The Swedish supreme courts as part of the public administration, rather than as independent actors - Political, legal, and administrative reasons behind this positioning - A recent trend shifts the position of the supreme courts - Endogenous forces (e.g. a more 'conflictual' political climate) and exogenous reasons (e.g. the increasing importance of the judicial-made EU law) - Swedish supreme courts nearer to being a body with the primary duty of safeguarding the law against the executive and legislative powers - 'Full' positioning of supreme courts within the judicial core not an essential institutional requirement for a democracy - Important role of the public administration's degree of dependence on the legislative power.