University of Petroleum& Energy Studies

College of Legal Studies

Dehradun
POLITICAL SCIENCE PROJECT

PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON SWEDEN AND NORWAY

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Mr. Sam Babu K.C Sidharta Sikdar

Professor, BA LLB Sem. 2

COLS, UPES, SAP ID: 500011966

PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of

the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are
accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are
intertwined.
Parliamentary systems -when compared to presidential systems- are
characterized by having a different type of separation of powersbetween the
executive and legislative branches, leading to a different set of checks and
balances. Parliamentary systems usually have a clear differentiation between
the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government
being the prime minister or premier, and the head of state often being
a figurehead, usually either a president (elected either popularly or by the
parliament, a Parliamentary republic) or a hereditary monarch (or representative
thereof such as a Governor-General), often seen in aconstitutional monarchy.

 Western European parliamentary model (e.g., Spain, Germany) tend to

have a more consensual debating system, and usually have semi-cyclical
debating chambers. Consensus systems have more of a tendency to
use proportional representation with open party lists than the Westminster
Model legislatures. The committees of these Parliaments tend to be more
important than the plenary chamber. A specific example is sometimes called
the West German Model since its earliest exemplar in its final form was in
the Bundestag of West Germany (which became the Bundestag of Germany
upon the absorption of the GDR by the FRG). Unlike in Germany however,
some West European countries' parliaments (e.g.,
the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland) implement the principle of dualism as
a form of separation of powers. In countries using this system, Members of
 Parliament have to resign their place in Parliament upon being appointed (or
elected) minister. However, ministers in those countries usually actively
participate in parliamentary debates - the main difference being their inability
to vote. Switzerland is considered one the purest examples of a consensus
system.
There also exists a Hybrid Model, the semi-presidential system, drawing on both
presidential systems and parliamentary systems, for example the French Fifth
Republic.
One of the commonly attributed advantages to parliamentary systems is that it's
faster and easier to pass legislation.[1] This is because the executive branch is
dependent upon the direct or indirect support of the legislative branch and often
includes members of the legislature. Thus, this would amount to the executive
(as the majority party or coalition of parties in the legislature) possessing more
votes in order to pass legislation. In a presidential system, the executive is often
chosen independently from the legislature. If the executive and legislature in
such a system include members entirely or predominantly from different political
parties, then stalemate can occur. Former US President Bill Clinton often faced
problems in this regard, since the Republicans controlled Congress for much of
his tenure. Accordingly, the executive within a presidential system might not be
able to properly implement his or her platform/manifesto. Evidently, an executive
in any system (be it parliamentary, presidential or semi-presidential) is chiefly
voted into office on the basis of his or her party's platform/manifesto. It could be
said then that the will of the people is more easily instituted within a
parliamentary system.
In addition to quicker legislative action, Parliamentarianism has attractive
features for nations that are ethnically, racially, or ideologicallydivided. In a
unipersonal presidential system, all executive power is concentrated in the
president. In a parliamentary system, with a collegial executive, power is more
divided. In the 1989 Lebanese Taif Agreement, in order to give Muslims greater
political power, Lebanon moved from a semi-presidential system with a strong
president to a system more structurally similar to classical
parliamentarianism. Iraq similarly disdained a presidential system out of fears
that such a system would be tantamount to Shiite domination; Afghanistan's
minorities refused to go along with a presidency as strong as
the Pashtuns desired.
It can also be argued that power is more evenly spread out in the power
structure of parliamentarianism. The prime minister seldom tends to have as
high importance as a ruling president, and there tends to be a higher focus on
voting for a party and its political ideas than voting for an actual person.
In The English Constitution, Walter Bagehot praised parliamentarianism for
producing serious debates, for allowing the change in power without an election,
and for allowing elections at any time. Bagehot considered the four-year election
rule of the United States to be unnatural.
There is also a body of scholarship, associated with Juan Linz, Fred
Riggs, Bruce Ackerman, and Robert Dahl that claims that parliamentarianism is
less prone to authoritarian collapse. These scholars point out that since World
War II, two-thirds of Third Worldcountries establishing parliamentary
governments successfully made the transition to democracy. By contrast, no
Third World presidential system successfully made the transition to democracy
without experiencing coups and other constitutional breakdowns.
A recent World Bank study found that parliamentary systems are associated
with lower corruption.

One of the main criticisms of many parliamentary systems is that the head of
government is in almost all cases not directly elected. In a presidential system,
the president is usually chosen directly by the electorate, or by a set of electors
directly chosen by the people, separate from the legislature. However, in a
parliamentary system the prime minister is elected by the legislature, often
under the strong influence of the party leadership. Thus, a party's candidate for
the head of government is usually known before the election, possibly making
the election as much about the person as the party behind him or her.
Some constituencies may have a popular local candidate under an unpopular
leader (or the reverse), forcing a difficult choice on the electorate. Mixed
member proportional representation (where voters cast two ballots) can make
this choice easier.
Although Walter Bagehot praised parliamentarianism for allowing an election to
take place at any time, the lack of a definite election calendar can be abused. In
some systems, such as the British, a ruling party can schedule elections when it
feels that it is likely to do well, and so avoid elections at times of unpopularity.
Thus, by wise timing of elections, in a parliamentary system a party can extend
its rule for longer than is feasible in a functioning presidential system. This
problem can be alleviated somewhat by setting fixed dates for parliamentary
elections, as is the case in several of Australia's state parliaments. In other
systems, such as the Dutch and the Belgian, the ruling party or coalition has
some flexibility in determining the election date. Conversely, flexibility in the
timing of parliamentary elections avoids having periods of legislative gridlock
that can occur in a fixed period presidential system.
In history, King Charles I of England famously rejected parliamentarianism
during the 17th Century, because he saw it as interfering with the "Divine Right
of Kings to rule. He was tried and beheaded for treason by supporters of the
parliamentarian Oliver Cromwell in 1649. Cromwell in turn became a dictator
and the parliament restored constitutional monarchy in the 1660s.
The Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler included several critiques of parliamentarianism in
his book Mein Kampf, writing that the Nazi movement was "anti-parliamentarian"
because it rejects "a principle of majority rule in which the leader is degraded to
the level of mere executant of other people's wills and opinion" and further that
"By rejecting the authority of the individual and replacing it by the numbers of
some momentary mob, the parliamentary principle of majority rule sins against
the basic aristocratic principle of Nature" The war time British
parliamentarian Winston Churchill on the other hand offered his system this
mock criticism: "democracy is the worst system of government except for the
alternatives".

SWEDISH PARLIAMENT

The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly ofSweden. The riksdag is

a unicameral assembly with 349 members who are elected on
a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years. It is located in
the Riksdag building (Riksdagshuset), on the island of
Helgeandsholmen in Stockholm.
Riksdag is the direct Swedish equivalent of the German Reichstag. In
the Swedish constitution, the word is written with a lower-case “r”, thus marking
that it is actually not a name of the parliament, but that it is just “the parliament”.
A precise English translation of this German-Nordic word does not actually exist,
but "Meeting of the Realm" may serve as a literal translation, though perhaps
"Diet of the Realm" would be more accurate (dag literally means "day", and is
thus either cognate to the use of German tag for a Diet, or even a direct
borrowing; the former comes from Latindies with the same meaning). The word
is also used by Swedish speakers for the parliaments of Finland (it is the official
term used by the Swedish-speaking minority there) and Estonia, and for the
old Reichstag of Germany as well as the parliament building in Berlin
(reciprocally, "Reichstag" is the standard German translation of "riksdag").In
Sweden riksdag is today also frequently used to refer to the contemporary
parliament house of Germany per se (but the Bundestag is called förbundsdag),
and sometimes for national parliaments of other countries as well. The word is
also used by Norwegian speakers with the same spelling; in Danish it is
spelled rigsdag.

Organization

 Speaker of the Riksdag: Per Westerberg (since October 2006)

 Chamber: unicameral with 349 members
 Elections: Members are elected by popular vote on a proportional
representation basis to serve four-year terms. In the election year, the
elections are held on the third Sunday of September, though pending
legislation would move the election day to the second Sunday of September.
 Elections last held: 19 September 2010
Constitution
The riksdag performs the normal functions of a parliament in a parliamentary
democracy. It enacts laws, amends the constitution and appoints a government.
In most parliamentary democracies, the head of state commissions a politician
to form a government. Under the new Instrument of Government (one of the four
fundamental laws of the Constitution) enacted in 1974, that task was removed
from the Monarch of Sweden and given to the Speaker of the Riksdag. To make
changes to the Constitution under the new Instrument of Government,
amendments must be approved twice by Parliament, in two successive electoral
periods with a regular general election held in between.
An amendment must be introduced into Parliament nine months prior to such an
election unless a 5/6 majority of the Committee on the Constitution authorises it.
If one tenth of the members motions for a referendum to block the amendment
and one third of Parliament backs the motion, a referendum will be held. Such a
referendum can only defeat a proposed amendment.

Government
After holding talks with leaders of the various party groups in the Riksdag, the
Speaker of the Riksdag nominates a Prime Minister. The nomination is then put
to a vote. Unless an absolute majority of the members (175 members) vote "no",
the nomination is confirmed, otherwise it is rejected. The Speaker must then find
a new nominee. This means the Riksdag can consent to a Prime Minister
without casting any "yes" votes.
After being elected the Prime Minister appoints the Cabinet Ministers and
announces them to the Riksdag. The new government becomes effective with a
first meeting held before the head of state, the King of Sweden, at which the
Speaker of the Riksdag announces to the King that the Riksdag has elected a
new government.
Parliament can cast a vote of no confidence against any single member of the
government, thus forcing a resignation. To succeed a vote of no confidence
must be supported by an absolute majority (175 members) or it has failed.
If a vote of no confidence is cast against the Prime Minister (Sw. Statsminister),
this means the entire government is rejected. A losing government has one
week to call for a general election or else the procedure of nominating a new
Prime Minister starts afresh

Politics
Political parties are strong in Sweden, with members of the Riksdag usually
supporting their parties in parliamentary votes. In most cases, governments can
command the support of the majority in the Riksdag, allowing the government to
control the parliamentary agenda.
For many years, no single political party in Sweden has managed to gain more
than 50% of the votes, so political parties with similar agendas cooperate on
several issues, forming coalition governments or other formalized alliances.
Currently, two major blocs exist in parliament, the socialist/green Red-
Greens and theconservative/liberal Alliance for Sweden. The latter, consisting of
the Moderate Party, the Liberal People's Party, the Centre Party and the
Christian Democrats, governs Sweden since 2006 - since 2010 through
a minority government. The Red-Greens were disbanded on 26 October 2010
but is still considered to be the main opposition. The Sweden Democrats party is
not a member of any of these blocs, although they often support the Alliance in
their decisions according to Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå,

All 349 members of the Riksdag are elected in the general elections held every
four years. Eligible to vote and stand for elections are Swedish Citizens who turn
18 years old no later than on the day of the election. A minimum of 4% of the
national vote is required for membership in Parliament, alternatively 12% or
more within a constituency. Substitutes for each deputy are elected at the same
time as each election, so by-elections are rare. In the event of a snap election,
the newly elected members merely serve the remainder of the four-year term.
Constituencies and national apportionment of seats
The electoral system in Sweden is proportional. Of the 349 seats in the
unicameral Riksdag, 310 are fixed constituency seats allocated to constituencies
in relation to the number of people entitled to vote in each constituency. The
remaining 39 adjustment seats are used to correct the deviations from
proportional national distribution that may arise when allocating the fixed
constituency seats. There is a constraint in the system that means that only a
party that has received at least four per cent of the votes in the whole country
participates in the distribution of seats. However, a party that has received at
least twelve per cent of the votes in a constituency participates in the distribution
of the fixed constituency seats in that constituency.
Latest election
2006 election
The Social Democrats suffered their worst electoral result since 1920, while the
Moderates recorded their best performance in modern times. As a result the
center-right alliance won the election and got control over the Riksdag for the
first time since 1994.

Members of the Riksdag

As of 2008, 47 percent of the Members of the Swedish Parliament are women.
This is the world's second highest proportion of females in a national parliament
—behind only Rwanda--and the highest in the industrialized world. According to
a survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson, Swedish national
parliamentarians have an average work week of 66 hours, including side
responsibilities. Hansson's investigation further reports that the average
Swedish national parliamentarian sleeps 6.5 hours per night.

History
The roots of the modern Riksdag can be found in a 1435 meeting of the
Swedish nobility in the city of Arboga. This informal organization was modified in
1527 by the first modern Swedish kingGustav I Vasa to include representatives
from all the four social estates: the nobility, the clergy, the bourgeoisie
(propertied commoners in the towns such as merchants, tradesmen, lawyers,
etc.), and the peasantry (freehold yeoman farmers). This form
of Ständestaat representation lasted until 1865, when representation by estate
was abolished and the modern bicameral parliament established. Effectively,
however, it did not become a parliament in the modern sense untilparliamentary
principles were established in the political system in Sweden, in 1917.
On 22 June 1866, the Riksdag decided to reconstitute itself as
a bicameral legislature, consisting of Första kammaren or the First Chamber,
with 155 members and Andra kammaren or the Second Chamber with 233
members. The First Chamber was indirectly elected by county and city
councillors, while the Second Chamber was directly elected by universal
suffrage. This reform was a result of great miscontent with the old Estates which
were no longer able to represent the people.
By an amendment of the Swedish constitution the general election of 1970 was
the first to a unicameral assembly with 350 seats. The following general election
to the unicameral Riksdag in 1973 only gave the Government the support of 175
members, while the opposition could mobilize an equal force of 175 members. In
a number of cases a tied vote ensued, and the final decision had to be
determined by lot. To avoid any recurrence of this, the number of seats in
Parliament was reduced to 349 from 1976.

PARLIAMENT OF NORWAY

The Storting is the supreme legislature of Norway, located in Oslo.

Theunicameral parliament has 169 members, and is elected every four years
based on party-listproportional representation in nineteen plural
member constituencies. The assembly is led by a presidium of a president and
five vice presidents; since 2009 Dag Terje Andersen has been president. The
members are allocated to twelve standing committees, as well as four
procedural committees. Almost all public agencies of Norway are subordinate to
the government, but three ombudsmen, the Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight
Committee and the Office of the Auditor General are directly subordinate to
parliament.
Parliament was established by the Constitution of Norway in 1814 and has since
1866 met in the Parliament of Norway Building, designed by Emil Victor
Langlet. Parliamentarianism was established in 1884, and until 2009 the
parliament was a qualified unicameralism with two chambers: the Lagting and
the Odelsting. Following the 2009 election, seven parties are represented in
parliament: the Labour Party (64 representatives), the Progress Party (41),
theConservative Party (30), the Socialist Left Party (11), the Centre Party (11),
the Christian Democratic Party (10) and the Liberal Party (2).
The parliament in its present form was first constituted at Eidsvoll in 1814,
although its origins can be traced back to the allting or common assemblies as
early as the 9th century. The alltings were localised assemblies charged with
discussing legal and political matters. These gradually were formalised so that
the tings, or assemblies, grew into regionalised meetings and acquired backing
and authority from the crown, even to the extent that on occasions they were
instrumental in effecting change in the monarchy itself. As Norway became
unified as a geopolitical entity in the 10th century, the lagtings were established
as superior regional assemblies. The archaic regional assemblies,
the Frostating, the Gulating, the Eidsivating and the Borgarting were
amalgamated and the corpus of law was set down under the command of
King Magnus Lagabøte during the mid-13th century. This jurisdiction remained
significant until King Frederick III proclaimed absolute monarchy in 1660; this
was ratified by the passage of the King Act of 1665, and this became the
constitution of the Union of Denmark and Norwayand remained so until 1814
and the foundation of the Storting.
The number of seats in the Storting has varied: from 1882 there were 114 seats,
from 1903 117, from 1906 123, from 1918 126, from 1921 150, from 1973 155,
from 1985 157, from 1989 165 and from 2005 169 seats.
Qualified unicameralism (1814–2009)
Although the Storting has always been unicameral, until 2009 it would divide
itself into two departments in legislative matters. After elections, the Storting
would elect a quarter of its membership to form the Lagting a sort of "upper
house", with the remaining three quarters forming the Odelsting or "lower
house". The division was also used on very rare occasions in cases
of impeachment. The original idea in 1814 was probably to have the Lagting act
as an actual upper house, and the senior and more experienced members of the
Storting were placed there. Later, however, the composition of the Lagting
closely followed that of the Odelsting so that there was very little that
differentiated them, and the passage of a bill in the Lagting was mostly a
formality.
Bills were submitted by the Government to the Odelsting or by a member of the
Odelsting—members of the Lagting were not permitted to propose legislation by
themselves. A standing committee, with members from both the Odelsting and
Lagting, would then consider the bill, and in some cases hearings were held. If
passed by the Odelsting, the bill would be sent to the Lagting for review or
revision. Most bills were passed unamended by the Lagting and then sent
directly to the king for royal assent (which is only a formality). If the Lagting
amended the Odelsting's decision, the bill would be sent back to the Odelsting.
If the Odelsting approved the Lagting's amendments, the bill would be signed
into law by the King. If it did not, then the bill would return to the Lagting. If the
Lagting still proposed amendments, the bill would be submitted a plenary
session of the Storting. In order to be passed, the bill should have then had the
approval of a two-thirds majority of the plenary session. In all other cases a
simple majority would suffice. Three days had to pass between each time a
department voted on a bill. In all other cases, such as taxes and appropriations,
the Storting would meet in plenary sessions.
A proposal to amend the constitution and abolish the system of Odelsting and
Lagting was introduced in 2004 and was passed by the Storting on 20 February
2007 (159–1 with nine absentees). It took effect with the newly elected Storting
in 2009.
The legislative procedure goes through five stages. First a bill is introduced to
parliament either by a member of government or, in the case of a private
member's bill, by any individual representative. Parliament will refer the bill to
the relevant standing committee, where it will be subject for detailed
consideration in the committee stage. The first reading takes place when
parliament debates the recommendation from the committee, and will make a
vote. If the bill is dismissed, the procedure ends. The second reading takes
place at least three days after the first reading, in which parliament debates the
bill again. A new vote is taken, and if successful, the bill is submitted to the King
in Council of royal assent. If parliament comes to a different conclusion in the
second reading, a third reading will be held at least three days later, repeating
the debate and vote, and may adopt the amendments from the second reading
or finally dismiss the bill. Once the bill has reached the King in Council, the bill
must be signed by the monarch and countersigned by theprime minister. It then
becomes Norwegian law from the date stated in the act or decided by the
government.

Other committees
There are four other committees, that run parallel to the standing committees.
The Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs consists of members of the
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, the presidium and the
parliamentary leaders. The committee discusses important issues related to
foreign affairs, trade policy and national safety with the government. Discussions
are confidential. The European Committee consists of the members of the
Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence and the parliamentary
delegation to theEuropean Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade
Area (EFTA). The committee conducts discussions with the government
regarding directives from the European Union.
The Election Committee consists of 37 members, and is responsible for internal
elections within the parliament, as well as delegating and negotiating party and
representative allocation within the presidium, standing committees and other
committees. The Preparatory Credentials Committee has 16 members and is
responsible for approving the election.
Appointed agencies
Five public agencies are appointed by parliament rather than by the
government. The Office of the Auditor General is the auditor of all branches of
the public administration and is responsible for auditing, monitoring and advising
all state economic activities. The Parliamentary Ombudsman is
an ombudsman responsible for public administration. It can investigate any
public matter that has not been processed by an elected body, the courts or
within the military. The Ombudsman for the Armed Forces is an ombudsman
responsible for the military. TheOmbudsman for Civilian National Servicemen is
responsible for people serving civilian national service. The Parliamentary
Intelligence Oversight Committee is a seven-member body responsible for
supervising public intelligence, surveillance and security services. Parliament
also appoints the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that award
the Nobel Peace Prize.
Administration
Parliament has an administration of about 400 people, led by Secretary-
General Hans Brattestå, who assumed office in 1990. He also acts as secretary
for the presidium.
Party groups
Each party represented in parliament has a party group. It is led by a group
board and chaired by a parliamentary leader. It is customary for the party leader
to also act as parliamentary leader, but since party leaders of government
parties normally sit as ministers, governing parties elect other representatives as
their parliamentary leaders.
Members to Stortinget are elected based on party-list proportional
representation in plural memberconstituencies. This means that representatives
from different political parties, are elected from each constituency. The
constituencies are identical to the 19 counties of Norway. The electorate does
not vote for individuals but rather for party lists, with a ranked list of candidates
nominated by the party. This means that the person on top of the list will get the
seat unless the voter alters the ballot. Parties may nominate candidates from
outside their own constituency, and even Norwegian citizens currently living
abroad.
The Sainte-Laguë method is used for allocating parliamentary seats to parties.
As a result, the percentage of representatives is roughly equal to the nationwide
percentage of votes. Still, a party with a high number of votes in only one
constituency can win a seat there even if the nationwide percentage is low. This
has happened several times in Norwegian history. Conversely, if a party's initial
representation in Stortinget is proportionally less than it share of votes, the party
may seat more representatives through leveling seats , provided that the
nationwide percentage is above the election threshold, currently at 4%. In 2009,
nineteen seats were allocated via the leveling system. Elections are held each
four years, normally on the second Monday of September.
Unlike most other parliaments, the Storting always serves its full four-year term;
the Constitution does not allow snap elections. Substitutes for each deputy are
elected at the same time as each election, so by-elections are rare.
Following the elections on 14 September 2009, the Red–Green Coalition of the
Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party succeeded at
keeping a majority of the seats. Although the Socialist Left Party lost four seats,
three were regained by the Labour Party. This allowed Stoltenberg's Second
Cabinet to continue. The greatest loss was suffered by the Liberal Party, that fell
below the election threshold and lost eight of ten representatives. The
Conservative Party gained seven seats and the Progress Party gained three, but
this was not sufficient to hold a right-winged majority. Voter turnout was 76.4%.

Since 5 March 1866, parliament has met in the Parliament of Norway Building at
Karl Johans gate 22 in Oslo. The building was designed by the Swedish
architect Emil Victor Langlet and is built in yellow brick with details and
basement in light gray granite. It is a combination of several styles, including
inspirations from France and Italy. Parliament also meetsin several other offices
in the surrounding area, since the building is too small to hold the current staff of
the legislature