Rätten till tolk och biträde vid vårdnadstvist
Hello Lawline,
I have an ongoing civil case about child custody with my ex. It has been carrying on for some years now with the mother constantly moving and changing schools and accusing me of being an unfit parent. I have now had supervision from the kommun and all has gone well. In February we will return to court. The last time I was in court I did not have representation because of the high cost which I can no longer afford. The judge highly recommended that I have someone to help me next time we are in court as I have some trouble keeping up with all the Swedish and am likely losing ground because of this. Would it be possible to have someone there to help represent my interests that is speaking better Swedish than me who is not a lawyer but preferably understands the laws? I am originally from the US.
Thank you for you time.
Lawline svarar
Hello and thank you for choosing to contact Lawline with your legal question! We will try our best to advise you.
I understand your question as not specifically pertaining to the custodial issues between you and the mother of your child but rather how to best represent yourself in court to effectively and fairly state your case. In the following I will attach links to legal text in Swedish but my statements will be made in English.
As the courts in Sweden are "myndigheter", Förvaltningslagen (FL) is applicable here, 1§ FL. According to 8§ FL you, as a non-native Swedish speaker without full command of the Swedish language, have a right to have a translator present. The translator can be appointed by the court and my guess is that it would be a translator whom is well-versed in both legal English and legal Swedish. Furthermore, you have the opportunity to be represented in court, this could be a lawyer but could also be someone else who can represent your interests and understands the laws just as you said. Your right to representation is stated in 9§ FL.
I hope this gave you some clarity as to what your procedural options are. If you need more help in your civil case, please feel free to contact us again either through asking a new question or by booking a time with our qualified legal team here!
All the best,
