We Were Here since before the Earth Was Round – The Right to Participation of Indigenous Peoples and the Sami People in Sweden.

In September of 2017, the Swedish government introduced a proposal for a new Consultation Act that would require the government and other state agencies to consult with the indigenous Sami people on issues of importance to them. The aim of the proposed law is to strengthen and promote the influence of the Sami people over their own affairs. This thesis analyses whether the proposal is in line with the current standard of the right of indigenous peoples to participate in decision-making processes on matters that concern them. In order to do so, the legal framework and authoritative interpretations of the right to participation is examined in great detail. The common elements of the right to participation that are identified are then presented as the current standard of the right to participation. These elements include consultation; participation pursued in good faith; free, prior and informed participation; consent requirements; and judicial review. The reasoning behind the proposal is presented to gain an understanding of why the Swedish state has decided to introduce this law. The provisions of the proposed law are also examined to identify which rights and corresponding duties the Consultation Act would give rise to. The identified current standard of the right to participation is then compared with the content of the Consultation Act. The main conclusion drawn from the analysis is that there is a discrepancy between the protection of the right to participation offered by the Consultation Act and the identified current international standard of the right to participation. To rectify this, the Swedish state should revise the proposal and include certain elements and clarify others. A revised Consultation Act should for example introduce a flexible consent requirement, that necessitates Sami consent for projects and actions that risk the survival of the Sami people. The thesis also concludes that it is of utmost importance that a revised proposal gains the acceptance of the Sami Parliament for the Consultation Act to have any legitimacy as a vehicle for participation and influence