316. In his reply, the representative of the State party explained that international treaties had to be incorporated into Swedish legislation before they became applicable. Accordingly, the question of inaonsistency did not arise. In order to ensure that domestic legislation was in conformity with international law, it was scrutinised from the standpoint of Sweden’s international commitments and there was a general rule that domestic legislation was to be interpreted in the light of the country’s international obligations. The principal effect of any judgements by the European Court of Human Rights or of the views expressed by the Committee was to alert the Swedish Government to possible flaws in its legislation. If Sweden was found to be in violation of the Covenant it would react by analysing whether the violation consisted of the improper application of Swedish law to a particular case or whether the law itself was faulty. 311. Amendments to chapter 22 of the Code of Judicial Procedure represented an attempt to strengthen the position of the victims of crime by making it easier for them to pursue claims for damages. The requirement for prosecutors to present an injured party’s claim for damages at a preliminary stage expedited a thorough investigation. The initial impact of the amendments had been a drop in the number of cases in which claims for damages were separated from criminal aspects. 318. With reference to that issue, members of the Committee wished to receive information concerning the activities of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination and of the Advisory Committee on Questions concerning Ethnic Discrimination; the effectiveness of these institutions: the linkage between the functions of that Gmbudsman and the Parliamentary Ombudsman; the results of the evaluation of the Equal Opportunities Act by the special committee established by the Government! and the opportunities available to aliens in the job market, including jobs in the civil service. They also wished to know whether numerical equality between women and men was the only factor taken into consideration in the decision-making process for policies to combat sex-based discrimination; how the Government maintained a balance between the goal of non-discrimination and respect for indigenous cultures; whether there had been any cases in which aliens had been allowed to reside in Sweden but had not been allowed to work: and what difficulties the large number of asylum-seekers had generated for the Government. 319. In his reply, the representative of the State party said that the activities of the Chnbudsman against Ethnic Discrimination incl.dded advice and assistance in individual cases of alleged discrimination, general investigative and information activities and advisory services to the Government. In order to avoid any controversy which could jeopardixe the position of respect in which the (Inbudsman against Ethnic Discrimination was held by ethnic minorities, the Act against Ethnic Discrimination had not authorixed him to take action in court, nor had it given him supervisory powers over other authorities. The Parliamentary Chnlbudsman, on the other hand, did enjoy such powers and there was close cooperation between the two institutions. -lt7-