Lotta Lerwall

Project summary

Oversight of public administration

In recent years, Sweden has seen an increase in both the oversight of public administration and the regulation of how this oversight is carried out. This development has been both welcomed and criticised. Parliament’s ambition to create a more consistent regulatory framework has not yet been fully achieved. There are still differences and uncertainties about what oversight should include, how it should be carried out and what measures supervisory authorities can take to ensure that public bodies comply with the rules.

 

A well-functioning public administration is important to both the state and its citizens. But does more extensive and clearly regulated oversight actually help achieve this? The overall aim of the project is to examine the legal aspects of oversight as a means of monitoring public administration. One key question is whether the current system is designed in a way that allows it to achieve its intended purpose. Recent reforms have also raised new questions, for example about the division of responsibilities between public authorities, the choice of methods for conducting oversight and the use of sanctions.

 

The project examines three areas to explore how oversight is organised and regulated: schools, food control and the police. To date, there has been no major study in legal scholarship that examines oversight from this broader perspective rather than focusing on a particular type of oversight or a single sector.