The applicant, DE. was appointed by the Swedish Migration Agency as a public counsel for a person in a case concerning the rejection or enforcement of a decision on expulsion, but only in respect of detention.

On 9 November 2019, the Swedish Migration Agency decided that the visit requested by DE's client to be admitted to the premises where he was held in detention should be monitored. The decision was appealed to the Migration Court with the assistance of DE and DE reserved the right to file a cost statement prior to the decision of the case.

The Administrative Court of Gothenburg rejected the appeal and dismissed the DE claim for compensation. The Migration Court considered that the order for assistance in relation to detention cannot include decisions on the supervision of visits. Therefore, they cannot be granted compensation for discontinued work.

DE has appealed to the Migration Court of Appeal which had to answer the question of whether an appointment as a public counsel for a person in detention includes an appeal against a decision on supervised visits pursuant to Chapter 11, Section 4 of the Aliens Act (2005:716). The court mentioned that according to Chapter 11, Section 4 of the Aliens Act an alien who is detained must be given the opportunity to receive visits and to have contact with persons outside the premises, except if the visit or contact in a particular case would complicate the activities relating to the detention. If necessary for reasons of safety, a visit may be monitored. A visit by a public counsel or a lawyer may be supervised only if the counsel or the lawyer himself requests so.

Under Chapter 14, Section 10 of the Aliens Act, the Migration Agency's decision on supervised visits may be appealed to a Migration Court. The court also reiterated the provisions related to legal assistance under Chapter 18, Section 1 and on public assistants as enshrined in Section 5 of the Public Assistant Act (1996:1620).

In view of the legal provisions applicable, the Migration Court of Appeal overturned the decision and referred the case back for the part on examination of the compensation claim. The court stated that an appointment as public counsel for a person in custody also includes work to appeal a decision on supervised visit according to Chapter 11, Section 4 of the Aliens Act. Thus, the public adviser is entitled to compensation for the work carried out within the framework of the appeal of the decision.