Chapter 5. On the publication of periodicals
Article 1
The owner of a periodical shall be a Swedish citizen or Swedish legal person. It may be provided in law that also a foreign national or foreign legal person may be the owner of such a publication.
Article 2
A periodical shall have a responsible editor.
The responsible editor shall be a Swedish citizen. It may be provided in law that also a foreign national may be a responsible editor.
A responsible editor shall be domiciled within the Realm. No person who is a minor or an undischarged bankrupt, or for whom an administrator has been appointed under special provisions of law, may be a responsible editor.
Article 3
The responsible editor of a periodical shall be appointed by the owner.
The tasks of a responsible editor shall include the power to supervise the publication of the periodical and to determine its contents in such a way that nothing may be printed therein against his or her will. Any restriction of these powers shall be null and void.
Article 4
Once a responsible editor has been appointed, it is the responsibility of the owner to notify the appointment to the public authority designated in law. The information provided shall include the responsible editor’s name and place of domicile. It shall be accompanied by proof that the responsible editor has the required qualifications and a declaration from the responsible editor that he or she has accepted the appointment.
Article 5
A periodical may not be published until a certificate has been issued stating that no impediment exists under this Act to prevent its publication. Such a certificate is issued, on an application from the owner, by the authority referred to in Article 4. The application shall indicate the title, place of publication and publishing schedule of the periodical.
A certificate of no legal impediment to publication may not be issued until the name of a responsible editor has been notified under Article 4.
An application for a certificate of no legal impediment to publication may be rejected if the title of the periodical so closely resembles the title of a periodical for which a certificate has already been issued that the two may easily be confused.
A certificate of no legal impediment to publication is valid for ten years from the date of issue. The certificate lapses thereafter. The decision that a certificate shall be deemed to have lapsed after the expiry of the ten-year period is taken by the authority referred to in Article 4.
The certificate may be renewed for ten years at a time, with effect from the expiry of the preceding ten-year period, on an application from the owner. An application for renewal may be made no sooner than one year before and no later than the expiry date. The same rules otherwise apply to an application for renewal of a certificate as applied in the case of the original application.
If an application for renewal has been received in due time, the certificate shall continue to be valid, the provisions of paragraphs four and five notwithstanding, until the decision resulting from the application has acquired legal force.
Article 6
A certificate of no legal impediment to publication may be rescinded:
- if the owner has given notice that publication of the periodical has ceased;
- if the rights of ownership in the periodical have been transferred to a person who does not have the required qualifications;
- if there is no responsible editor, or if the responsible editor does not have the required qualifications and a qualified responsible editor is not appointed forthwith;
- if the periodical has not appeared within six months from the date on which the certificate of no legal impediment to publication was issued;
- if at least four issues or instalments of the periodical specified in the certificate have not appeared at different times in either of the previous two calendar years;
- if within six months from the appearance of the first issue it becomes apparent that a certificate should not have been issued under the provisions of Article 5, paragraph three; or
- if the typographical appearance of the masthead of the periodical so resembles the masthead of another periodical for which a certificate has already been issued that the two may easily be confused and the matter is not rectified forthwith.
A decision to rescind a certificate is taken by the authority referred to in Article 4. In matters under paragraph one, points 2 to 7, the owner and the responsible editor are given an opportunity, if possible, to put forward their views.
Article 7
If a certificate of no legal impediment to publication has been rescinded on account of a circumstance under Article 6, paragraph one, point 2, 3, 5 or 7, or if the certificate has been declared to have lapsed, a certificate in respect of another periodical whose masthead so resembles the masthead of the original periodical that the two may easily be confused may not be issued without the owner’s consent, until two years have elapsed from the date on which the certificate was rescinded or lapsed.
Article 8
If a responsible editor is no longer qualified, or if his or her appointment as a responsible editor has otherwise been terminated, it is the responsibility of the owner to provide forthwith for the appointment of a new responsible editor and to notify the appointment to the authority referred to in Article 4. The provisions of Article 4 apply to such notification, which shall be accompanied, if possible, by proof that the previous responsible editor has been informed of the notification of a new name.
If the place of publication or the publishing schedule changes, the owner shall notify the authority referred to in Article 4 forthwith.
Article 9
The responsible editor of a periodical may have one or more deputies. These deputies are appointed by the responsible editor. When a deputy is appointed, the authority referred to in Article 4 shall be notified accordingly. Notification shall be accompanied by proof that the deputy has the required qualifications for a responsible editor, by a declaration from the deputy that he or she has accepted the appointment and by a statement from the owner that he or she has approved the deputy.
The provisions of Article 2, paragraphs two and three, apply in a similar manner to deputies. If the appointment of a responsible editor is terminated, an appointment as deputy also lapses.
Article 10
Once the appointment of a deputy has been notified, the responsible editor may authorise such a deputy, or, if there are two or more deputies, any one of them, to exercise in his or her place the powers vested in the responsible editor under Article 3.
If it can be presumed that a responsible editor will be continuously prevented for at least one month, by reason of ill health or for any other temporary cause, from exercising the powers vested in him or her as responsible editor, he or she shall delegate these powers to a deputy forthwith. If no deputy exists, or if the appointment of the person or persons designated as a deputy or deputies is approaching termination, it shall be the responsibility of the responsible editor to provide as quickly as possible for the appointment of a deputy and to notify the appointment as laid down in Article 9.
Article 11
The name of the responsible editor shall appear on each separate issue or instalment of a periodical. If the responsible editor’s powers have been delegated to a deputy, each issue or instalment of the periodical concerned shall state that the deputy is acting as responsible editor; if this is done, the name of the responsible editor need not be given as well.
Article 12
If the owner of a periodical publishes the periodical without having a certificate of no legal impediment to publication, or without being qualified;
or if the owner fails to provide for the appointment of a new responsible editor or notify such an appointment as laid down in Article 8;
or if, in a case under Article 10, paragraph two, a responsible editor neglects to delegate his or her powers to a deputy;
or if a person publishes a periodical the publication of which has been declared prohibited under this Act, or which is manifestly a continuation of such a periodical;
or if a person allows his or her name to appear on a periodical as responsible editor or responsible deputy editor without being qualified;
the penalty is a fine. If the contents of the periodical have been declared to be criminal, or if the circumstances are otherwise exceptionally aggravating, the penalty is imprisonment for up to one year.
Article 13
The penalties specified in Article 12 apply also to a person who knowingly submits false information in an application or notification under this Chapter, or a declaration appended to such an application or notification.
Article 14
If the owner of a periodical fails to report a new place of publication or a new publishing schedule under Article 8, the penalty is a monetary fine.
If a responsible editor breaches the provisions of Article 11 the penalty is a monetary fine. This applies in a similar manner to a deputy acting as a responsible editor.
