Unhappy about the response you got?

If ...

  • You didn't get a reply promptly (often within a couple of working days)
  • You did not get all of the information that you requested or
  • Your request was refused, but without a reason valid under the law

... you can

  1. Ask for an internal review at the public authority.
  2. If that doesn't help, appeal — see section 2.
  3. Either way, also use other means to answer your question.

1. Asking for an internal review #

At the bottom of the relevant request page on Handlingar.se choose "request an internal review". Then write a message asking for an internal review of your request. You may want to include a link to the request page, to make it clear which request you are talking about.

The authority should handle the review promptly, as the Freedom of the Press Act requires requests for public records to be dealt with skyndsamt. You will then either get the information that you originally requested, or you will be told that the review upholds the original decision.

2. Appealing #

If you are still unhappy after the public authority has reviewed your request, you can complain to the Parliamentary Ombudsmen (JO). A fuller guide is coming. In the meantime you can ask on the Openness forum.

To make it easier to send the relevant information with your complaint, include a link to your request on Handlingar.se or print out the whole page of your request and all attachments.

You can leave annotations on your request keeping people informed of progress. You can also try to get the information by other means...

3. Using other means to answer your question #

You can try pursuing your problem or your research in other ways.

  • Make a new request for summary information, or for documentation relating indirectly to matters in your refused request. Ask us for ideas if you're stuck.
  • If any other public authorities or publicly owned companies are involved, then make requests to them.
  • Try asking for the information from the European Union. People living in the European Union (both citizens and residents) have a legally guaranteed right to ask for information from EU authorities. Ask The EU is a version of this website for the European Union.
  • Ask other researchers who are interested in a similar issue to yours for ideas. You can sometimes find them by browsing this site; contact any registered user from their page.
  • You could form a small local campaign group and arrange a meeting with staff from the authority.