Bertil Bengtsson turns 100

Today, May 13, Bertil Bengtsson turns 100. He has been an Associate Professor of Law at Luleå University of Technology since 1993. Even at an advanced age, he would walk from Kallax Airport to downtown Luleå, where he would take the bus to the university on Porsön.
“I still walk every day at home in Uppsala, but these days I don’t go more than 5 kilometers at a time,” says Bertil Bengtsson.

Since he was a child and took long walks with his parents he has been acustomed to transport himself using his feet.

“As long as I was allowed to talk at the same time, there was no problem.”

In his youth, he devoted himself to orienteering, and together with his wife Solveig, who is now nearly 102, he has walked through life for over seven decades.

He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court from 1977 to 1993, when he retired.

“It was quite sad to leave the wonderful community at the Supreme Court. I didn’t like being retired at all. It was pure luck that some former students from my time as a professor in Uppsala offered me a position at Luleå University of Technology.

Around the same time, he received a similar offer from Lund University.

“So for a while, I taught at Sweden’s southernmost and northernmost universities.”

Strong sense of community at Luleå University of Technology

Prior to that, he had served as a professor at both Uppsala and Stockholm Universities. When he compares the law programs at the four universities, he feels that Luleå University of Technology stands out in a positive way.

– All the institutions have been pleasant. But at the others, there could be a bit of clique-based politics and competition. I haven’t experienced anything like that at Luleå University of Technology. There’s a strong sense of community, and I’m not saying that to flatter anyone. I’m being completely sincere. Moreover, the dissertations in law are just as good as those at the southern and older universities.

One of Luleå University of Technology’s strengths is environmental law. It’s a field of law that interested Bertil Bengtsson early on. He wrote the first Swedish textbook on the subject.

“My wife is a biologist and a teacher. She took a course on environmental issues, but it had very poor material regarding environmental law, so I wrote a textbook for the course. It was very basic. Since then, many have made significantly greater contributions than I have,” says Bertil Bengtsson in his usual way of downplaying his own importance.

Began studying literary history

Throughout his life, he has nurtured a deep interest in culture and the humanities. The first thing he studied at university was actually not law but literary history.

“It was interesting, but it was uncertain what one would do as a literary scholar. Besides, all the other students were so terribly profound. I could barely keep up with their reasoning. No, I fit in better among the lawyers.”

In Luleå, he has taught courses in tort and insurance law, real estate law, and family law, among others. He himself studied law in Uppsala and subsequently earned his doctorate with a dissertation on insurance law. But it wasn’t always a particularly stimulating environment.

“The professors were men of honour, but very boring men of honour. Some weren’t even that. But Per Olof Ekelöf, who was a professor of procedural law, was one of the exceptions. He could spark our interest in law. It was more fun when I came to Stockholm University, which had more contact with society. But over time, the gloomiest men of honour in Uppsala retired.

Bertil Bengtsson appreciates the role of teacher, especially when the students are active. He finds it quite tedious to be forced to listen to his own voice day in and day out. He is, however, only moderately fond of the role of researcher, as he finds it too lonely. It is in the courts that his heart lies.

Reindeer Herding Rights Protected by the Constitution

As a Supreme Court Justice, he became the lead judge in the so-called Skattefjäll case, which was decided by the Supreme Court in 1981. The case, which concerned a property rights dispute between the state and several Sami communities in Jämtland, came to influence how the Sami people’s right to reindeer herding has been interpreted in subsequent disputes. The Skattefjäll case was decided in favour of the state, but at the same time, the important principle was established that the Sami people’s right to reindeer herding is equivalent to the constitutionally protected right to property.

“It was very interesting to delve into Sámi law because it largely concerns legal history. At the same time, one is outraged by how casually lawmakers have treated the Sami. They have not shown the Sami the same consideration as other citizens. Recently, the right to reindeer herding has once again been called into question. This cannot be done so lightly, as it is protected by the Constitution.

On April 29 of this year, an op-ed was published in Dagens Nyheter in which a large number of law professors and former Supreme Court justices warn that a number of fundamental principles of the rule of law—including the prohibition against retroactive legislation, equality before the law, and the independence of the courts—are being undermined in Sweden. In parallel with this development, the Council on Legislation’s (Lagrådet) criticism is being dismissed, while investigative directives are becoming increasingly controlled, and lawyers’ warnings are being dismissed as “activism” and “alarmism” despite being based on principles of the rule of law.

Concerns about the rule of law

Bertil Bengtsson was not one of the signatories himself, but he fully shares their concern.

“Previous governments weren’t happy to be criticized by the Council on Legislation either. But they would never have called the Council on Legislation ‘activists.’

In one respect, the protection of human rights has improved in Sweden, according to Bertil Bengtsson. With the incorporation of the European Convention into Swedish law, property rights have been strengthened. But in a number of other areas, protection has weakened since the turn of the millennium, he argues. This applies, for example, to immigration law and criminal law. He also feels that environmental law has suffered a setback.

“It was more enjoyable to work as a lawyer back when lawmakers had a more positive attitude toward environmental protection and human rights.”

Bertil Bengtsson was young during a period when democratic values and the principles of the rule of law were under even greater pressure than they are today. To the east, Stalin’s reign of terror was spreading, and on the continent, Nazism and fascism were rampant. He recalls how united everyone was in the Anglo-Saxon-influenced Gothenburg where he grew up—against totalitarianism and in the hope that the Western powers would prevail. Like a beacon against the darkness of the times, Torgny Segerstedt shone—a fearless anti-Nazi and editor of Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning. Bertil Bengtsson understands that today’s young people may feel anxious.

“I understand their pessimism. There are troubling developments in the world. We had the same reasons to be pessimistic 80 years ago. It’s not easy to find an argument that really hits home. The only thing I can say is that the tide eventually turned 80 years ago, and we moved toward better times.”

He’s celebrating his 100th birthday in Uppsala with his closest family. On the day, he’ll be honoured by fellow lawyers, including some from Law at Luleå University of Technology. Bertil Bengtsson thinks there’s more fuss about him than necessary.

“But I suppose I can’t expect my 100th birthday to pass quietly and peacefully.”