Swedish Asylum Seekers Not Heard In Immigration Courts

This is a serious problem for families with apathetic children, says one researcher.

Ewa Wilks has put together information about apathetic children in Sweden. Interviewed by Swedish Radio, she expresses concern that the migration courts do not get the full picture if they do not get to meet the families involved. "Sometimes they will look at what the doctor has written, but often the doctor's testimonials regarding these children vary a lot and often they are very bad because the doctors do not know what to write," she says.

In her research, Wilks has found that the Migration Court in Stockholm uses oral testimonials only in a fifth of the cases, while the sister courts in Gothenburg and Malmö judge approximately half of their cases after

having heard those involved. She thinks that, in particular when it concerns families with apathetic children, a proper hearing should be the rule.

The Migration Courts replaced the Aliens Appeals Board in 2006, partly as a way to allow for more oral proceedings.

Swedish Radio has interviewed Stockholm district court judge Richard Ljungqvist, who thinks that has also happened. "I think we have found a reasonable balance. I very much appreciate oral proceedings. But we cannot have (oral) proceedings just for the sake of it," says Richard Ljungqvist.

By Radio Sweden