Legal history of Sweden

The Civil Code of 1734 (Swedish: 1734 års lag), was a code of law passed by the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates in 1734, and put in effect after it had been ratified by Frederick I of Sweden 23 January 1736. It became the foundation of the later civil code in Sweden – and remained so in Finland when annexed by the Russian Empire in 1809; though many alterations have been made in both Sweden and Finland since. The current Swedish Code of Statutes is founded on the civil code of 1734.

Four-year-old Kevin Hjalmarsson was found dead in Arvika on 16 August 1998. Two brothers, then five and seven years old, were accused of murdering him and were claimed to have confessed. They were never convicted of a crime and from a judicial point of view are innocent.

Carl Johan Schlyter (29 January 1795 – 29 December 1888) was a Swedish jurist and law publisher. He is known for publishing scholarly editions of the medieval Swedish laws in 13 volumes, a process which took over 50 years.

King in Council, or Royal Majesty, (most formally Konungen i Statsrådet, but a term for it most often used in legal documents was Kunglig Majestät or short form Kungl.Maj:t or K.M:t. in Swedish) was a term of constitutional importance that was used in Sweden before 1975 when the 1974 Instrument of Government came into force.

Västgötalagen or the Västgöta (Westrogothic) law is the oldest Swedish text written in Latin script and the oldest of all Swedish provincial laws. It was compiled in the early 13th century, probably at least partly at the instigation of Eskil Magnusson and was the code of law used in the provinces of Västergötland and Dalsland and in Mo härad during the latter half of that century. The earliest complete text is dated 1281. Small fragments of an older text have been dated 1250.

Kaj Johannes Linna, né Kaj Juhani Kaukosalo (born 12 May 1962), is a Finnish man who was sentenced to life imprisonment for a robbery-murder in Kalamark outside of Piteå, Sweden on 14 April 2004. He served the longest overturned sentence in Swedish history before a retrial was ordered, in which he was exonerated and freed. He was later awarded 18 million SEK as compensation for his time in prison, a record sum.

Gutalagen (or Guta lag; "The law of the Gotlanders") is the earliest preserved law book for Gotland. The laws were likely first written down around 1220 CE but there is evidence for the laws being older than this, with some aspects likely being pre-Christian. They were practically in use until 1645 despite control of Gotland changing hands several times throughout this period between Sweden, Denmark and the Teutonic Order.

The Stones of Mora (Swedish: Mora stenar) is a historic location in Knivsta, Sweden. Several Medieval kings of Sweden were proclaimed at the assembly of Mora near modern Uppsala. It was moved in the 15th century and was considered to have been lost. However, there are a number of stones of record in a small building in the vicinity of the former assembly site.

The 1772 Instrument of Government (Swedish: regeringsform) was the constitution of the Kingdom of Sweden from 1772 to 1809. It was promulgated in the wake of the Revolution of 1772, a self-coup mounted by King Gustav III, and replaced the 1720 Instrument of Government, which had been in force for most of the Age of Liberty (1719-72). Although in theory the 1772 Instrument merely readjusted the balance of power between the Crown and the Riksdag of the Estates (Swedish Parliament), without changing Sweden's status as a constitutional monarchy, in practice it is generally seen as instituting an absolute monarchy, especially after its modification in 1789 by the Union and Security Act, which further strengthened royal power at the expense of the Riksdag. It remained in force throughout the Gustavian era, until replaced by the 1809 Instrument of Government as a result of the Coup of 1809.