The background to the change in the law that came into force on 1 July 2018 was that the costs for plaintiff's counsel had increased sharply.

Despite the fact that victims of crime can still be entitled to legal assistance in the upper court if necessary, the Bar Association is now sounding the alarm that victims of, among other things, serious sexual crimes are denied assistance.

- We have received an unusual number of reports from lawyers that they are very concerned that they have not appointed a plaintiff's counsel in, for example, rape cases.

Based on what our members say, I feel a strong concern that this legislation affects victims of crime that is not reasonable, says the Bar Association's Secretary General Mia Edwall Insulander to SVT News.

Halved the cost

SVT has tried to request statistics from the Swedish Courts Administration to find out how many victims of crime have been denied legal assistance since the change in the law was implemented.

But to find out, we need to go through all the cases - neither the courts of appeal nor the Supreme Court for any such statistics.

On the other hand, the costs of litigation counsel in higher instance have fallen by almost 50 percent between 2016 and 2020.

- That it is not possible to evaluate such far-reaching legislation for victims of crime, I think is almost unacceptable.

Crime victims deserve better, says Mia Edwall Insulander.

Rejects interview

Minister of Justice and Migration Morgan Johansson (S), who was also responsible minister when the change in the law was implemented, has declined an interview with SVT.

In an email he writes:

“For more than ten years now, the main rule has been that the Court of Appeal takes part in recorded interrogations from the district court, and it is unusual for plaintiffs to be present in the Court of Appeal.

The need for a plaintiff's counsel in the Court of Appeal has therefore decreased ”.

"Need support and help"

Mia Edwall Insulander, on the other hand, believes that the need for legal support for a crime victim extends significantly further than just to the courtroom.

- Going through a legal process as a crime victim is tough and then you need support and help, she says.