Higher non-pecuniary damages from the state for a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding a wrongful decision on guardianship

It was decided in November 2018 that a guardianship should be established for a man who thereby lost his legal capacity and the right of disposition over his property and his assets. The decision was wrongful because there was no need for a guardianship. The decision-making process was also flawed by a number of procedural deficiencies, such as the fact that the man had not been afforded the opportunity to express an opinion before the interim decision, that he did not have a trial counsel appointed for him in the initial proceedings and that the medical basis had been inadequate. The wrongful guardianship lasted for just over a year before it was annulled.

The case addresses the determination of other non-pecuniary damages for the wrongful guardianship, i.e. the amount that the state is to pay in convention damages to the individual who has been affected for, among other things, the feeling of vulnerability and powerlessness that the violation of his right to autonomy and dignity entailed.

In the judgment, the Supreme Court states that the establishment of guardianship for the man had taken place without basis therefor and following proceedings associated with a number of grave deficiencies in the rule of law. In such circumstances, the complete loss of legal capacity constitutes a very grave violation of the individual's autonomy and dignity and a violation of the right to a private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court further assesses that the violation must have entailed a distinctive feeling of powerlessness and a high degree of vulnerability. The violation lasted one year. The procedural deficiencies that entailed that legal requirements had been disregarded typically enhances the feeling of powerlessness and vulnerability.

The Supreme Court decides that the state must pay SEK 150,000 for other non-pecuniary damage, which is a significantly higher amount of damages than what the district court and the court of appeal had previously decided. The man also receives a certain amount of compensation for pure economic loss.

Case: T 1101-24

Case name

"The Wrongful Guardianship"

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Updated
2026-01-13