Our mandates
The mandates of the Swedish National board on research animal ethics are to consider appeals to decisions of the regional boards for ethical animal research and to make retrospective assessments of completed animal research projects.
Appealing decisions made by regional boards for ethical animal research
Animal research may not be conducted without approval from a regional board for ethical animal research. Applicants may appeal the decisions of a regional board to the Swedish Central Committee on Ethics of Animal Experiments. Decisions made by the Swedish National board on research animal ethics are not subject to appeal. Appeals must be written in Swedish.
The option to search CDFN’s published documents is not available on the English-language website. To search CDFN’s published documents, refer to the Swedish-language website.
Retrospective assessment
The requirement for retrospective assessment of animal research was introduced in 2013 and applies to research projects with non-human primates and research projects involving procedures classified as ‘severe’. A regional board for ethical animal research may also decide to perform retrospective assessments for other reasons. After the expiration of an ethical approval (generally five years), CDFN conducts a retrospective assessment. A research officer may request that the assessment be conducted prior to the expiration of ethical approval if, for example, the research project ends early, or if a research officer leaves his or her position. A retrospective assessment considers, among other aspects, animal suffering, whether the research project has achieved its aims and how the research might be further developed or improved from an animal-welfare perspective.