavares och föräldrars beslutanderätt och rätt till information.

The primary objective of this special issue is to bring to light the role the social insurance system has as a cornerstone of the Swedish welfare state. The legal configuration of this system is consequently often significant for individuals in order for them to attain economic and social stability. Through its regulation of access to various benefits, including sickness allowances, pensions and non-monetary benefits such as rehabilitation services, social insurance can profoundly influence an individual’s capacity to navigate financial adversities across different life stages. Furthermore, it serves as a pivotal mechanism for social justice through its objective of equitably allocating resources and protection. Consequently, the configuration of social insurance benefits shapes not only individuals’ interaction with the welfare state but also their relationship with society at large.

As the post-2015 Development Agenda is set to replace the Millennium Development Goals (“MDGs”), one of the most controversial new elements of the new agenda is the rule of law. While all of the official fora for discussing and producing recommendations have concluded that the rule of law (or some variation) should be included, there are still significant challenges to its incorporation in the final Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). The interrelated points of contention have included whether rule of law applies at the national government level, whether it encompasses domestic governance, and how the concept should be defined and measured. Going forward, there are a few key factors influencing whether and how the rule of law will be incorporated into the next round of development goals: 1) the compelling force of traditional views on development in determining member states’ positions in the debate; 2) the continued importance of the United Nations General Assembly (“UNGA”) Rule of Law Declaration; 3) the centrality of the General Assembly’s Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (“OWG”); and 4) the ease of measurement and implementation of proposed indicators. If incorporated into the new agenda, a rule of law goal will likely include indicators that are easily evaluated and generate little political friction, such as legal identity.

This volume takes a critical look at the gender of tax policy around the world. Contributors based in eight different countries examine the profound effects that gender norms and practices have had in shaping tax law and policy, and how taxation in turn impacts upon the possibilities for equality along gender, race, class, sexuality and other lines. It includes chapters that explore how the gendered fiscal state might be theorised; how structural choices about rates and bases in tax policy design contribute to gender inequality; how tax policy affects family configurations and perceptions of what constitutes family; how fiscal systems impact savings and wealth accumulation by women and men; and, the role of different policy making processes and institutions in occluding and sometimes challenging these patterns. Most significantly, perhaps, the book explores these questions in an international frame, traversing countries and continents. The conclusion: fiscal policy has deep rooted, long standing gender implications that affect virtually every aspect of our social, political, and economic lives whether we live in Canada, Australia or Kenya.

In 1981 the Swedish Supreme Court stated that Sami land rights are based on the longtime use of land and that these rights are to be regarded as property protected by the Swedish constitution. It is thereby elucidated within the Swedish legal framework that Sami land rights are private property rights. This was also confirmed through an amendment in the Reindeer Herding Act in 1993. However, Sami land rights are primarily interpreted and protected through other land use statutes. It has been concluded that Sami land rights have not been implemented properly in the Forestry Act, which regulates forestry management. nstead, reindeer herding is primarily regarded as a public interest that needs to be considered when logging is planned and executed. In the balancing with timber production as another public interest, reindeer herding is considered as less important and must yield. Consequently, severe damages are accepted on the grazing lands without the consent of the Sami or financial compensation being payed. It has been concluded that the regulation does not comply with the constitutional protection of property. Several public inquiries have proposed changes in the Forestry Act to better reflect Sami land rights. However, no amendments have been enacted, due to strong opposing interests. This political failure to implement Sami land rights will most likely result in juridical proceedings where Sami argue that Sami land rights are not protected in compliance with constitutional requirements. The article discusses legal aspects that should be considered when courts evaluates the implementation of Sami land rights.

Det pågår en intensiv diskussion om hur skogsbruket bör bedrivas, som visar att det finns tydliga motsättningar mellan intressegrupper och rättighetshavare. Dessa motsättningar syns tydligt i konflikterna mellan renskötare och skogsägare, och de grundar sig i brister i dagens skogsvårdslagstiftning. En genomlysning av skogsvårdslagen behövs för att komma till rätta med problemen.

I januari 2018 meddelade Hovrätten för Övre Norrland dom i det så kallade Girjas-målet. Tvisten gäller frågan om Girjas sameby eller staten innehar jakt- och fiskerättigheterna inom samebyns marker ovan odlingsgränsen och vem som därmed har rätt att bestämma över de upplåtelser som görs till andra. Vid en första anblick tycks målet främst gälla förhållandena i Norrland och dess intressegrupper. Tvisten berör dock flera rättsliga frågeställningar som är av intresse även ur ett mer övergripande juridiskt perspektiv. I artikeln beskrivs den historiska bakgrunden till tvisten och domstolarnas bedömningar i målet. Därefter behandlas ett antal rättsliga frågeställningar om markrättigheters innebörd som aktualiseras genom hovrättens dom. Det konstateras att det är nödvändigt att ytterligare klargöra vissa rättsfrågor, vilket gör att förutsättningarna för prövningstillstånd hos Högsta domstolen bör vara goda.

In the northern parts of Sweden forestry and Sami reindeer herding are exercised on the same land and there is an ongoing land use dispute between the land users. Land ownership and reindeer herding rights, based on immemorial prescription and customary law, are parallel property rights to the same land. Studies have concluded that the legal framework does not sufficiently reflect the property rights perspective of the land use conflict. This study examines the legal framework that regulates the relationship between forestry and reindeer herding from a property rights perspective. Starting points of the study are basic aspects of property rights, such as the right to use, decide on and benefit economically from property and the legal protection required in relation to others. Comparisons are made with the legal frameworks that regulate other relationships within real estate law, including e.g. neighbors, easements, joint facilities and utility easement.

The study concludes that the relationship between land ownership and reindeer herding rights can be understood only against the background of historical events such as colonization and demarcation. The rights are more independent of each other than other legal relations and can be compared to a double ownership. It is further concluded that the Forestry Act is based on the assumption that reindeer herding is primarily a public interest that needs protection. Land owners have a far-reaching right to use forests that causes damages to reindeer pasture lands that is not in accordance with the legal nature of the reindeer herding right. Further, central elements usually used to regulate property rights relations are missing, e.g. mutual consideration, damages and judicial review.

The study also examines if the legal framework is in accordance with the constitutional protection of property in Chapter 2 Section 15 of the constitutional Instrument of Government and Article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. It is concluded that the legal framework has several deficiencies in this respect. Elements are discussed that can be implemented in law to appropriately reflect the property rights studied.

Within Swedish law, Saami land rights have been highly controversial since early in the 20th century. In case law, Saami land rights have been placed in the historical context, since it has been established that they are based on long-standing land use. This conclusion puts historical use of land at the very center of any judicial assessment. Herein, two lawsuits about Saami land rights, in which archeology has been used to validate pre-historic and historic land use are compared: the Härjedalen Case, initiated in 1991 and relating to winter grazing rights, and the Girjas Case about hunting and fishing rights. This article describes how archaeological and historical material has been interpreted within the lawsuits and analyzes the impact on the legal assessments. The comparison illustrates how it can be problematic to use archaeological arguments in court proceedings. Nevertheless, it is concluded that archaeology, as part of wider interdisciplinary research, may contribute with knowledge about past land use, thus allowing the understanding of Saami land rights to evolve. Furthermore, how researchers within archeologyand other disciplines could respond to the fact that the results of their work might be used outside academia and within the very different environment of judicial proceedings is discussed.

Even though Swedish case law clarifies that Sámi land rights are private property rights, the implications for the legal system still remain unclear and debated. Since the political system has failed to clarify Sámi property rights, Girjas sameby, as a representative of the reindeer-herding Sámi, have turned to the judicial system to have these rights enforced. After more than ten years of legal proceedings, at the end of 2019, the Swedish Supreme Court will hand down its decision in the so-called Girjas Case. The heart of the lawsuit is who holds the hunting and fishing rights within a specific high mountain area in the north-western part of Sweden and thus who decides on the granting of licenses to others. The case illustrates the ongoing dispute between the Indigenous Sámi people and the Swedish state over the meaning of property rights with respect to land within Sapmi, the homeland of the Sámi. This chapter describes the historical background of the lawsuit and briefly outlines the legal assessments of the District Court and the Court of Appeal. In addition, the chapter discusses why litigation is being used by the Sámi as a strategy to enforce Sámi land rights within the legal system and the challenges associated with presenting historical perspectives in a court setting.

In northern Sweden, large forest areas are used both for timber production and Sámi reindeer herding, and intense forest management practices have had predominantly negative effects on reindeer herding. Through case law, it is elucidated that Sámi land rights are private property rights based on the longtime use of land. At the same time, landowners own the forest areas. Hence, there exists parallel property rights on the same land. This chapter analyses the recognition and protection of Sámi land rights in the Forestry Act, which regulates the landowners’ forest management. The analysis is based on legal mechanisms that are usually used when property rights relations are regulated within Real Estate Law. This type of legal mechanisms is missing in the Forestry Act, and the legislation does not provide an adequate protection of the land rights of the Sámi. Instead, reindeer herding is regarded as a public interest that is balanced in relation to the public interest of timber production. To achieve a just and sustainable development in line with the rights of Indigenous peoples, there is an urgent need for a legislative reform, and the chapter proposes amendments to provide better protection to the land rights of the Sámi.

I artikeln "Samebyars avtalsrätt" gör Eivind Torp bedömningen att den nuvarande rennäringslagen inte ger utrymme för att behandla renskötselrätten eller delar av rätten som ett civilrättsligt avtalsobjekt. Därför menar Torp att samebyarna saknar rättslig befogenhet att ingå avtal som innebär inskränkningar av renskötselrätten. Vi menar att Torp i sin analys av rättsläget bortser från den rättsutveckling som skett i tiden efter 1971 när den nuvarande rennäringslagen infördes. Dessutom är frågan om samebyarnas avtalsrätt mer komplex än vad den aktuella artikeln visar.

This chapter reflects on how social constructionism and discourse analysis relate to the dominant theory and methodology of criminal law and legal scholarship in Sweden. Contemporary feminist legal studies in Sweden are often based on a social constructionist theory and methodology of law. Studies of criminal law and men's violence against women, however, are an important exception. In contemporary Swedish criminal legal scholarship, law is most often conceptualized as a formal, closed and coherent system of rules and principles. Criminal law has traditionally had a relatively low-key role in the Nordic welfare states. The defensive model of criminal law policy builds on neoclassical values and stresses that values such as legality, proportionality and fairness cannot be subordinated to the need to prevent crime through criminalization. Dogmatic criminal legal scholarship is comprehended as an internal systematic perspective within boundaries that are set up by the legislator and the courts. 

I Förtroendeutredningens betänkande "Ökat förtroende för domstolarna" behandlas domstolarnas kvalitetsarbete, bemötande, domskrivning och mediekontakter. Ombedd att kommentera betänkandet har jag valt att inrikta mig på frågan om domstolars bemötande av parter och bevispersoner, särskilt vad avser institutionellt bemötande, personbemätande samt utbildningsfrågor. Utredningen står för ett viktigt perspektivskifte där brukarnas upplevelser liksom frågor om värdegrund och motverkande av diskriminering lyfts fram. Frågan om domstolars bemötande blir väl belyst i betänkandet och om utredningens förslag genomförs kommer bemötandefrågorna onekligen att ta ett viktigt steg framåt.

During the last 30 years, rape has been the subject of more government and official investigations and legislative changes than any other criminal act in Sweden. However, there have been very few policy initiatives that have explicitly addressed rape and other forms of sexual abuse. In addition, the underlying dimensions of gender, power, sexuality and equality have barely been recognized in law and policy-making processes. This is somewhat peculiar in a Swedish context, where equality and issues of gender and power have generally been highly influential in framing legal and policy responses to men's violence against women.

The main aim of the Swedish Women’s Peace reform in 1998 was to enhance criminal legal protection for women exposed to violence in heterosexual relationships and to promote gender equality. However, these ambitions risk being contravened in a masculinist criminal legal system. One problem concerns how the victim is constructed in criminal legal cases. The author argues that moral balancing and discourses of responsibility and guilt in Swedish cases constrain the agency possible for women and suggest that a more comprehensive policy in Sweden must be developed to include violent men, their agency, and their responsibility for the violence.

I denna artikel problematiseras rättsutvecklingen av ungdomspåföljderna ur ett barnrättsperspektiv, med fokus på påföljden ungdomsvård och dess föregångare. Det huvudsakliga intresset är inriktat mot att bidra till den straffrättspolitiska diskussionen genom att visa hur den spänning mellan behandling och förtjänst som finns i straffrätten kan förstås och utmanas ur ett barnrättsperspektiv. Artikeln beskriver vilka rättigheter barn som begår brott har enligt internationell barnrätt, hur den svenska rättsutvecklingen på området ser ut samt belyser hur barns rättigheter har synliggjorts i straffrättsliga förarbeten. Författaren visar bl.a. på hur olika påföljdsfrågor kan vara problematiska ur ett barnrättsperspektiv och argumenterar för att barns rättigheter inte nämnvärt har inverkat på rättsutvecklingen av påföljden ungdomsvård trots att barnperspektiv har lyfts fram som en väsentlig aspekt under senare tids reformer.