How to respond to the consultation on a proposed new Swedish law
Sweden has an impressively thorough system for developing legislation, and this includes a 'remiss' consultation stage where anyone at all, even you, has the right to send in a submission outlining their views and proposing changes. Here's how to make a submission.
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Does the government have to put new laws out to consultation?
Yes. The Instrument of Government, or regeringsformen, one of Sweden's four constitutional laws, imposes a beredningskrav, or a "requirement to go through a preparatory stage", on all new government legislation.
"When preparing government tasks, necessary information and statements shall be obtained from the relevant authorities," the text of the Instrument of Government reads. "Information and statements shall also be obtained from municipalities to the extent necessary. Associations and individuals shall also be given the opportunity to express their views to the extent necessary."
READ ALSO: How do new laws get made in Sweden?
Who is asked to make submissions when a law is put out to consultation?
Once the government has received the conclusions of the government inquiry into a proposed new law, it sends the report and its proposals out to consultation or remiss to to the relevant government agencies or organisations, municipalities and other stakeholders, who can then submit remissvar, or "responses".
The government department responsible for the new law will draw up a list of organisations and individuals who it specifically asks to make a submissions.
These are called the remissinstanser and the full text of their submissions are published automatically on the part of the government website devoted to the new law.
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Can individuals and organisations give submissions even if not asked to do so?
Yes. The latest government instruction on how consultations work in the country stresses that "each and every person who has an opinion" has the right to make a submission.
"It is not only those remissinstanser who have received requests to make submissions who can give their opinion on the proposal," it reads. "The possibility to express a point of view on a proposal is always open to each and every person who has an opinion."
All submissions, both invited and not invited, remain on the record within the government department and become part of the underlag, the underlying decision-making process behind the new law.
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How do you make a submission?
You can find the consultation you want to contribute to on the list of all current ongoing consultations on the government's website.
At the bottom of consultation document for the law you want to comment on, there will be an email address given to which any submissions should be sent.
For the consultation launched at the end of January on "Stricter demands for Swedish citizenship", for example, submissions should be sent to ju.remissvar@regeringskansliet.se by April 1st, with a copy sent to ju.L7@regeringskansliet.se, and the consultation's code Ju2025/00118 included in the subject line.
The submission should be sent in two versions, one in an editable format such as Word, and the other in a non-editable format, such as a PDF file.
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