RS 29

social law, contemporary legal history, and the history of public law pation, or participation in war, may have meant there was little need for developed theories of constitutional law to solve societal conflict. In any case, bymid century the Instrument of Government was showing its age. In the 1950s the process began with the first official public inquiries by politicians and constitutional experts.16 The mechanisms of democracy were discussed in detail.17 One tricky question was the role of the king under the future constitutional arrangements. What was the position of the head of state in a modern, democratic state based on popular sovereignty? Should Sweden even remain a monarchy? The Social Democrats – and the Left Party Communists who were not trusted to participate in the committee work on the new constitution – were generally republican; the liberal and conservative parties, by contrast, wished to retain the monarchymore or less unaltered. After considerable negotiation, representatives of the political parties working on the new constitution met in the idyllic seaside resort of Torekov to agree a compromise.18 Sweden should remain a monarchy, but the king – the constitution did not yet provide for the possibility of a queen regnant – would only have a ceremonial role. The king would be head of state, but with no legislative or political power. He would not lead the discussions on appointment of a prime minister. The compromise was to give this task to the speaker of theRiksdag. Furthermore, the king, now also designated head of state, could not even formally sign to adopt the legislation; instead, this fell to the government, in legal terms a new constitutional body replacing the King in Council and consisting of the prime minister (appointed by the Riksdag) and the ministers he appointed.19 The government took over much 16 Hans-Heinrich Vogel, ‘Grundlagen und Grundzüge staatlichen Verfassungsrechts: Schweden’, in Armin von Bogdandy, Pedro Cruz Villalón & Peter M. Huber (eds.), Handbuch Ius PublicumEuropaeum, I: Grundlagen und Grundzüge staatlichen Verfassungsrechts (Heidelberg: C. F. Müller, 2007), 536 ff. at ¶ 66 ff. 17 Statens offentliga utredningar (SOU) (Swedish Government Official Reports),SOU1963: 17Författningsutredningen: VI Sveriges statsskick. Del 2Motiv; SOU1972:15Ny Regeringsform: Ny riksdagsordning. 18 Fredrik Sterzel, Författning i utveckling (Iustus 2009), 151–2; for the Torekov compromise, see the memoirs of Valter Åman, chairman of Grundlagberedningen, the commission that draftedthe1974InstrumentofGovernment,Repor i färgen(Stockholm:Timo, 1982), 176 ff. 19 Instrument of Government, ch 6, s 1. 171

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