#hovrätter

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Sweden

General Information Sweden is a country in Scandinavia. First written accounts of the region and its people can be found in Tacitus’ “Germania” (98 CE), talking about the Svear people, who had powerful weapons and fleets and were trading partners of the Roman Empire. During the Viking Age the region, inhabited by different peoples such as Swedes and Götar, increasingly gained power throughout Europe (especially in the Baltic area), and it was likely in the first half of the 12th century that several provinces were united into the nation of Sweden. Throughout the centuries Sweden has historically been rather homogenous, with minorities of Finns and Sami, but in recent decades Sweden has received a lot of immigration especially from Africa and the Middle East, so that now around ¼ of the population has some kind of foreign background. Around 62% of Swedes are members of the Church of Sweden, which was separated from the Roman Catholic church by King Gustav I Vasa in 1536. The capital of Sweden is Stockholm.

Swedish Pop Music Despite having only 10 Million inhabitants, Sweden has continuously had a lot of global success in pop music. The most famous example being ABBA of course, since then artists such as Roxette, Ace of Base, Avicii, Zara Larsson, and many more have charted high around the world. Swedish songwriters are also very involved with pop music production in many other countries.

Astrid Lindgren Astrid Lindgren (1907 - 2002) is considered to be one of the most famous writers of children’s literature. She created many memorable characters of children such as Pippi Longstocking, Emil in Lönneberga, Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, Karlsson on the Roof or Lotta. Her books, translated into more languages (over 100) than those of any other Swedish author, and their film adaptations continue being part of the childhoods of a lot of kids around the world, especially in many European countries. Besides being an author, Astrid Lindgren was an activist for issues such as children’s rights and ecology until her old age.

~ Anastasia

Constitutional Framework Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, where the reigning monarch is the head of state but serves no political power. The succession is accorded to the firstborn child, regardless of gender. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who heads the cabinet responsible for all government decisions. The Speaker of Riksdag appoints the prime minister. Riksdag is Sweden's only legislative body, which makes it unicameral. Riksdag consists of 349 members and is elected every four years. 

Judiciary Sweden has a three-tiered hierarchy of courts: district courts (tingsrätter), intermediate courts of appeal (hovrätter), and the Supreme Court (högsta domstolen). Legal aid is available for anyone who wants it. Fines and imprisonment are the general penalties. The fines are set proportionally based on the offender's income. Offenders under 18 can only be imprisoned in certain cases.

~ Safira Economy Sweden is a competitive and highly liberalized, open market economy. It is a developed export-oriented economy aided by timber, hydropower, and iron ore. Exports and investments are rapidly increasing, and the Swedish export market is expected to grow by 8% each year. Sweden as well as all of Scandinavia is known for high income taxes. The Personal Income Tax Rate is as high as 52.9%.

Swedish approach to work Swedish companies have something in common, and it is a culture of doing business and treating their own employees. One of such companies is well known Spotify.  It is one of the very first large companies openly allowing their employees to choose the way they work. We can read on their HR website: ‘Our employees will be able to work full time from home, from the office, or a combination of the two.’ What’s more, they also see the possibility to work remotely from office space “we will support them with a coworking space membership if they want to work from an office.”

~ Damian

Sources:  https://www.britannica.com/place/Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden https://www.astridlindgren.com/en https://hrblog.spotify.com/2021/02/12/introducing-working-from-anywhere/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Sweden