Swedish Legislative Council says emergency plan for new prisons is democratic deviation

The Legislative Council, which reviews bills before they are submitted to the Riksdag, says the government wants to give itself the power to make exceptions to the Planning and Building Act. The aim is to speed up the creation of the thousands of places needed after the broad increases in punishments that the government has put forward.

However, the Legislative Council believes that the proposal is too general and constitutes a departure from the democratic processes on which the Planning and Building Act is based.

"If the government believes that more prison and detention centers are needed, concrete proposals should be presented that the Riksdag can take a position on," writes the Legislative Council.