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Sweden Translation Style Guide

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Full name: Kingdom of Sweden. Call the country’s main administrative/regional units (län) ‘counties’ in English.

Official language: Swedish.

Geography

Cities

Note Gothenburg for Göteborg. However, the Swedish form should be used in some EU-specific contexts, e.g. the Göteborg summit/process.

Regions

  • SVERIGE > SWEDEN
  • Östra Sverige > Eastern Sweden
    • Stockholm > Stockholm
    • Östra Mellansverige > East-Central Sweden
  • Södra Sverige > Southern Sweden
    • Småland med öarna > Småland and islands
    • Sydsverige > South Sweden
    • Västsverige > West Sweden
  • Norra Sverige > Northern Sweden
    • Norra Mellansverige > North-Central Sweden
    • Mellersta Norrland > Central Norrland
    • Övre Norrland > Upper Norrland

Judicial bodies

The following are the names of the two parallel systems, the administrative courts and the general courts.

Administrative Courts

  • Förvaltningsrätt* > administrative court
  • Kammarrätt > administrative court of appeal
  • Högsta Förvaltningsdomstolen** > Supreme Administrative Court

General Courts

  • Tingsrätt > district court
  • Hovrätt > court of appeal
  • Högsta Domstolen > Supreme Court

* These replaced the länsrätter in 2010.

** Formerly Regeringsrätten. Changed its name in Swedish on 1.1.2011

Note: this list of courts is of course not exhaustive. The Swedish court system has been changed and reformed a number of times in recent years, with courts being created and existing courts being merged. In cases of doubt it is always a good idea to go to the website of the court in question and check its name in English (which is always given somewhere).

The same applies to government agencies and bodies, which are also subject to frequent reorganisations/renamings.

For official titles etc. always use the most recent edition of Utrikes namnbok, which is to be regarded as definitive.

Legal instruments

  • allmänna råd > general advice
  • balk > code
  • betänkande (Bet.) > opinion/report (of a committee in the Riksdag)
  • föreskrift > regulation
  • författning > statute, statutory instrument
  • förordning > ordinance
  • grundlag (plural grundlagar) > fundamental law (it may be useful to spell out that ‘X is one of the four fundamental laws that make up the Swedish constitution’)
  • grundlagarna > the Constitution (i.e. the four fundamental laws collectively)
  • kungörelse > decree
  • lag > act/law
  • lagstiftning > legislation
  • proposition (prop.) > Government bill
  • Riksdagsskrivelse (rskr) > Riksdag communication (to the Government)
  • Regeringsskrivelse (regskr) > Government communication (to the Riksdag)

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