Documents and laws

The Riksdag's principal task is to take decisions about matters that affect society as a whole.

The Chamber of the Riksdag takes decisions on the basis of proposals from the Government or members of the Riksdag. Before a debate is held and a decision taken in the Chamber, proposals must be considered by one of the 15 parliamentary committees.

In this section you can find documents and information that enable you to follow the passage of parliamentary business (matters) from the proposal to the decision-making stage. Most of these documents are only available in Swedish.

Commissions of inquiry

Before submitting a proposal for new legislation to the Riksdag, the Government may need to examine various alternatives. This task is carried out by a Government-appointed committee or commission of inquiry.

When the Government appoints a commission of inquiry it also provides a set of guidelines for the commission's work. These are known as terms of reference and they set out what issue the commission is to examine, what problems there are that need to be solved and by what date the inquiry should be completed.

The commission of inquiry may consist of one or several people, including experts, officials, politicians etc.

The commission of inquiry presents its proposals to the Government in a report. The report is published in a series known as the Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU). If a government ministry has conducted the inquiry, it will be published in a series known as the Ministry Publications Series (Ds).

Terms of reference

In connection with the process of drafting a new law, the Government can appoint a committee or commission of inquiry to conduct a thorough examination of various alternatives.

When the Government appoints a commission of inquiry it also provides a set of guidelines for the commission's work. These guidelines are known as the terms of reference.

Search for terms of reference to Government-appointed commissions of inquiry in Swedish

Government bills and written communications

The Government writes down its proposals for new legislation in Government bills, which it submits to the Riksdag. Written communications are also documents from the Government to the Riksdag.

The Government's proposals for new legislation are presented in documents known as Government bills. Before drafting a bill, the Government often appoints a committee of inquiry to conduct an in-depth study of the matter, and asks various groups in society what they think of the proposal. The bill is then submitted to the Riksdag.

Written communications are also documents submitted to the Riksdag by the Government. A written communication is a form of report and does not contain proposals for decision by the Riksdag.

Search for Government bills and written communications in Swedish

Private members' motions

Members of the Riksdag are entitled to submit proposals to the Riksdag in the form of private members' motions.

Motions are proposals from members of the Riksdag. A motion can be prepared by an individual member or by a group of members.

Motions are submitted after the Government has submitted a Government bill, and must deal with the same issues as the Government's proposals. Motions can furthermore be submitted after a Riksdag body has submitted a proposal to the Riksdag. Once a year, during the general private members' motions period, the members can also submit motions on virtually any subject.

Like Government bills, the motions are considered by one of the 15 parliamentary committees.

Search for private members' motions in Swedish

Submissions and reports

Submissions are proposals for legislation from bodies appointed by the Riksdag. Reports include annual reports from Riksdag bodies to the Riksdag.

In addition to the Government and members of the Riksdag, bodies appointed by the Riksdag can also present proposals for legislation. These are known as submissions. Examples of bodies appointed by the Riksdag are the National Audit Office, the Parliamentary Ombudsmen, the Riksdag Board and the Riksbank. The submissions should concern the body's area of activities.

Bodies appointed by the Riksdag also submit reports, such as annual reports, to the Riksdag.

Both submissions and reports are dealt with in the same way as private members' motions and Government bills.

Search for submissions and reports in Swedish

Reports and statements of opinion from the parliamentary committees

Committee reports are proposals from the parliamentary committees for a decision by the Riksdag. The committees also draft statements on various EU proposals. Sometimes a parliamentary committee is asked for a written statement of opinion on an item of parliamentary business for which another committee is responsible.

Before the Chamber of the Riksdag takes a decision on an item of parliamentary business, all proposals submitted in connection with the item are to be considered by the members of one of the 15 parliamentary committees.

The committee draws up a report containing its proposal as to what decision the Chamber should take on the matter. A minority of members of the committee often have a different opinion from that of the majority. In this case they can present their alternative proposals in what are known as reservations. These are included in the committee report.

The committee report serves as a basis for debate and decision in the Chamber.

Sometimes, a parliamentary committee is asked to submit a written statement of opinion on an item of parliamentary business that does not concern its own area of responsibility.

Records of proceedings in the Chamber

After a meeting of the Chamber, the proceedings can be read in a preliminary record. The record also shows how the parties have voted.

Everything that is said in the Chamber is written down by the official reporters of the parliamentary record. In as far as it is possible, the record should be a verbatim reproduction of what has been said during the meetings. After two to four weeks, the final, approved record is published.

Search for records of proceedings in Swedish

Written communications from the Riksdag

Laws

Laws are rules that everyone living in a country is obliged to comply with. One of the Riksdag's most important tasks is to take decisions about the laws that are to apply in Sweden.

A distinction is made between fundamental laws and other laws. The fundamental laws contain basic rules as to how the country is to be governed and take precedence over all other laws.

The Government can also take decisions about rules that are to apply in Sweden. These rules are known as ordinances. All new laws and ordinances are published in the Swedish Code of Statutes (SFS).

Search for laws in the Swedish Code of Statutes in Swedish

The Constitution

Like most other democracies, Sweden has a written Constitution which sets out the rules for how society shall be governed. The Constitution therefore has a special position in society.

The Constitution consists of 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 is not one of the fundamental laws but occupies a position between a fundamental law and an ordinary law.

The fundamental laws take precedence over all other laws. This means that other laws may never conflict with the provisions of the fundamental laws.

The Fundamental Laws and the Riksdag Act

The documents are in pdf format.

Please note that the translations are not always fully up-to-date and have no official, legal status. For the official authentic versions of the acts, please refer to the Swedish texts.

Interpellations

An interpellation is a written question from a member of the Riksdag to a Government minister, relating to the performance of the minister's official duties. The purpose is to gain a better overview of the Government's work, to draw attention to a specific issue or to obtain further information.

Members of the Riksdag submit their questions - interpellations - to ministers in writing. The ministers then have two weeks in which to answer the interpellation, both in writing and verbally at a meeting of the Chamber.

Search for interpellations in Swedish

Questions for written answers

Throughout the year, members of the Riksdag can monitor the activities of the Government by addressing written questions to ministers. The purpose of these questions is to receive information about a specific matter.

Questions received by 10 a.m. on Thursday at the latest are to be answered in writing by 12 noon the following Wednesday.

Search for questions for written answers in Swedish

Answers to written questions

Throughout the year, members of the Riksdag can monitor the activities of the Government by addressing written questions to the ministers. The purpose of these questions is to receive information about a specific matter.

Questions received by 10 a.m. on Thursday at the latest are to be answered by 12 noon the following Wednesday. The answers from the ministers are to be submitted to the Secretariat of the Chamber, which then refers them to the members who have asked the questions.

Search for answers to written questions in Swedish

Explanatory memoranda on EU proposals

The Government informs the Riksdag of topical EU issues by submitting explanatory memoranda to the Riksdag. These describe proposals put forward by the EU and the Government informs the Riksdag of its opinion on the proposals and in what way it thinks Sweden should work with the proposal.

The memoranda are often based on documents from the European Commission, "COM documents". These are published in a numbered series with the following format: COM (2001) 620. The figure in brackets refers to the year and the following figure is the serial number for that year.

There are various kinds of COM documents including:

Proposals for new legislation or amendments to existing legislation
Policy documents such as Green or White Papers
Reports

Search for explanatory memoranda on EU proposals in Swedish

Reports to the Committee on the Constitution

Every year the Committee on the Constitution examines the work of the Government.

The Committee on the Constitution's examination of individual ministers is normally based on reports from members of the Riksdag. The reports may be submitted to the Committee on the Constitution at any time during the year.

Stenographic records from meetings of the Committee on EU Affairs

The Government is obliged to consult the Riksdag on matters relating to the EU. This means that the Government discusses with the Riksdag what line of policy Sweden should take in the EU.

The stenographic records from the Committee on EU Affairs contain everything that is said during the Committee's meetings. Once a clean copy has been made and verified, they become official documents which everyone has the right to access. The records are published roughly two weeks after a meeting has been held.

However some information in the records is secret and cannot be made public. Examples of information that is classified as secret include information about the final stages of negotiations in the Council of Ministers on a sensitive issue, other countries' positions in negotiations etc.