Constitutional Basis
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.
Read more about this topic: Parliament Of Sweden
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