Makes laws

Many proposals start with an inquiry

Before the Government submits a legislative proposal to the Riksdag, it may first need to examine various options in detail. To do this, the Government appoints an inquiry. The inquiry can consist of one or several people, usually experts, public officials or politicians.

The inquiry submits its proposals in the form of a report to the Government. The report is then published as part of a series called the Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU). If a Government ministry has carried out the inquiry, the report is published in a series called the Ministry Publications Series (Ds).

The inquiry report is circulated for consultation

When the inquiry has completed its report, the Government forwards the report to public agencies, organisations and municipalities that may be affected in order to hear their opinions on the proposals. This is known as circulation of the report for consultation. Anyone, including private individuals, is entitled to obtain a copy of the report and submit comments to the Government.

Those wishing to respond to a report normally have at least three months in which to do so. As a rule, their answers should be given in writing, so that all parties involved can read them.

Government bills – proposals from the Government

The Government presents its proposals for new legislation in what is known as government bills. Before presenting a new bill, the Government adopts a position on the inquiry’s report and the various consultation comments. If a large proportion of these consultation bodies have been negative to the inquiry’s proposals, the Government may decide not to proceed with the new law or may try to find another solution.

The Council on Legislation scrutinises legislative proposals

The Government usually sends the government bill to the Council on Legislation which examines whether the proposed legislation contains any problems of a legal nature. It may, for example, conflict with the Constitution or other Swedish laws. It may also go against the rule of law and lead to unfair treatment of certain citizens. The Council on Legislation is made up of judges from the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court.

Once the Government has completed all the stages of its bill, it sends the proposal to the Riksdag.

Each parliamentary year, the Government presents around 200 bills to the Riksdag.

Private members’ motions – proposals from members of the Riksdag

The members of the Riksdag can submit proposals to the Riksdag in the form of private members’ motions. These proposals may be submitted by one member or by a group of members.

There are rules that govern when private members’ motions can be submitted and what topics they may deal with. Motions can be submitted in connection with a proposal from the Government, that is a government bill. Members may then submit a counter-proposal no later than 15 days after the Government’s proposal has been presented to the Riksdag. Such motions must concern the same topic as the bill.

General private members’ motions period in the autumn

Once a year, during the general private members’ motions period, members of the Riksdag can write motions on virtually any subject. The general private members’ motions period begins when the Riksdag opens in the autumn and ends 15 days after the Government has submitted the Budget Bill to the Riksdag.

The proposals are received by the Riksdag

After the Government and members of the Riksdag have submitted their proposals to the Riksdag, these are notified by the Speaker at a meeting of the Chamber. This is known as tabling. The Chamber then forwards the proposal to the relevant committee which continues to work with it.

Normally, no debate is held when the Chamber tables a proposal. However, a member of the Riksdag can ask for the floor, and the debate that follows is known as a tabling debate. Members can also ask for the floor when proposals are referred to a committee, even though this is not common. The debate that follows is known as a referral debate.

The committees consider the proposals

Before the Chamber of the Riksdag decides whether to adopt a proposed law or amendment to law, the proposal must be considered in a parliamentary committee. There are 15 parliamentary committees, each with its own areas of responsibility. Proposals on rail transport are, for example, sent to the Committee on Transport and Communications and proposals on schools are sent to the Committee on Education. 

The members that make up the committees come from all the political parties represented in the Riksdag. The larger parties have more members than the smaller ones. The composition of the committees reflects the distribution of seats among the parties in the Riksdag.

The members of a committee start by reading up on the various proposals. They check, for example, how the proposals correspond to previous legislation. They also examine whether the legislative proposal is in compliance with what the committee has previously said to the Government on the matter. 

The committee’s proposal for a decision

In the committees, the members discuss what they think of the proposals they are presented with. When the committee has adopted a position, it submits its proposal for a decision by the Riksdag in a committee report. 

The committee’s proposal is based on the opinion of a majority of members of the committee. Members who do not agree may submit reservations on the matter. In their reservations, they explain their opinion on the matter.

The members consult their party groups

Together, the members of a party form the parliamentary party group. The party groups discuss and prepare the matters that are raised in the committees. The members of the various committees consult their party groups.

The Chamber debates and decides

The proposal – committee report – that the committee submits to the Chamber presents what decision the committee considers the Riksdag should take on the matter. But before the Riksdag takes a decision, the members receive a copy of the report to give them time to read it. A debate is often held before a decision is taken. In other cases, the members agree and there is no need for a debate.

If a debate is held, the members of the committee that has considered the proposal begin by presenting their views. The debates are open to all members of the Riksdag who wish to participate. The debates are open to the public and can be viewed via the Riksdag webcast service, both live and on-demand. Everything that is said in the Chamber is written down in the parliamentary record, which is published online and can be found via the Riksdag website’s search function.

The Riksdag takes a decision

After the debate, it is time for a decision:

• If there is just one proposal the Speaker asks whether the Chamber can accept the proposal. This method is referred to as decision-making by acclamation.
• If there are there several proposals, they are set against each other. In this case, the members of the Riksdag vote on the proposals.
• Most decisions in the Riksdag are taken by simple majority, that is, that more than half of the members voting support a certain proposal.

When the decision has been taken, the Riksdag sends a written communication to the Government to inform it of its decision. More detailed information about the decision is contained in the relevant committee report.

The Government implements the Riksdag’s decisions

When the Riksdag has decided to adopt a new law, the first task for the Government is to ensure that the law is published in the Swedish Code of Statutes (SFS). It is then available for everyone to read.

It is the Government’s task to implement the Riksdag’s decisions, that is to ensure that they are enforced in the way intended by the Riksdag. The various ministries and public agencies assist the Government in this task.

The public agencies are all accountable to the Government and put into practice the decisions taken by the Riksdag and the Government. The Police Authority, Swedish Tax Agency and National Board of Health and Welfare are all examples of public agencies.

The Riksdag follows up its decisions

Every year, the Government submits a written communication to the Riksdag in which it presents the measures it has taken as a result of the Riksdag’s various decisions. The Government especially highlights what it has done in response to the calls for action by way of announcements from the Riksdag. The Committee on the Constitution considers the communication, after which a debate is held in the Chamber. This is a way for the Riksdag to follow up its own decisions. 

The parliamentary committees also evaluate and follow up various decisions by the Riksdag, for example, how new laws have functioned in practice.

EU membership affects legislation

As a result of Sweden’s membership of the European Union, some of its laws are adopted at EU level. Regulations are a form of EU legislation that start to apply immediately. Other forms of EU legislation need to be implemented first or amended in Sweden. 

When new EU legislation is to be implemented in Sweden, it is done in the same way as legislation originating from Sweden. The Government submits a legislative proposal, one of the parliamentary committees considers the proposal, and the Riksdag takes a decision to introduce the new law.

The legislative process is one aspect of the Riksdag’s work that is affected by EU membership, but the Riksdag also works with EU matters in other ways.