Instrument of Government (Sweden)

Swedens 1974 constitution transferring final authority from king to parliament.

Overview

One of four fundamental laws that make up the Swedish constitution, the 1974 Instrument of Government completed the long shift of power from crown to Riksdag, reducing the monarch to purely ceremonial duties. Sweden has no single constitutional document, using instead four acts: the Instrument of Government, Act of Succession from 1810, Freedom of the Press Act from 1766, and Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression from 1991. The 1974 text emphasizes popular sovereignty through unicameral parliament, negative parliamentarianism where a government needs only to tolerate no confidence vote, and far reaching transparency through the principle of public access to records.