Конституционное право Швеции: Основные законы и реформы

Constitutional law of Sweden

The Basic Laws of Sweden (Sveriges grundlagar) are the four constitutional laws of the Kingdom of Sweden that regulate the Swedish political system, acting in a similar manner to the constitutions of most countries. These four laws are: the Instrument of Government (Regeringsformen), the Freedom of the Press Act (Tryckfrihetsförordningen), the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen) and the Act of Succession (Successionsordningen). Together, they constitute a basic framework that stands above other laws and regulation, and also define which agreements are themselves above normal Swedish law. The Parliament Act (Riksdagsordningen) is usually considered to be halfway between a fundamental law and a normal law, with certain main chapters afforded similar protections as the fundamental laws while other additional chapters require only a simple parliamentary majority in order to be amended. To amend or to revise a fundamental law, the Riksdag needs to approve the changes twice in two successive terms with simple majorities, with a general election having been held in between. The first vote can be supplemented with a referendum. After over fifty years of de facto parliamentarism, it was written into the Instrument of Government of 1974, which, although technically adherent to constitutional monarchy, created the Government of Sweden in its present constitutional form.

In 2009, the Riksdag approved Proposition 2009/10:80, "A Reformed Constitution" (En reformerad grundlag), making substantial amendments to the Instrument of Government, and related acts. The amendment modernized and simplified the text in general, and strengthened several fundamental rights and freedoms. Protection against unfair discrimination was extended to include discrimination based on sexual orientation. The amendment affirmed the responsibility of public authorities to protect children's rights, and to promote the preservation and development of ethnic minorities' culture and language, making special mention of the Sami people. It also strengthens judicial powers to make it easier to determine whether new laws contravene the constitution or the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. These amendments took effect on 1 January 2011.

The other two acts define the freedom of the press and other forms of expression. They are separated into two separate laws mainly to maintain the tradition of the Freedom of the Press Act from 1766, largely the work of proto Liberal Cap Party politician Anders Chydenius, which abolished censorship and restricted limitations to retroactive legal measures for criticism of the Lutheran state church and the royal house exclusively. The Freedom of the Press Act (Tryckfrihetsförordningen, TF) was changed several times since its first incarnation; following Gustav III's coup d'etat in 1772, the Act was amended in order to curtail freedom of the press, but restored in 1810 following the overthrow of his son, and later amended to ensure this fact in 1812, 1949 and 1982. The option to revoke publishing licenses was retained until the late rule of Charles XIV John and used widely against Liberal papers such as Aftonbladet, which saw its license revoked ten times in 1838 alone. Publisher Lars Johan Hierta solved this by adding a different numeral to the name Aftonbladet, thus publishing a formally different newspaper. The right to revoke was finally abolished in 1844. The 1766 Act held for example that freedom of expression was to be uninhibited, except for "violations", which included blasphemy and criticism of the state. The (Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen, YGL) of 1991 is a lengthier document defining freedom of expression in all media except for written books and magazines (such as radio, television, the Internet, etc.)

Sweden's switch from elective to hereditary monarchy in 1544 gave reason to Sweden's first law of constitutional character, in form of a treaty between the royal dynasty and the realm represented by the four Estates to be valid for all times. Accordingly, the current 1810 Act of Succession (Successionsordningen, SO) is a treaty between the old Riksdag of the Estates and the House of Bernadotte regulating the right to accede to the Swedish throne. In 1980, the old principle of agnatic primogeniture, which meant that the throne was inherited by the eldest male child of the preceding monarch, was replaced by the principle of absolute primogeniture. This meant that the throne will be inherited by the eldest child without regard to sex. Thereby Princess Victoria, the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, was created heiress apparent to the Swedish throne over her younger brother, until then Crown Prince Carl Philip.

In 1593, after 70 years of Reformation and Counter Reformation in Sweden, adherence to the Augsburg confession was decided and given constitutional status at the Synod of Uppsala (Uppsala möte). References to Uppsala Synod have since then been worked into the fundamental laws, notably the Act of Succession. In 1999, the Church was separated from the state and became an independent organization, but the ruling body of the church is still decided by public voting (among members of the church), and mostly consists of the political parties. The Church of Sweden is often classified as a semi state church. This is because of its formal separation from the state but its lasting ties with official Sweden, most notably the Riksdag and the monarch. The Church of Sweden is also the only religious organization regulated by its own law, the Church of Sweden Act, which stipulates that the Church of Sweden has to be a democratic, Lutheran, Folk church. As a result of the separation, people born in Sweden where the parents are members of the Church of Sweden since 1999 no longer become members of the church automatically at birth.

Amendments of the fundamental laws must be adopted twice by the Riksdag with a simple majority of the votes cast, with intervening elections. Within 15 days of an amendment's first enactment, at least one tenth of all MPs may bring a motion for a referendum which must be supported by at least one third of all MPs. The referendum is held simultaneously with Riksdag elections and the amendment is deemed rejected if a simple majority of voters reject it, provided the majority is a majority of all valid votes. If the people do not dismiss a change, it still has to be ratified by the newly elected Riksdag. Such a referendum has never been used.