Legislative Research in Sweden

• Author: William C. Foster
• Published date: 01 March 1956
• Date: 01 March 1956
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/106591295600900106
• Subject Matter: Articles

56

LEGISLATIVE

RESEARCH

IN

SWEDEN

WILLIAM C.

FOSTER

*

NCREASING

DEMANDS

have been

made

in

Western

democracies

dur-

ing

recent

decades

for

additional

state

regulation

and

assistance.

The

demands

appear

to

be

partially

a

result

of

new

social

problems

arising

from

rapid

developments

in

technology

and

the

increasingly

complicated

structure

of

commercial

activity.

These

public

demands

have

been

pre-

sented

in

numerous

and

complex

legislative

proposals.

The

sheer

increase

in

legislation

excites

interest

in

the

analysis

and

reassessment

of

the

legis-

lative

process

in

the

Western

democratic

states.

In

addition,

many

newer

states,

such

as

India

and

Indonesia,

and

a

number

of

older

countries,

such

as

Ethiopia,

have

recently

adopted

representative

government

with

its

dependence

on

legislative

action.

Newly

established

legislative

assemblies

are

expected

to

solve

complex

social

questions

immediately,

and

to

accom-

plish

the

task

with

representatives

who

have

no

wide

experience

in

legisla-

tion.

Such

developments

focus

attention

on

the

techniques

used

in

the

legislative

process

in

Western

democracies.’

The

roots

of

democratic

institutions

in

Sweden

date

at

least

to

the

early

part

of

the

fifteenth

century.

Moreover,

Sweden

has

been

particularly

suc-

cessful

in

recognizing

and

solving

social

problems

through

the

use

of

demo-

cratic

institutions.

The

purpose

of

this

study

is

to

describe

in

a

general

manner

the

legislative

process

in

the

Swedish

Parliament,

and

to

note

the

importance

of

research

within

the

process.2

Whether

legislative

assemblies

can

perform

satisfactorily

depends

in

part

on

the

provision

of

services

needed

by

the

legislature.

One

of

the

important

needs

of

members

is

for

adequate

research

facilities

to

supply

a

comprehensive

body

of

facts

regard-

ing

the

social

problems

with

which

they

are

concerned.

THE

SWEDISH

POLITICAL

PROFILE

The

Swedish

constitution

includes

the

Instrument

of

Government,

which

became

effective

in

1809,

the

Parliamentary

(Riksdag)

Act

of

1865,

~

Texas

Legislative

Council.

1

The

author

of

this

paper

is

limiting

himself

to

suggestions

based

on

Swedish

experience.

Most

of

his

conclusions

are

based

on

personal

observations

and

interviews.

A

final

judgment

of

the

value

of

certain

parliamentary

institutions,

such

as

royal

commissions

of

inquiry,

should

wait

upon

a

comparison

of

British

and

Canadian

with

Swedish

legislative

procedures.

Cf.

H.

M.

Clokie

and

J.

W.

Robinson,

Royal

Commissions

of

Inquiry

(Stanford:

Stanford

University

Press,

1937);

H.

M.

Clokie,

Canadian

Govern-

ment

and

Politics

(Toronto:

Longmans,

Green

&

Co.,

1950).

2

The

Swedish

Riksdag

is

translated

"Parliament."

Andra

Kammaren

(which

is

the

larger

house,

and

therefore

the

more

powerful

when

joint

voting

is

practiced)

is

literally

rendered

"Second

Chamber."

Första

Kammaren

is

"First

Chamber."