The legislative council's referral, which the government has approved, proposes, among other things, clearer powers for the police to change the time or location of an application to hold a public gathering, such as a demonstration.
If the organizer violates such a decision regarding a different time or location, the police should be allowed to break up the demonstration. This is not always the case today.
The government believes that the clarification in the Public Order Act will give the police the opportunity to decide on a different time and place in more cases than at present when a public gathering can be assessed as leading to disorder or traffic problems.
“Do not restrict”
However, according to the bill, the police will only be allowed to change the time and place if the alternative is to reject the application completely.
"The purpose of the proposal is not to in any way restrict individuals' freedoms to meet and express their opinions," the government writes in the legislative council's submission. Instead, the idea is that freedom of demonstration should be able to be exercised in a safe manner for both participants and others.
It is also proposed that the police be allowed to cancel a public gathering on grounds of risk to people's lives and health. It is currently not possible to cancel a gathering that has not yet begun on that ground. The Supreme Administrative Court ruled on such a case when it rejected a decision taken by the Norrköping police in connection with Easter unrest in 2022.
Will be allowed to intervene
The legislative council's report also proposes that the police be given expanded powers to take action against individuals who disrupt order and do not comply with decisions to cancel an assembly or to dissolve an assembly.
The legislative amendments are proposed to enter into force on July 1, 2026.
