Art. 1. Every citizen shall be guaranteed the following rights and freedoms in his relations with the public institutions:
1. freedom of expression: that is, the freedom to communicate information and express thoughts, opinions and sentiments, whether orally, pictorially, in writing, or in any other way;
2. freedom of information: that is, the freedom to procure and receive information and otherwise acquaint oneself with the utterances of others;
3. freedom of assembly: that is, the freedom to organise or attend a meeting for the purposes of information or the expression of opinion or for any other similar purpose, or for the purpose of presenting artistic work;
4. freedom to demonstrate: that is, the freedom to organise or take part in a demonstration in a public place;
5. freedom of association: that is, the freedom to associate with others for public or private purposes;
6. freedom of worship: that is, the freedom to practise one’s religion alone or in the company of others.
The provisions of the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression shall apply concerning the freedom of the press and the corresponding freedom of expression on sound radio, television and certain like transmissions, as well as in films, video recordings, sound recordings and other technical recordings.
The Freedom of the Press Act also contains provisions concerning the right of access to official documents.
Art. 2. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any coercion to divulge an opinion in a political, religious, cultural or other such connection. He shall furthermore be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any coercion to participate in a meeting for the formation of opinion or a demonstration or other manifestation of opinion, or to belong to a political association, religious community or other association for opinion referred to in sentence one.
Art. 3. No record in a public register concerning a citizen may be based without his consent solely on his political opinions.
Every citizen shall be protected, to the extent set out in more detail in law, against any violation of personal integrity resulting from the registration of personal information by means of automatic data processing.
Art. 4. There shall be no capital punishment.
Art. 5. Every citizen shall be protected against corporal punishment. He shall likewise be protected against any torture or medical influence aimed at extorting or suppressing statements.
Art. 6. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any physical violation also in cases other than cases under Articles 4 and 5. He shall likewise be protected against body searches, house searches and other such invasions of privacy, against examination of mail or other confidential correspondence, and against eavesdropping and the recording of telephone conversations or other confidential communications.
Art. 7. No citizen may be deported from or refused entry into the Realm.
No citizen who is domiciled in the Realm or who has previously been domiciled in the Realm may be deprived of his citizenship unless he becomes at the same time a citizen of another state, either with his own express consent or because he has taken up employment in the public service. The foregoing notwithstanding, it may however be laid down that children under the age of eighteen shall have the same nationality as their parents or as one parent. It may further be laid down that, in pursuance of an agreement with another state, a person who has been a citizen also of the other state from birth, and who has his permanent domicile there, shall forfeit his Swedish nationality at or after the age of eighteen.
Art. 8. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against deprivation of personal liberty. He shall also in other respects be guaranteed freedom of movement within the Realm and freedom to depart the Realm.
Art. 9. If a public authority other than a court of law has deprived a citizen of his liberty on account of a criminal act or because he is suspected of having committed such an act, he shall be entitled to have the matter examined before a court of law without undue delay. This shall not, however, apply where the question relates to the transfer to the Realm of responsibility for executing a penal sanction involving deprivation of liberty which has been imposed in another state.
If, for reasons other than those specified in paragraph one, a citizen has been taken forcibly into custody, he shall likewise be entitled to have the matter examined before a court of law without undue delay. In such a case, examination before a tribunal shall be equated with examination before a court of law, provided the composition of the tribunal has been laid down in law and it is stipulated that the chairman of the tribunal shall be currently, or shall have been previously, a permanent salaried judge.
If examination under paragraph one or two has not been referred to an authority which is competent under the provisions laid down therein, such examination shall take place before a court of general jurisdiction.
Art. 10. No penalty or penal sanction may be imposed in respect of an act which was not subject to a penal sanction at the time it was committed. Nor may any penal sanction be imposed which is more severe than that which was in force when the act was committed. The provisions thus laid down with respect to penal sanctions apply in like manner to forfeiture and other special legal effects attaching to a criminal act.
No taxes or charges due the State may be exacted except inasmuch as this follows from provisions which were in force when the circumstance arose which occasioned the liability for the tax or charge. Should the Riksdag find that special reasons so warrant, it may however provide under an act of law that taxes or charges due the State shall be exacted even although no such act had entered into force when the aforementioned circumstance arose, provided the Government, or a committee of the Riksdag, had submitted a proposal to this effect to the Riksdag at the time concerned. A written communication from the Government to the Riksdag announcing the forthcoming introduction of such a proposal is equated with a formal proposal. The Riksdag may furthermore prescribe that exceptions shall be made to the provisions of sentence one if it considers that this is warranted on special grounds connected with war, the danger of war, or grave economic crisis.
Art. 11. No court of law shall be established on account of an act already committed, or for a particular dispute or otherwise for a particular case.
Proceedings in courts of law shall be open to the public.
Art. 12. The rights and freedoms referred to in Article 1, points 1 to 5, in Articles 6 and 8, and in Article 11, paragraph two, may be restricted in law to the extent provided for in Articles 13 to 16. With authority in law, they may be restricted by other statute in cases under Chapter 8, Article 7, paragraph one, point 7, and Article 10. Freedom of assembly and freedom to demonstrate may similarly be restricted also in cases under Article 14, paragraph one, sentence two.
The restrictions referred to in paragraph one may be imposed only to satisfy a purpose acceptable in a democratic society. The restriction must never go beyond what is necessary having regard to the purpose which occasioned it, nor may it be carried so far as to constitute a threat to the free formation of opinion as one of the fundaments of democracy. No restriction may be imposed solely on grounds of a political, religious, cultural or other such opinion.
A draft law under paragraph one, or a proposal for the amendment or ab-rogation of such a law, shall be held in abeyance, unless rejected by the Riksdag, for a minimum of twelve months from the date on which the first Riksdag committee report on the proposal was submitted to the Chamber, if so moved by at least ten members. This provision notwithstanding, the Riksdag may adopt the proposal, provided it has the support of at least five sixths of those voting.
Paragraph three shall not apply to any draft law prolonging the life of a law for a period not exceeding two years. Nor shall it apply to any draft law concerned only with
1. prohibition of the disclosure of matters which have come to a person’s knowledge in the public service, or in the performance of official duties, where secrecy is called for having regard to interests under Chapter 2, Article 2 of the Freedom of the Press Act;
2. house searches and similar invasions of privacy; or
3. deprivation of liberty as a penal sanction for a specific act.
The Committee on the Constitution determines on behalf of the Riksdag whether paragraph three applies in respect of a particular draft law.
Art. 13. Freedom of expression and freedom of information may be restricted having regard to the security of the Realm, the national supply of goods, public order and public safety, the good name of the individual, the sanctity of private life, and the prevention and prosecution of crime. Freedom of expression may also be restricted in commercial activities. Freedom of expression and freedom of information may otherwise be restricted only where particularly important grounds so warrant.
In judging what restrictions may be introduced by virtue of paragraph one, particular regard shall be had to the importance of the widest possible freedom of expression and freedom of information in political, religious, professional, scientific and cultural matters.
The adoption of provisions which regulate in more detail a particular manner of disseminating or receiving information, without regard to its content, shall not be deemed a restriction of the freedom of expression or the freedom of information.
Art. 14. Freedom of assembly and freedom to demonstrate may be restricted in the interests of preserving public order and public safety at a meeting or demonstration, or having regard to the circulation of traffic. These freedoms may otherwise be restricted only having regard to the security of the Realm or in order to combat an epidemic.
Freedom of association may be restricted only in respect of organisations whose activities are of a military or quasimilitary nature, or constitute persecution of a population group of a particular race, colour, or ethnic origin.
Art. 15. No act of law or other provision may imply the unfavourable treatment of a citizen because he belongs to a minority group by reason of race, colour, or ethnic origin.
Art. 16. No act of law or other provision may imply the unfavourable treatment of a citizen on grounds of gender, unless the provision forms part of efforts to promote equality between men and women or relates to compulsory military service or other analogous official duties.
Art. 17. A trade union or an employer or employers’ association shall be entitled to take industrial action unless otherwise provided in an act of law or under an agreement.
Art. 18. The property of every citizen shall be so guaranteed that none may be compelled by expropriation or other such disposition to surrender property to the public institutions or to a private subject, or tolerate restriction by the public institutions of the use of land or buildings, other than where necessary to satisfy pressing public interests.
A person who is compelled to surrender property by expropriation or other such disposition shall be guaranteed compensation for his loss. Such compensation shall also be guaranteed to a person whose use of land or buildings is restricted by the public institutions in such a manner that ongoing land use in the affected part of the property is substantially impaired, or injury results which is significant in relation to the value of that part of the property. Compensation shall be determined according to principles laid down in law.
There shall be access for all to the natural environment in accordance with the right of public access, notwithstanding the above provisions.
Art. 19. Authors, artists and photographers shall own the rights to their works in accordance with rules laid down in law.
Art. 20. Restrictions affecting the right to trade or practise a profession may be introduced only in order to protect pressing public interests and never solely in order to further the economic interests of a particular person or enterprise.
The right of the Sami population to practise reindeer husbandry is regulated in law.
Art. 21. All children covered by compulsory schooling shall be entitled to a free basic education at a public school. The public institutions shall be responsible also for the provision of higher education.
Art. 22. A foreign national within the Realm is equated with a Swedish citizen in respect of
1. protection against coercion to participate in a meeting for the formation of opinion or a demonstration or other manifestation of opinion, or to belong to a religious community or other association (Article 2, sentence two);
2. protection of personal integrity in connection with automatic data processing (Article 3, paragraph two);
3. protection against capital punishment, corporal punishment and torture, and against medical influence aimed at extorting or suppressing statements (Articles 4 and 5);
4. the right to have a deprivation of liberty on account of a criminal act or on suspicion of having committed such an act examined before a court of law (Article 9, paragraphs one and three);
5. protection against retroactive penal sanctions and other retroactive legal effects of criminal acts, and against retroactive taxes or charges due the State (Article 10);
6. protection against the establishment of a court of law for a particular case (Article 11, paragraph one);
7. protection against unfavourable treatment on grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin, or on grounds of gender (Articles 15 and 16);
8. the right to industrial action (Article 17);
9. protection against expropriation or other such disposition and against restriction of the use of land or buildings (Article 18);
10. the right to an education (Article 21).
Unless it follows otherwise from special provisions of law, a foreign national within the Realm is equated with a Swedish citizen also in respect of
1. freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of assembly, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of association and freedom of worship (Article 1);
2. protection against coercion to divulge an opinion (Article 2, sentence one);
3. protection against physical violations also in cases other than cases under Articles 4 and 5, against body searches, house searches and other such invasions of privacy, and against violations of confidential communications (Article 6);
4. protection against deprivation of liberty (Article 8, sentence one);
5. the right to have a deprivation of liberty other than a deprivation of liberty on account of a criminal act or on suspicion of having committed such an act examined before a court of law (Article 9, paragraphs two and three);
6. public court proceedings (Article 11, paragraph two);
7. protection against interventions on grounds of opinion (Article 12, paragraph two, sentence three);
8. authors’, artists’ and photographers’ rights to their works (Article 19);
9. the right to trade or practise a profession (Article 20).
The provisions of Article 12, paragraph three; paragraph four, sentence one; and paragraph five shall apply with respect to the special provisions of law referred to in paragraph two.
Art. 23. No act of law or other provision may be adopted which contravenes Sweden’s undertakings under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.