The Bar Association Steps Up Opposition to the Government's Asylum Reform

The conflict between the government and the Swedish Bar Association over Swedish asylum policy and the extremely lucrative migration industry has entered a new phase. Ahead of Sweden’s adaptation to the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact, which comes into effect on July 12, the Bar Association is now urging its members not to accept the new assignments for legal advice that will replace public counsel in certain asylum cases.

At the same time, the Association has sent a formal request to the Ministry of Justice, demanding that the Aliens Act be amended. According to the Bar Association, the new rules are so flawed that lawyers cannot carry out the assignments without violating the code of professional conduct.

The reform is part of the government’s implementation of the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact and means that public counsel in certain types of asylum cases is replaced by a significantly more limited right to free legal advice. Compensation is, as a rule, paid for a maximum of two hours of work, or three hours if there are special reasons. In some other cases, compensation is limited to just one hour.

The Bar Association argues that these time limits make it impossible to provide asylum seekers with legally secure legal support. In its letter, the Association writes that the assignments ‘cannot be carried out in a legally secure manner’ and that the rules are ‘incompatible with the code of conduct for lawyers’.

The Association points out that, under professional ethics, a lawyer cannot end an assignment simply because the state compensation has run out. If a case requires more work, the lawyer must still continue to represent the client, which, according to the Association, means that the state is essentially assuming that lawyers will work without pay.

The Bar Association had already advised against these proposals during the legislative process and also refers to the fact that the Council on Legislation expressed concerns about the design of the rules. Despite the criticism, Parliament chose to adopt the amendments to the law.

Urged to refuse assignments

The rhetoric is escalating further. Lawyers are now being urged to completely refuse the new assignments until the legislation is changed. Karin Gyllenring, a lawyer and member of the Bar Association’s working group for migration law, warns that the reform could result in more people being deported after having received substantially weaker legal support than before.

If many lawyers follow the recommendation, the reform may have practical consequences from the very first day. The state may then struggle to find legal professionals willing to take on the new assignments, while the conflict between the government and the Bar Association deepens.

The Bar Association is therefore demanding that the government urgently change the Aliens Act before the new system comes fully into force. According to the Association, the current model is incompatible with both legal certainty and the ethical obligations of lawyers.