In Swedish constitutional law freedom of expression is protected by three discrete constitutional acts; the Instrument of Government (IG), the Freedom of the Press Act (FPA) and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (FLFE). The IG grants protection to freedom of expression on similar terms as article 10 of the ECHR, article 19 of the ICCPR and article 11 of the EU Charter. The FPA and the FLFE, on the other hand, are primarily concerned with protection of media speech and provide protection for expression which is disseminated via certain media formats (e.g. printed materials and tv and radio transmissions). The FPA and the FLFE are frequently amended to accommodate technical progress and the increasing internationalisation of Swedish internal law.

The FPA and the FLFE are generally considered to provide more robust free speech protection, in comparison to what is required under international human rights standards. However, these assumptions lack solid factual support. One aim of this thesis is to explore how freedom of expression is protected under the ECHR, EU law and the ICCPR in the following areas, where the protection of the FPA and the FLFE is considered to be particularly far-reaching; censorship and prior restraints, editorial freedom, protection of journalistic sources, the right to acquire information, and the right of public employees to impart information to the media.

Furthermore, this thesis aims to analyse to what extent the application and interpretation of the Swedish constitutional laws can, and ought to, be influenced by Sweden’s international obligations to protect freedom of expression – in particular under the ECHR, EU law and the ICCPR. In part, these questions are related to the Swedish dualist approach towards international law. However, the thesis is not limited to an analysis of traditional doctrines such as direct effect and consistent interpretation. It provides an in-depth exploration of the profound effects that, primarily, the ECHR and EU law have had on how individual rights are conceived of and are applied in Swedish law. One of the main arguments in this thesis is that the Swedish constitutional protection of freedom of expression ought to embrace a more coherent perception of how the right’s scope and limits are structured and interpreted.