Chapter 14. General provisions
Article 1
Provisions of law relating to the re-opening of closed cases in general apply also to rulings in freedom of the press cases, even if the question of whether an offence has been committed has been tried by a jury.
If a case in which a jury has tried the question of whether an offence has been committed is re-opened and its re-opening is founded on circumstances which may be presumed to have influenced the jury’s deliberations, it shall be decided at the same time to resubmit the case to a jury of the court which first pronounced judgment. If a retrial is granted in favour of the defendant and the matter is manifest, the court granting the retrial may instead revise the judgment forthwith.
Article 2
When, as a result of a ruling by a higher instance, a freedom of the press case in which a jury participated is to be retried before a jury of the court which first pronounced judgment, the provisions of Chapter 12, Articles 10 to 14, apply with respect to the empanelling of the jury.
Article 3
Freedom of the press cases and other cases concerning offences against the provisions of this Act shall always be dealt with promptly.
Article 4
Repealed.
Article 5
General provisions of law or statute apply in all matters not dealt with in provisions of this Act or special legislation enacted by virtue of this Act.
Except as otherwise laid down in this Act or elsewhere in law, foreign nationals are equated with Swedish citizens.
Transitional provisions
Part 1. Transitional provisions relating to 1976 amendments
- This Act comes into force on 1 January 1978.
- The new provisions do not apply to written matter duplicated by stencil, photocopying or other similar technical process and published before the Act comes into force.
Part 2. Transitional provisions relating to 1998 amendments
- This Act comes into force on 1 January 1999.
- Older provisions shall apply to technical recordings disseminated before the Act comes into force.
- The newer provisions contained in Chapter 1, Article 7, and Chapter 5, Articles 5 and 7, shall apply also to certificates of no legal impediment to publication issued before the Act comes into force. Contrary to the provisions of Chapter 5, Article 5, paragraph four, sentence one, such certificates shall be valid for a period of ten years from the date on which the Act comes into force.
- In cases affecting the portrayal of children in pornographic pictures, older provisions shall apply if criminal proceedings have been instituted before the Act comes into force.
