[1][2] In addition to this, they also act as court of first instance in cases related to the principle of public access to official records.
[4][5] Approximately 550 people work for the administrative courts of appeal in Sweden, and about 120 of them serve as permanent salaried judges (Swedish: ordinarie domare).
Special provisions apply for the selection of judges and their dismissal, to guarantee the independence of the court, making them almost impossible to fire.
[1][6] There are also approximately 350 lay judges (Swedish: nämndeman) linked to the administrative courts of appeal.
Lay judges are laymen, not legally qualified representatives of the people, appointed by the county councils, serving four years at a time.