Wreck expert Linus Andersson and journalist Henrik Evertsson have for some time been accused of violating the law on grave peace at the Estonia wreck.
At eleven o'clock on Monday morning, the message came from Gothenburg District Court that they were acquitted of suspicions of having disturbed the peace of the grave when they sent a diving robot down to the wreck.
During the trial, national law was opposed to international law.
- The legal problem is that Estonia is on international waters.
This means that there are other principles, laws and norms that must be taken into account.
In international waters, it is the state whose ship you are on that has the right to judge the acts committed there, says Dennis Martinsson in SVT's broadcast.
"There it lacks"
This means that Germany has the right to judge in the case, according to the district court's reasoning.
But since Germany has not signed the peace agreement, the whole thing is further complicated.
- In order for it to be possible to convict these people in a Swedish court, Germany would have needed to have the same legislation in its country, and it does not have that.
So there it is lacking, says Dennis Martinsson.
The Court has thus ruled that international law outweighs national law prohibiting on-site underwater activities.
- It is quite interesting to have this tried in a higher instance.
In the application in the courts, it is assumed that our Swedish laws and regulations are compatible with these international rules, says Dennis Martinsson.
New bill
Already next month, a bill on changes to the peace of the tomb around Estonia is expected to be ready.
This after three accident commissions requested permission to carry out new dives at Estonia's wrecks.
The goal of the new legislation is for competent authorities to be able to carry out new dives this summer.