Förvaltningsmyndigheternas kommunikationsskyldighet : Regelverk och tillämpning

Sammanfattning: This essay deals with the principle of communication as phrased in section 17 of the Swedish administrative act. According to this section administrative authorities are obliged to inform a party involved in an administrative case of all material which has been added to the case by somebody else and is of importance for the decision and then give the party an opportunity to comment on it. The purpose of this essay is to examine how courts evaluate the way administrative authorities apply this rule. How do the authorities fail in their obligation to communicate and what do the courts say about this? The essay includes a description of the details of the law and what preparatory work and doctrine say about it. The essay includes an analysis of thirteen court cases. The courts were critical of the application of the rule in a majority of cases. The analysis showed different kinds of deviations from the obligation to communicate. The courts only accepted minor deviations. In most cases where the authorities had failed in their communication the courts reversed the decisions. The conclusion of the analysis is that the courts are very strict when they evaluate how administrative authorities apply their obligation to communicate.