The Administrative Court of Appeal in Gothenburg (Kammarrätten i Göteborg) recently delivered a judgment concerning the limits of municipal authority in Sweden. The case arose from a motion passed by the Municipality of Lund (Lunds kommun) in 2023, which instructed its boards and committees to boycott the acquisition of goods and services from undertakings with financial ties to Russia. The motion, framed as a political expression of solidarity with Ukraine, was challenged by a local resident under the Local Government Act (Kommunallagen).
The national courts, first at the Administrative Court in Malmö (Förvaltningsrätten i Malmö), and second at the Administrative Court of Appeal in Gothenburg, found that the municipality had acted beyond its powers. Both courts concluded that the motion of the municipality, although implemented through its position in public procurement was, in substance, a foreign policy statement. As foreign policy fell exclusively within the remit of the state (and not the municipality), the courts held that the municipality’s decision was unlawful and therefore annulled.
Background and Facts
In 2023, the Municipality of Lund (Lunds kommun) in Sweden passed a motion aimed at boycotting undertaking that financially support Russia. The motion instructed all sub-division of the municipality, including its boards, committees, and related bodies, to avoid purchasing goods and services from undertaking that pay taxes or fees in Russia, provided that equivalent alternatives were available. The motion also called for the removal of goods from municipal inventories, with instructions to donate or destroy them. The motion was, by its nature, political.
A resident of the municipality challenged the motion through the Local Government Act of Sweden (Kommunallagen) (2017:725). He argued that the municipality had overstepped its competence in passing such a motion, given what the municipality was doing was wandering into the domain of foreign policy, which, under national law, was a domain reserved for the state, and the state’s international commitments, such as, for example, obligations arising under its membership of the EU.
Judgment of the Administrative Court of Malmö
At first instance before the Administrative Court of Malmö (Förvaltningsrätten i Malmö) (Mål 10102-23), the court focused on the limits of powers that are conferred upon municipal authorities in Sweden, and on the nature of the motion passed by the municipality at political level.
The court emphasised that under the Local Government Act, municipalities may only handle matters of local public interest, and are explicitly barred from engaging in areas that are domains that are a matter for the state, such as foreign policy. Drawing on prior case-law of the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden (Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen) dealing with municipal ‘boycotts’ in the past (e.g., against apartheid-era South Africa) had been struck down as ultra vires, the court found that the intent and effect of the Municipality of Lund’s motion was clearly political and was a venture into the domain of foreign policy.
According to the Administrative Court of Malmö, the language of the motion, which explicitly referenced Russia’s war and the desire to show solidarity with Ukraine, was not merely a public procurement guideline (in line with the power of municipalities as a contracting public authority), but a broader political statement (delving into the domain of foreign policy). It therefore concluded that this amounted to a foreign policy action, which it was not empowered to do. Therefore, the motion of the municipality was annulled.
Judgment of the Administrative Court of Appeal of Gothenburg
The municipality appealed this judgment of the Administrative Court of Malmö to the Administrative Court of Appeal of Gothenburg.
The municipality argued that the motion was a public procurement matter, not a political one with foreign policy implication. It claimed that the decision was similar to other municipal guidelines, such as those promoting sustainability or ethical sourcing, and was directed only at internal bodies to the municipality itself, and not external actors like the state. The municipality also emphasised that the motion did not mandate the municipality commit unlawful acts with undertakings, nor breach existing contractual obligations.
However, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Gothenburg rejected the appeal (Mål 6300-24) and agreed with the judgment of the Administrative Court of Malmö. Therefore, in rejecting the appeal, the annulment of the motion of the municipality was maintained.
Analysis
Three points of analysis are worth reflecting upon.
First, as if there was any doubt, political powers in Sweden are apportioned downwardly, from the state to municipalities, and not the other way around.
Second, whilst local bodies in Sweden (regions or municipalities) may wish to take stances on issues beyond those that are strictly locally, they must do so within the strict boundaries of the Local Government Act, and the broader remit of powers given to them under national law. Where this boundary is situated is, naturally, porous, but caution must be exercised by such local bodies.
Third, the issue of contracting public authorities (like municipalities) acquiring goods and services from undertakings (economic operators) in third states – not just those with financial ties to third states – has come into particular focus recently because of two judgments of the CJEU in Kolin (Case C-652/22) and Qingdao (C-266/22). Whilst the case at hand was delivered around the same time as the CJEU delivered these two judgments, and the fall-out from them has yet to be fully realised, it is apparent that public bodies such as municipalities are going to have to be more diligent in their public procurement practices in the future. (See further, Graham Butler & Tobias Indén (2025), ’Tillgång till den svenska offentliga upphandlingsmarknaden för marknadsaktörer i tredjeländer’, Europarättslig tidskrift, vol. 28, nr. 3., forthcoming, September. 2025).
Read the judgment
More on the judgment can be found here.