Voteringsplikt och samvetsfrihet

Sammanfattning: In Swedish administration, on both the state level and the municipal level, some positions are bound by a duty of voting, and it is thus demanded that they make their opinion known in some issus. This paper investigates how this duty of voting relates to the freedom of conscience granted by Art. 9 in the European Convention on Human Rights. In the paper the duty of voting according to the Administrative Law (2017:900) and the Municipal Law (2017:725) is presented, as well as case law regarding freedom of conscience from the European Court of Human Rights. Swedish regulations regarding serving of alcohol is also presented in order to serve as an example of a possible area of conflict between duty of voting and freedom of conscience. From the investigation it is concluded that employees covered by the Administrative Law (2017:900) isn't covered by freedom of conscience in the line of their employment, since case law from the European Court of Human Rights shows that performing their usual duties doesn't violate employees' freedom of conscience. It is however doubtful whether elected municipal officials are covered by an as extensive duty of voting.