Celebrating freedom of speech and expression

This year, Sweden celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act, the world's oldest of its kind. This is the story about the development of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in Sweden's journey towards becoming one of the world's most open and modern societies. 

In the 1760's, Sweden was a monarchy with an executive king who was largely checked by a Parliament with roots in feudal times. In 1766, the power of the king was temporarily weakened, leaving room for the Parliament to pass a ground-breaking law, inspired by the time's enlightenment ideas, to abolish censorship of printed publications, guarantee public access to official documents and enforce the right to engage in political debate. This was the world's first freedom of the press Act.

Some successive kings temporarily suspended the law, and some tried to weaken it, but without any success in the long-term. The law was, and remains, at the core of the Swedish democratic system. At the time, Finland and Sweden was one country, and we celebrate this Freedom of the Press Act as a common anniversary in the two countries.

Freedom of the press in Sweden has developed a lot since 1766. The Swedish Constitution consists of four parts - three of them concern freedom of speech. Chapter 1, paragraph 1 of the Instrument of Government, arguably the most fundamental paragraph in Swedish law, states that all public power proceeds from the people and that Swedish democracy is founded on the free formation of opinion. This paragraph illustrates that the political power ultimately rests with the people who elect their representatives, and that the democratic system is based on the possibility for people to form their opinion. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are necessary for people to form their opinion. Two other parts of our constitution, Freedom of the Press Act and Freedom of Speech Act details the rules for those areas. 

Under Swedish law, there are a number of rules in place to guarantee the independence and freedom of media. Together, these rules form a strong protection that gives media the ability to act as a watchdog over people and institutions in power and as a means to demand public accountability. Political power is constantly scrutinised and questioned by media, as a service for the public to be able to choose its political representatives and to hold them accountable. 

There are a few cornerstones of the Swedish system of freedom of expression.

Public access to information. All documents and other forms of information in the public sector are publically accessible for anyone. The importance of these rules for transparency, accountability and combatting corruption cannot be overestimated. Journalists and the public may request a particular document to be released or to access all information on a particular topic. Press freedom and access to information have been like a twin couple, mutually reinforcing each other; one of them meaningless without the other. 

The legal responsibility for publishing an article or report in any media lies with the responsible editor, not with any single journalist. This gives journalists the possibility to write controversial stories and investigate sensitive topics without risking legal consequences. 

Strong protection of sources who give information to journalists, and even for sources who disclose secret information from public authorities, for example government employees. This element is meant to safeguard legal ways for important information to reach the public. 

There are some limitations to freedom of expression. These are set in law and include individual privacy and hate speech. There are also some limitations to the right to access to information. Those exceptions include public and private interests, such as preventing crime or relations to other countries, or private economic interests. 

Another cornerstone of the Swedish is not based in law, but on the media sector's own responsibilities. The freedom of expression and of media has developed hand in hand with a strong self-regulation in the media sector in Sweden. There is a Press Council, consisting of all media, that supervises the ethical rules that the media sector itself has agreed on. 

Freedom of speech and of the press has been a key factor to the strong development of Sweden into one of the world's most open and prosperous societies. Freedom of speech drives human, social, cultural, economic and political development forward. By freely exchanging ideas and opinions, without fear of being censored or prosecuted, the whole society benefits and develops. Freedom of speech and transparency is a prerequisite for democracy and creates a context for creativity, development and diversity of ideas. Innovation needs a free flow of ideas and information. 

In addition to defending the freedom of expression, the Act from 1766 and the development of the tradition of free press, has made a fundamental contribution to the development of our modern and innovative Nordic societies. This is worth celebrating. 

The writer is Ambassador of Sweden in Bangladesh.