Resumen de Constitutional amendment in Sweden
Any discussion on amending the Swedish Constitution requires a brief introduction to the Constitution itself. It is not an easy task to understand or even detect what is referred to as the Constitution under the Swedish legal system. The biggest challenge is that of terminology in the Swedish legal context. There is no single document referred to as the Constitution, as normally seen in other European countries. Instead, four fundamental laws form the so-called Swedish Constitution. First and foremost of them is the Instrument of Government (IG);1 second is the Act of Succession;2 third is the Freedom of the Press Act;3 and fourth is the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression.4 These four fundamental laws were introduced in different periods and under varied circumstances. In the ensuing discussion, a brief background of these four laws is presented, as the main rules relating to the amendment procedures are laid down within the IG. Also notable in this context is the Riksdag Act, which is a piece of legislation between the fundamental laws and ordinary law. It is referred to as an in-between or quasifundamental law, because some of the rules pertaining thereto may be amended through a process similar to the fundamental laws, with the others following the amendment procedure of any ordinary law
