The short article discusses the competences of ombudsmen in Sweden and Finland in relation to the judiciary. These institutions have controlling and supervisory powers in relation to courts of law, including the determination of the accountability of judges and typical competences of a prosecutor. The Author points out the necessity to read provisions of the constitutions and acts regulating the discussed competences in the light of the principle of the judiciary’s independence. Still, the supervisory rights of ombudsmen in Sweden and Finland are very well developed and may refer to issues approaching closely the sphere of jurisdiction. When assessing the solutions presented, the Author points out the fact that the ombudsmen in both countries have worked out respective practices aimed at such use of available means of control so they cannot be accused of a reasonable and too extended interference with the judiciary sphere.

The first orders had been established and awarded by monarchs long before the republican concept of presidency was developed. The many powers which presidents took over from monarchs include, inter alia, the awarding (and revoking) of state honours. The issue, usually regarded as marginal, does not appeal to constitutional law scholars. Poland’s legal regulations concerning orders are hardly precise (this being particularly true as far as the constitutional law is discussed) and the fact gives rise to many practical problems concerning application of the country’s constitution and statutes from the field, quite frequently going beyond the matters of orders in the strict meaning of the phrase. One of the questions of the kind, not having become an object of interest to legal scholars so far, is the acceptance by the President of the Republic of Poland of foreign orders and distinctions received either within his capacity as the supreme representative of the State in international relations or as a private individual. The picture resulting from an analysis of practice and theory of order-related issues is hardly a coherent one. The following paper – besides due presentation – aims at sharpening the somewhat blurry image.

Partnership NATO–Sweden

Article characterizes relations between most powerful military pact – Northern Atlantic Pact and neutral state – Sweden. In this article is analyzing cooperation on military ground, non-military ground and it is also analyzing aspects of cooperation involving neutral status of Sweden, Crimea annexation and growing danger from Russia. Studies connected to main theme of article were based on official documents od NATO, press notes or official releases. Main reason of article is to answer on question if neutral state can cooperate with NATO and can we say that between NATO and Sweden exists partnership relation. Except of above issues, in this article I will try to define neutrality, neutral policy and partnership. After made analysis of available documents, emphatically we can agree that partnership between NATO and Sweden exists.

Sweden has a substantially long tradition of conducting an image policy using both public diplomacy and nation branding. The refugee crisis is a significant challenge for maintaining a strong nation brand and positive perceptions of this country, mostly owing to contradictions between the declared values of Sweden’s image and nation brand and the real steps undertaken by the government to limit refugee immigration. The aim of this article is to discover potential correlation between the refugee crisis and changes within Sweden’s image and the strategy for promoting the country abroad, as well as Sweden’s methods and forms of international communication.

The presented study deals with the period of the second half of the Thirty Years‘ War in Bohemia that has not been closely observed so far. Nonetheless, it was a stage of the conflict, which had fatal consequences for the countries of the Czech Crown in the form of their great destruction and losses. The name of Johann Banér is well-known in Czech historiography, but only very little critically studied and evaluated.

The article discusses a wide range of issues concerning the Swedish model of the public notary institution. In the first part of the paper, the author makes an attempt to describe briefly the specific characteristics of the public notary institution in Poland with a view to showing subsequently the differences between both systems. Furthermore, the author describes shortly the historical background of the public notary institution in Sweden, and then points out how this institution operates nowadays according to the law about public notary, which entered into force on 1 July 1982, in particular who notaries are appointed and revoked by, who can become a notary and which the most important tasks of a public notary are. We are also given some practical details about how the public notary institution in Sweden works.

The subject of this article is the legal basis of the activity of radio, television and other technical media devices in Sweden. The basis of this activity is freedom of expression guaranteed in the act on the instrument of government (Regeringsformen – RF). There are specific constitutional regulations for some forms of expression. Freedom of the press is regulated in the ordinance on freedom of the press (Tryckfrihetsförordningen – TF) and it includes freedom of expression in writing. The fundamental law on freedom of expression (Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen – YGL) is applicable to other forms of expression like radio, television and other technical devices: film, video, sound records, CD and DVD. The fundamental law on freedom of expression (YGL) is the youngest of the Swedish constitutions and it is modelled on the ordinance on freedom of the press. The basic principles and their construction are the same in both acts. It applies among others to economic freedom in terms of broadcasting programs, prohibition on censorship, the right to provide information and protection of the source of information, catalogue of crimes, one-person liability, separate procedural provisions with the court with a jury. The author points out the leading principles of the fundamental law on freedom of expression: to ensure free exchange of views, free and comprehensive obtaining of information and free artistic output. Every Swedish citizen is entitled to publicly express their thoughts, views, feelings and other information in any field by means of the radio, television or other similar media devices. As a rule the law is applicable if broadcasting of a program takes place from Sweden. The fundamental law on freedom of expression guarantees for every Swedish citizen the right to provide information in any field with a view to it being made public on the radio or in other recordings as well as the right to obtain information with a view to it being passed or made public. A radio program author is entitled to remain anonymous and is not obliged to disclose their identity. In order to ensure the possibility of establishing the person responsible for violation of the fundamental law on freedom of expression it imposes the obligation to indicate the responsible editor (ansvarig utgivare) and made their identity available to the public. This liability comes on a one person basis; in the first place it applies to the editor, next to the person obliged to indicate the editor and finally to the person disseminating the program. The fundamental law on freedom of expression makes numerous references to other acts of law. For example, in terms of principles on placing advertisements and commercial announcements the applicable law is the act on radio and television, in particular regarding product placement and program sponsoring as well as the act on alcohol and the act on tobacco products. The article also describes regulations of the principles concerning granting licenses by the government (granting frequency) or the Office for radio and television. Independent control over the broadcast programs is exercised by the Office for control (and in terms of advertisements also by the Consumer Advocate). Foreign stations are not embraced by the act on radio and television and for this reason they are not subject to the supervision exercised by the Office for control.

In turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are many challenges to a country’s international reputation. During the pandemic, Sweden, especially in its first stage, was frequently presented by international media outlets, sometimes negatively. Such adverse reporting may have imposed some reputational threats on Sweden. This research aims to investigate Swedish communication through a short-term perspective of public diplomacy (its day-to-day dimension) with the foreign public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research was based on qualitative content analysis of official statements made by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the Swedish Institute’s Instagram account, and interviews with the Swedish Institute employees. The main argument of this research is that in Sweden, day-to-day communication within PD served as a tool supporting the crisis management process. The research question refers to whether Sweden, through the activity of the Swedish Institute, used some elements of its public diplomacy conduct to react to the coronavirus pandemic. The hypothesis states that the day-to-day dimension of public diplomacy can be associated with the crisis management process.