Act of Succession
Main article: Act of Succession
Sweden's switch from elective to hereditary monarchy in 1544 gave reason to Sweden's first law of constitutional character, in form of a treaty between the royal dynasty and the realm represented by the four Estates to be valid for all times.
Accordingly the current 1810 Act of Succession (Swedish: Successionsordningen, SO) is a treaty between the old Riksdag of the Estates and the House of Bernadotte regulating the right to accede to the Swedish throne. In 1980 the old principle of "agnatic primogeniture", which meant that the throne was inherited by the eldest male child of the preceding monarch, was replaced by the principle of full "cognatic primogeniture." This meant that the throne will be inherited by the eldest child without regard to sex. Thereby Princess Victoria, the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, was created heiress apparent to the Swedish throne over her younger brother, Prince Carl Philip.
Freedom of expression
The other two acts defines the freedom of the press and other forms of expression. They are separated into two separate laws mainly to maintain the tradition of the Freedom of the Press Act or Tryckfrihetsförordningen (TF) from 1766.
The Freedom of the Press Act has actually been changed several times since its first incarnation. In 1772, 1810, 1812, 1949 and 1982. It was not, however, until the 1810 Act that what we today generally call Freedom of Expression was secured. The 1766 Act held for example that Freedom of Expression was to be uninhibited, except for "violations", which included blasphemy and criticism of the state.
The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression or Yttrandefrihetsgrundlagen (YGL) of 1991 is a lengthier document defining freedom of expression in all media except for written books and magazines (such as television, the Internet, radio, etc.)
Public access to governmental documents
In the 18th century, after over 40 years of mixed experiences with Parliamentarism, Public access to government documents was one of the main issues with the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766. Although the novelty was put out of order 1772-1809, it has since remained central in the Swedish mindset, seen as a forceful means against corruption and government agencies' inequal treatment of the citizens, increasing the perceived legitimacy of (local and central) government and politicians.
Lutheran State Church
See also: Church of Sweden
In 1593, after 70 years of Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Sweden, adherence to the Augsburg confession was decided and given constitutional status at the Synode of Uppsala (Uppsala möte). References to Uppsala möte has since then been worked into the fundamental laws, notably the Act of Succession.
See also
External links
Source | Copyright
This article is part of the