Swedish judges overloaded with work

Seven out of ten judges say they are unable to fulfill their duties during regular working hours, according to a survey by the trade union Akavia.

The survey, which was carried out in November last year, involved 705 out of more than 1,400 regular judges in Sweden. Four out of ten said that they work an average of 17 hours per month beyond their normal working hours. Furthermore, one in three judges reported various stress symptoms such as difficulty sleeping and heart palpitations at least once a week.

Half of the judges consider the increased workload to be a threat to legal certainty.

– The results are of course worrying. The heavy workload must be taken seriously, otherwise the effect will be problems both for the judges and for society as a whole, says Johan Kjellsson, legal policy expert at the trade union Akavia, according to Göteborgs-Posten.

According to the The National Courts Administration (Domstolsverket), around 70 new judges need to be hired annually, but Akavia estimates that approximately 120 new judges are needed each year due to the workload.

Seven out of ten judges believe that the most important measure to make the courts more attractive workplaces is to reduce the workload.