A public counsel is a lawyer who will help the asylum seeker to safeguard their interests in situations where they risk deportation or expulsion. It is the responsibility of the state to appoint only suitable assistants.
But now shows a review from the National Audit Office that control has major shortcomings. Asylum seekers may be assigned assistants who lack sufficient legal competence or for other reasons are directly unsuitable.
The review has been prompted by revelations in SVT and Swedish Radio, which have shown large gaps in the control systems, for example that the Swedish Migration Board does not regularly inform the migration courts when they have discovered an inappropriate assistant. (See fact box.)
The National Audit Office has now found that the gaps remain.
Stopped – could continue
For example, it is stated that the Swedish Migration Agency in 2018 excluded five assistants from its system because they were convicted of serious crimes or had been excluded from the Swedish Bar Association. But those people have since been able to continue as assistants during 2019–2021 and have been paid by the public sector on more than 40 occasions.
– It is very problematic that assistants who are clearly inappropriate continue to be appointed and paid by the state. In addition, it is not good housekeeping with state funds, says Auditor General Helena Lindberg.
The National Audit Office notes that the regulations are unclear and that the application differs between different actors. Several proposals are being made on how this can be clarified and strengthened, and among other things they want the authorities to be able to share information with each other in a different way than today.