Judikalisering och demokrati: Lagprövningsrätten i förändring?

In this thesis I examine the development and expansion of judicial power in Sweden. The concept of judicial review is defined and related to democratic theory, and the various forms of judicial review in use in Sweden are explained. The main focus is on the political and scientific discussion concerning judicial review since the mid 1970s. It is shown that judicial review so far has been used only to a limited extent and that the number of court cases has remained quite stable over time. The main cause of judicialization seems to be the supremacy of EU law following the Swedish EU membership in 1995 and the inclusion of the European Convention on Human Rights into Swedish law. The political debate on judicial review is deeply divided along party lines with conservative parties in favor and parties on the left in opposition. The differing views reflect different attitudes towards democracy and constitutionalism, in particular concerning the need to limit majority rule