Svensk gruvrätt En rättsvetenskaplig studie rörande förutsättningarna för utvinning av mineral

Sammanfattning: Swedish landowners Historically, Swedish landowners have been forced to accept that that their land is claimed for mining activities. This has been done on the basis of different laws and legal rules. The Minerals Act currently in force also entitles third parties to extract miner-als from other people's property. The question of who owns the mineral prior to extraction is however not answered by the Minerals Act or by any other statute. The ownership issue is, in addition to principally interesting, also of practical importance, for instance in relation to the right to exploit minerals covered by the Minerals Act for household use, or the right to exploit unregulated minerals, as well as for future discussion regarding mineral compensation. Besides the principal question of ownership, the Minerals Act gives rise to a number of other issues affecting the landowner's right in relation to the extraction of minerals on the property. The main purpose of the study in Part I is to identify who, if anyone, under Swedish law can be regarded as the principal owner of the components of earth that contain minerals. To this end, it has been necessary to define the concept of ownership in the property context. Access to minerals has been essential for the development of civilization and is still of crucial importance for the way we live our lives. While mineral extraction can be said to constitute a significant public interest, it is an activity that claims limited resources, competes with other land-use interests and causes significant environmental impacts. Even these interests have gradually begun to be considered public and essential, especially the interest of sustainable development. As a result of this, the legal framework governing the extraction of minerals has expanded substantially. This applies not least in relation to other interests, such as environ-mental protection and the rights of others, for example various types of user rights. The legal framework for mineral extraction is today a complex system consistingof several laws with wholly or partly different objectives. An important question is how well these overarching objectives can be ensured within the licensing process for mineral extraction and its associated parallel application of more or less independent laws. The main purpose of the study in Part II is to examine how the overarching objective of the Environmental Code is safeguarded in the licensing process for mineral extraction, and how the process should be designed in order for it to result in well-balanced solutions where all interests are given sufficient consideration. In addition to the analysis of the various legal issues and conflicts that may arise in connection with the exploration, exploitation and processing of minerals, the study also aims to investi-gate what should be regarded as applicable law in situations where clear rules are missing.