Lagerblom v. Sweden
This judgment will become final in the circumstances set out in Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. The applicant is a Finnish national who settled in Sweden in the 1980s. In February 1993, he was charged with a criminal offence. He was convicted in May 1994. The sentence was confirmed in appeal in June 1995. During the whole procedure, the applicant, for whom a lawyer was appointed, spoke in Finnish and submitted documents in Finnish. He also wanted to be represented by a different lawyer, one who understood Finnish. Before the Court he complained on the basis of Art. 6 § 3 of the ECHR, that he was not allowed to be defended by a lawyer of his choice. As a consequence his appointed lawyer, who did not or understand speak Finnish, could not carry out his duties properly. The Court started by saying that the right to chose one's lawyer was not absolute, notably when free legal aid is concerned. In appointing lawyers domestic courts should have regard to the wishes of the accused but these can be overridden when necessary for the interests of justice. In this case, the Court noted that the applicant's command of Swedish was sufficient to communicate with his lawyer and that in any case interpretation was provided during the hearings and when submitting documents in Finnish. For all these reasons, the Court decided that there was no breach of Art. 6 § 3 of the ECHR. 14 April 2003 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Countries: Finland - Sweden |
Ammari v. Sweden
22 October 2002 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Countries: Algeria - Sweden |
S.C.C. v. Sweden
Admissibility application. 15 February 2000 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Complementary forms of protection - Deportation / Forcible return - HIV and AIDS - Public health - Residence permits / Residency - Right to life | Countries: Sweden - Zambia |
Wiff Jama v. Sweden
12 October 1999 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Countries: Ethiopia - Sweden |
Lilia, Julia and Eleonora Alimzhanova and Alexjis Lisikov v. Sweden
24 August 1999 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Expulsion | Countries: Latvia - Sweden |
Antoine Zoghaib v. Sweden
29 June 1999 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Decision on admissibility - Expulsion | Countries: Lebanon - Sweden |
Slavov v. Sweden
29 June 1999 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Criminal justice - Expulsion - Persecution based on political opinion - Right to family life - Rights of non-citizens - Statelessness | Countries: Bulgaria - Sweden |
Vedran Andric v. Sweden
23 February 1999 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Countries: Croatia - Sweden |
Mohammed Lemine Ould Barar v. Sweden
19 January 1999 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Topic(s): Decision on admissibility | Countries: Mauritania - Sweden |
Cruz Varas and Others v. Sweden
20 March 1991 | Judicial Body: Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights | Document type: Case Law | Countries: Chile - Sweden |