Foreword
Like most other democratic countries, Sweden has a written constitution. It regulates the manner in which the Riksdag (the Swedish Parliament) and the Government are appointed, and sets out the way in which these State bodies shall work. Freedom of opinion and other rights and freedoms enjoy special protection under the Constitution.
The Constitution thus establishes a framework for the exercise of political power. This framework can only be changed after very careful consideration. This is expressed in the special procedure laid down for amendment of the Constitution. Fundamental law is enacted by means of two identical decisions of the Riksdag. These decisions must be separated by a general election. As of 1980, it is also possible to hold a binding referendum on a draft constitutional measure held in abeyance.
Sweden has four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government, the Act of Succession, the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression. The Riksdag Act occupies a position between fundamental law and ordinary law. After a lengthy review process, the Riksdag decided in 1974 to replace the old 1809 Instrument of Government with a new one. The earlier Riksdag Act of 1866 was also replaced. The laws came into force on 1 January 1975. Both the fundamental laws and the Riksdag Act have since been amended.
A new Riksdag Act came into force on 1 September 2014. The Instrument of Government, the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression have also been amended on a few points since the last edition of this book (2012). The book begins with an overview of developments in relation to constitutional law in Sweden. This is followed by an account of the principal contents of the fundamental laws and the Riksdag Act. The main part of the book contains the fundamental laws and the Riksdag Act in the wording in force from 1 January 2016.
The introduction was prepared by Magnus Isberg, Associate Professor in Political Science and former Head of Secretariat of the Committee on the Constitution, and was updated in 2015 by Hans Hegeland, Ph.D. in Political Science and Senior Committee Secretary at the Committee on the Constitution.
Urban Ahlin
Speaker of the Riksdag
