The judicial system of Sweden consists of the law of Sweden and a number of government agencies tasked with upholding security and rule of law within the country. The activities of these agencies include police and law enforcement, prosecution, courts, and prisons and other correctional services.

The courts are divided into two parallel and separate systems: The general courts (Swedish: allmänna domstolar) for criminal and civil cases, and general administrative courts (Swedish: allmänna förvaltningsdomstolar) for cases relating to disputes between private persons and the authorities. Each of these systems has three levels. Leave to appeal can be required for a review at the second and third level. There are also special courts and tribunals that hear specific cases.

The general courts deal with criminal cases, like an act defined in the Swedish Penal Code or in another law, for which a sanction is prescribed (e.g. theft or robbery). The general courts also handle some civil law disputes, for example, disputes over the contents of a business agreement or cases relating to family law, and a number of other non-contentious matters; such as adoption and appointment of legal guardians. Proceedings are generally open to the public, but access can be restricted for example in cases about sexual offences.

The general administrative courts handle numerous types of cases relating to disputes between private persons and the authorities. Over 500 different kinds of cases are assigned to the general administrative courts, like appeals against decisions made by the Swedish Tax Agency or the Swedish Social Insurance Agency.

There are also a number of special courts, which will hear a narrower set of cases, as set down by legislation. These special courts has a narrow jurisdiction as defined by special laws. For example, the law about Land and Environmental courts (2010:921), the law Plan and Building act (2010:900) or the Foreign law or the Law of Foreigners (2005:716). Some of these courts are operated as divisions within courts of the general or general administrative courts. The special courts usually determine cases at the lowest level of the court system or at the first appeal level of the court system.

A number of authorities are also very similar to special courts in the way they operate:

Sweden has a penal law system, a civil law system and an extensive system of administrative law, all with laws created by the Parliament of Sweden. The Swedish internal law is by law subject to EU-law, international law and the European Convention on Human Rights.^{[non-primary source needed]}

Sweden allows for the court's free evaluation of evidence, including hearsay evidence.