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Sweden: People to see their files?

01 March 1998

In the repercussions coming out of the Leander case, the Swedish government has laid a proposition before parliament that Swedish citizens, from 1 January 1999, will be allowed to look at their own files held by the Security Police. However, the Security Police will be allowed to decide and refuse the exercise of this right if they decide access would damage their operations or responsibilities.

At the same time it is proposed that all future registration (files on individuals and groups) by the Security Police will be steered by open legislation. Until now the rules governing what the Security Police are allowed and obligated to file have been covered by secret instructions from the government. The new legislation will however only cover what is to be filed in the computerised register, not what the Security Police might hold in manual files.

In June the final decision will be taken on the research projects to be started with the 20 million crowns funding agreed by the government last December covering research on military intelligence in Sweden up to 1980. So far, all swedish academics and researchers working in the field have rejected the boundaries set by the government for the research. Academics from many disciplines - history, political science, law etc - have united to demand that the research must include the Security Police and should not stop at the year 1980.