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The Parliamentary System of Denmark

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ContentsForeword 7

History of the parliamentary system of Denmark 9

Parliament building 11

Danish form of government 12

Electoral system 15

Sessional year and work in the Chamber 19

Committee readings 22

The Folketing Services 27

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Cabinet responsibility wasintroduced in 1901. Thismeant that it becamepossible for a parliamen-tary majority to over-throw the Government.

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Danish democracy was introduced gradually as a result of foreign influences as well as ofnational debates and intellectual fights which had been going on for generations. It isfounded largely on the ideas which saw the light of day in the 18th and 19th centuriesas a reaction against royal absolutism. One of the main thoughts originated in the beliefthat power as exercised in society should not be the right of the upper classes but of thelower, it should stem from the people. All men are born equal and are therefore entitledto vote at elections to legislative assemblies.

After several decades of intellectual fights aimed at introducing a liberal Constitution,the central principles of Danish democracy were laid down in the Constitutional Act ofJune 1849, and they remain to this day the backbone of the present Constitutional Actof June 5th 1953. Today, Danish democracy is safeguarded by being a representativegovernment built on individual rights laid down in the Constitutional Act. These rightscomprise personal and political rights of freedom as well the freedom of speech, thefreedom of assembly, the freedom of association and the freedom of belief.Furthermore, Danish democracy is characterized by universal suffrage, secret ballot,proportional representation, a unicameral system and Cabinet responsibility.

Though Danish democracy is a sound and very lively form of democracy, it is importantto bear in mind that democracy must never wither away. And since the date on which itwas first introduced in Denmark, democracy has been undergoing a continuous processof development. Future challenges will, likewise, require changes if the living democra-cy is not to die. The Danish population as well as the Members of the Folketing need tomake an active contribution to keep it this way. Parliament’s Interactive Visitors’ Centreentitled “Politician for one single day” has been set up in order to encourage young per-sons – throughout the year - to participate actively in promoting Danish democracy.

The present edition of “The Parliamentary System of Denmark” gives an outline of howDanish democracy actually works. And the booklet also gives you an overview of theparliamentary Administration and of the tasks with which the civil servants and staff aredealing.

Christian MejdahlSpeaker of the Folketing

The Folketing, Copenhagen, November 2005

Foreword

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After 1814, the Danish politicalsystem was strongly influenced by developments in Europe. Liberalforces were heard speaking infavour of an increasing share in government on the part of thepeople.

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Danish democracy is founded on thethoughts the seeds of which weresown in 18th century Europe as a reac-tion against royal absolutism whichwas introduced as the form of govern-ment in Denmark in 1660.

The transition from absolutism to re-presentative government was on thewhole a gradual process. There was noquestion of a revolution, for althoughthe ruling monarch had almostabsolute power, absolutism inDenmark was to a large extent a colle-giate form of government; at the endof the 18th century it included theforemost men of the Age of Enlighten-ment. They carried through a socialand economic revolution that coveredagricultural reforms, abolition ofadscription and school reforms for theordinary population.

At the beginning of the 19th century,Denmark was involved in the warsbetween Germany, Britain and France.Admiral Nelson defeated the Danishfleet in the Battle of Copenhagen in1801, the British bombarded Copen-hagen and seized the Danish fleet in1807, the State went bankrupt andsubsequent to the peace negotiationsin Vienna in 1814, Denmark had tocede Norway and accept that the mostsouthern part of the Kingdom, theDuchy of Holstein, was integrated inthe German federation.

After 1814, the Danish political sys-tem was strongly influenced by deve-lopments in Europe. Liberal forceswere heard speaking in favour of anincreasing share in government on thepart of the people. And in 1849 the

King signed a new democraticConstitution. The Constitutional Actof 1849 was strongly influenced by theBelgian Constitutional Act of 1830 inits structure and mode of thought aswell as by the Norwegian Constitu-tional Act of 1814. These Consti-tutions can again be said to build on18th century ideas primarily formula-ted by Montesquieu and Rousseau.The Danish Constitutional Act of 1849was extremely liberal and containedprovisions on i.a. universal suffrage,freedom of assembly, freedom of con-science and universal military service.

In the years succeeding the firstConstitutional Act, reactionary cur-rents instigated by large estate own-ers and civil servants, supported bythe new King, as well as political pres-sure from foreign countries, led to cur-tailments in the liberal Constitution.Conservative forces made use of thecontinued confrontations with themost southern pro-German duchies –which in 1864 led to a military defeatfor Denmark and a victory for Prussiaand Austria – to make amendments tothe Constitution.

The election rules applying to theUpper Chamber, the Landsting, wereamended in 1866, in a way that gavelarge estate-owners and men of busi-ness a permanent majority. As theKing chose his Ministers from thesame circles, the popularly elected liberal Folketing was put out of therunning especially in the period from1884 to 1894 when the Governmentissued the annual Finance Acts with-out consulting Parliament.

It was only after the year 1900 that theliberal farmers' party, entitled theLiberal Party, came into power. Butthe Party did not dominate legislationfor long due to internal cleavages anda permanent conflict with the Con-servative majority of the Landsting. In1915, an amendment was made tothe Constitutional Act which meantthat the power of the Landsting waslimited, women got the right to vote,and a more just electoral system,introducing the system of proportion-al representation came into use.

During the First World War, from 1914to 1918, Denmark remained neutralvis-à-vis the combatants. And theGovernment succeeded in keepingthe country out of the War.

In the interwar period, Denmark likemany other European countries expe-rienced a heavy migration from coun-try to town pari passu with the grow-ing industrialization. This meant astrengthening of the Social Demo-cratic Party, which took the place ofthe Liberal Party as the dominatingparty in the Folketing.

During the Second World War,Denmark again observed neutralitybut irrespective of this fact, NaziGermany occupied Denmark in 1940.The Occupation lasted until May 1945.After the Liberation, the DanishFreedom Council, which was set up bythe Resistance Movement, togetherwith the largest political parties fromthe interwar period formed a coalitionGovernment which was later to bereplaced by Social DemocraticGovernments. The latter dominated

History of the parliamentary system of Denmark

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Danish politics up to some time in the1960s apart from short intervals withLiberal-Conservative Governments.

In 1953, one of these Governmentspassed an amendment to the Consti-tutional Act which finally settled theeverlasting conflict with the reac-tionary forces of the past by abolish-ing the Landsting and strengtheningthe Folketing.

From the end of the 1960s up to 1982,Denmark had alternating SocialDemocratic and Liberal minorityGovernments and from 1982 to 1993conservatively dominated minorityGovernments. In January 1993, theSocial Democratic Party and the threesmall liberal parties, the CentreDemocrats, the Social Liberal Partyand the Christian People's Partyformed a coalition Government sup-ported by the smallest possible majo-rity (90 seats out of 179). Subsequentto the 1994 general election, theChristian People’s Party was no longerrepresented in Parliament, and from1996 the Centre Democrats were nolonger part of the Government. From1996 the Government was composedof the Social Democratic Party and theSocial Liberal Party only. Subsequentto the General Election which was heldin November 2001, the Liberal Partyand the Conservative Party formed acoalition government headed by aLiberal Prime Minister. At the 2005General Election, the two political par-ties were returned to power.

Tripartition of power As in most Western democracies, theDanish political and legal system isfounded on a tripartition of power i.e.

a division between the legislative, theexecutive and the judicial powers. Inaccordance with the ConstitutionalAct of the Kingdom of Denmark,"Legislative authority shall be vestedin the King and the Folketing conjoint-ly. Executive authority shall be vestedin the King. Judicial authority shall bevested in the courts of justice". As onewill realize the idea behind the triparti-tion of the powers is to balance themagainst one another. Section 15 in theConstitutional Act, which deals withthe parliamentary principle, lays downthat "A Minister shall not remain inoffice after the Folketing has passed avote of no confidence in him".

An important feature of the Danishsystem is that a Government need notbe supported by a majority – as longas it is not outvoted by a majority(negative Cabinet responsibility).

Another important feature of theDanish parliamentary system is thatthe Constitutional Act lays down that"The Members of the Folketing shall beelected for a period of four years". Still"The King may at any time issue writsfor a new election".

The relationship between theGovernment and the Folketing canbriefly be described as follows. In prin-ciple, the Government and theFolketing exert the legislative powerconjointly, but in reality it is unthink-able for a Government not to (recom-mend to the Monarch to) grant assentto a Bill passed by a majority in theFolketing. The Government exerts theexecutive power through its Ministers,but a Government cannot remain inoffice if the majority of the Folketing

goes against it. The Folketing’s influence on the executive power islimited to issuing general guidelinesvia legislation and to controlling theGovernment’s activities. If the execu-tive power acts contrary to the majo-rity of the Folketing, the latter canoverthrow the Government by movinga vote of no confidence. On the otherhand, the Government can, at anytime, dissolve the Folketing and issuewrits for an election.

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The Danish Parliament (the Folketing)is domiciled at Christiansborg Palacein central Copenhagen. This positionon the small island of Slotsholmen –surrounded by narrow canals – hasbeen the centre of the Kingdom ofDenmark for more than 800 years.

During the Middle Ages, BishopAbsalon erected a castle here whichwas meant to serve as a protectionagainst pirates from NorthernGermany. This castle had existed forabout 200 years when it was torndown in 1370. The remains of the castlecan still be seen in the vaults belowthe present Palace. In the followingcenturies, the Danish Kings built andlived at Slotsholmen. Copenhagen hadby then become the capital of theRealm.

In 1736, the King began the erectionof a grand four-winged baroquePalace. This Palace was only in use forabout 50 years because in 1794 agreat fire devastated most of it.

In the years between 1806 and 1828, anew Christiansborg Palace was erect-ed. It was built in the classical styleand it was this Palace which becamethe centre of events when the countrywent from absolutism to democracybetween 1848 and 1849. Also thisPalace had a short life of about 50years. It burnt down in 1884 and morethan twenty years elapsed before itwas possible to begin its reconstruc-tion. The present – third – Christians-borg was built in the years between1906 and 1918 making use of thesame foundation walls which hadbeen used for the two former build-

ings. In 1918 the Folketing and theLandsting moved to the new building.The style is that of the new Baroqueand the heaviness and solidity of theconstruction is meant to underline theimportance of the Palace as the politi-cal centre of the Realm.

Today the main parts of the Palacepremises are used by the Folketing.Apart from the Folketing,Christiansborg Palace also houses theSupreme Court, the Prime Minister'sOffice and the Royal ReceptionRooms. This means that in addition tothe legislative power, the Palace housespart of the judicial and executive powers. The Folketing also has at itsdisposal an impressive warehouse dating back to 1603. At the beginningof the 1990s, it was restored and con-verted into offices.

Parliament building

The present - third - Christiansborgwas built in the years between 1906and 1918 making use of the samefoundation walls which had beenused for the two former buildings.

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Danish form of government

Since 1901 it has been anunfailing constitutional principle that a Governmentmust step down or call ageneral election if it is con-fronted with a vote of noconfidence or finds itself in a minority in the Folketing.

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Since 1901 it has been an unfailingconstitutional principle that a Govern-ment must step down or call a generalelection if it is confronted with a voteof no confidence or finds itself in aminority in the Folketing.

Cabinet responsibility In the course of the twentieth century,this principle has developed into agrand and elaborate set of constitu-tional norms and political practices. Itshould, however, be noted that duringthe 1980s the Conservative–Liberalminority Governments in several casesaccepted the fact that they were in aminority even in matters of consi-derable political importance withoutresigning or calling a general election.

When the Constitution was revised in1953, the principle of cabinet respon-sibility was directly confirmed andincorporated in Section 15 of theConstitutional Act of Denmark, whichstates that, "A Minister shall notremain in office after the Folketing hasapproved a vote of no confidence inhim. If the Folketing passes a vote ofno confidence in the Prime Minister,he shall ask for the dismissal of the

Cabinet unless writs are to be issuedfor a general election. If a vote of cen-sure has been passed on a Cabinet or ithas asked for its dismissal, it shall con-tinue in office until a new Cabinet hasbeen appointed. Ministers whoremain in office as aforesaid shall per-form only what may be necessary toensure the uninterrupted conduct ofofficial business".

Thus the principle of cabinet responsi-bility is laid down concisely in theConstitution and at the same time theprovisions of the Constitutional Actare the only written rules that regulatethe forming of a Government inDenmark. Below follows a somewhatmore detailed description of theprocess of the forming and resigna-tion of a Government.

Minority Governments We must go all the way back to thebeginning of the twentieth century tofind a Cabinet composed of one partybacked by a majority in the Folketing.Since before the First World War,Danish Cabinets - being minorityGovernments - have been composedof various parties. After 1945, the

successive Cabinets have also mostlybeen minority Governments eventhough several attempts have beenmade to create the broad majorityGovernment which has always beenheld up as an ideal for Danish politics,but which has increasingly acquired allthe characteristics of a mirage.Foreign observers often have difficultyin understanding how Danish politicscan function in this way. Above all, it isprobably the Cabinet's minority basisthat strikes an unfamiliar note.However, the mystery is partly solvedthe moment one realizes that a minorityGovernment may usually rely on thesupport of one or several other partiesin parliamentary votes if theGovernment’s survival is at stake. Ifone adds the support of the so-calledsupporting parties to that of theGovernment party or parties, it isunderstandable that the Governmentwill be able to get a narrow majorityon which to rely for its survival.

A supporting party is a party that isprepared to adopt a position of con-siderable flexibility to keep theGovernment in office. The coopera-tion between the supporting party

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and the Government may sometimesresemble the cooperation within acoalition Government. At other timesthe relationship will be less close andsituations may well arise in which theGovernment feels uncertain as to howfar it can depend on the supportingparty. At times a minority Govern-ment will need to function without anactual agreement of firm support. Itmust then carry out its work hopingthat some of the parties are ready tonegotiate on separate issues and/orremain neutral.

Whether or not Denmark is ruled by acoalition Government supported by amajority or by a minority Governmentwith or without firm support fromother parties, the Government'sstrength must be safeguarded on thebasis of negotiations during which theparties approach each other, yield toeach other and make big or small con-cessions.

A Cabinet's resignation A Government may be brought downin many different ways. The nature

and development of a Cabinet crisisare conditioned by two factors, thefirst being how the Opposition in theFolketing acts and the other how theGovernment itself chooses to act. Asin a marriage, it takes two to decidewhether the situation is to take a dra-matic turn and just how dramatic theconsequences will be.

The most clear-cut case is the one inwhich the Government is faced by adirect censure and in which itresponds by dissolving the Folketing.In another case, the Governmentchooses to resign without havingbeen defeated in the Folketing. In athird case the Government chooses toresign upon being defeated in theFolketing. In a fourth and more usualcase the Government triggers off aCabinet crisis by dissolving theFolketing without having suffered adefeat. The Prime Minister may forinstance wish to precipitate an elec-tion in order to profit from some sup-posedly favourable changes in voters'attitudes.

We must go all the wayback to the beginning ofthe twentieth century tofind a Cabinet composedof one party backed by amajority in the Folketing.

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Electoral system

The Constitutional Act lays down that"Any Danish subject who is perma-nently domiciled in the Realm" andwho has reached the age of eighteen"shall have the right to vote atFolketing elections". "Any person whois entitled to vote at Folketing elec-tions shall be eligible for membershipof the Folketing, unless he has beenconvicted of an act which in the eyesof the public makes him unworthy tobe a Member of the Folketing".

Proportional representation The Danish electoral system isextremely complex but briefly it buildson the principle of election by propor-tional representation. The system isconstructed in a way which allows forthe regional affiliation of the candi-dates (135 seats in the Folketingobtained by election in 17 multi-member constituencies) and also forthe mathematical accuracy of a pro-portional division of seats in relationto votes for the parties (40 supple-mentary seats). Thus the Folketing iscomposed of 175 Members elected inDenmark proper as well as twoMembers elected in the Faroe Islandsand two in Greenland.

The Faroe Islands and Greenland arepart of the Kingdom of Denmark butthey both have comprehensive homerule arrangements and they have theirown Parliaments. The Danish electoralsystem comprises a threshold rulewhich i.a. means that parties whichobtain less than 2 per cent of the validvotes cast do not have a share in thesupplementary seats.

The Danish electoralsystem is extremelycomplex but briefly it builds on the prin-ciple of election byproportional repre-sentation.

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In accordance with the provisions ofthe Constitutional Act, writs for anelection shall be issued every fouryears.

Status of Members ofParliament In order to ensure an independent car-rying out of the tasks of the Membersof the Folketing, provisions to thiseffect are to be found in theConstitutional Act and in the Folketing Election Act respectively. In accor-dance with the Constitutional Act "NoMember of the Folketing shall be prosecuted or imprisoned in any man-ner whatsoever without the consentof the Folketing, unless he is taken inflagrante delicto". This rule on immu-nity may, however, be disregarded ifthe Folketing gives its consent. Sincethe beginning of the present century,this has happened in all cases in whichthe Minister for Justice as supremehead of the Prosecution has requestedit.

"The Members of the Folketing shall bebound solely by their own consciencesand not by any directions given bytheir electors". In practice, Membersdo, however, vote in accordance withtheir respective parties. Moreover, aMember of the Folketing cannot with-out the consent of the Folketing be

held responsible for his statements inthe Chamber e.g. by the courts of justice. In practice, such a consent isnever given. Nevertheless, the Speakerof the Folketing can, in accordancewith the Standing Orders of theFolketing, call a Member to order, forbid a Member to speak or exclude aMember from committee meetings ordebates in the Chamber for up to 14days. However, the last mentionedsanction is applied very rarely".

Members' other activitiesand financial interests Subsequent to the general election in1994, a new set of rules was intro-duced according to which theStanding Orders Committee invitesMembers of the Folketing to register anumber of activities and financialinterests. The aim of the rules is tomake Members' financial interestsoutside Parliament more easily acces-sible to the public. According to therules, the registration is voluntary andit is up to the individual Member todecide whether he wishes to be regis-tered. If a Member wishes to have hisactivities and financial interests regis-tered, the set of rules must be accept-ed in its entirety. The informationwhich is registered is information –but not amounts – on board member-ship, salaried jobs, independent activi-

ties, financial assistance, presentsreceived, paid for trips abroad, realproperty issues, company interestsand agreements with former or futureemployers. The information registeredwill be accessible to the public accordingto special rules.

Budget of the Folketing The accounts of the Folketing are for-warded to the Prime Minister in orderfor his Office to include them in theoverall Finance Bill. For the year 2005,the collective budget amounts to DKK 581.000.000 (€ 78.000.000). Theaccounts of the Folketing are revisedby a Firm of Chartered Accountants.

Speaker and PresidiumThe Speaker of the Folketing has thesupreme responsibility for theFolketing services. In this capacity, heis assisted by the four DeputySpeakers. Together the PresidingOfficers make up the Presidium of theFolketing, which is also the officialbody representing the Folketingextra-murally.

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In order to ensure an independent carry-ing out of the tasks of the Members ofthe Folketing, provisions to this effect areto be found in the Constitutional Act andin the Folketing Election Act respectively.

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In the period up to mid-January, the Governmentand the Opposition partiessubmit their Bills. The timelimit for submitting Bills isagreed between theSpeaker of the Folketing,party leaders and the PrimeMinister.

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The sessional year begins on the firstTuesday of October and runs to thefirst Tuesday of October of the follow-ing year. In the course of a year, theFolketing convenes approximately100 times. There are, however, alwaysnon-session weeks in October,February and March, as well as 3 non-session weeks around Christmas andthe New Year, 1-2 non-session weeksaround Easter to which can be addedthe summer recess which normallystarts at the beginning of June andlasts until the opening of the sessionalyear. The Folketing can, however, becalled upon to take part in extraordi-nary sessions in June and August. Inrecent years, sessions in the Chamberhave amounted to approximately 600hours a year.

The planning of the work of theFolketing is done partly by preparingan annual calendar, partly by elaborat-ing plans for each week whichdescribe the matters which are to bedealt with in the week in question andin what order. The planning of themeetings in the Folketing is under-taken in close cooperation with theGovernment.

In recent years, a more efficient plan-ning of the work in the Chamber hasbeen attempted with a view to makingthe interplay between the committeework and the work in the Chamber asexpedient as possible.

On the first sitting day of October, thePrime Minister renders "an account ofthe general state of the Realm and ofthe measures proposed by theGovernment" in accordance with theConstitutional Act. This is the day on

which the Government submits itspolicy and its legislative programmefor the coming sessional year. ThePrime Minister's account forms thebackground of the ensuing debate inthe Chamber (the opening debate).

Reading of Bills In the period up to mid-January, theGovernment and the Opposition par-ties submit their Bills. The time limitfor submitting Bills is agreed betweenthe Speaker of the Folketing, partyleaders and the Prime Minister.However, deviations from the timelimits do occur.

In accordance with the ConstitutionalAct, a Bill shall be submitted to threereadings in the Folketing before it ispassed and becomes legally bindingupon the citizens. The reading shall befinished before the end of the session-al year at the beginning of October. Ifthis is not the case, the Bill shall bevoid.

At the first reading, the parties take aprincipal stand on the Bill in questionand normally one knows after the firstreading whether the Bill will be passedor not. At the first reading, no amend-ments can be moved. After the firstreading, the Bill will as a main rule bereferred to one of the standing com-mittees whose Members will thencontinue the reading. The committeesfinish their reading by submitting areport to the Folketing in which theparties' stand on the Bill is enteredtogether with eventual amendmentswhich may be moved by the Ministeras well as by the parties representedon the committee in question. Thusthe committees do not take a decision

on the Bills but only make a recom-mendation to the Folketing.

At the second reading, the amend-ments moved are debated and a voteis taken on them as well as on the indi-vidual Sections of the Bill. As a mainrule, the Bill is then passed directly onto the third reading. About 20 per centof the Bills are again referred to a com-mittee for a new reading. This readingis inserted between the second andthird readings.

At the third reading, eventual amend-ments are debated and put to thevote. Then the Bill is debated and avote is taken before it is finally passed.This step marks the completion of thereading in the Folketing. Subsequently,the Bill is – via the Prime Minister’sOffice – forwarded to Her Majesty TheQueen for the Royal Assent and is alsosigned by the appropriate Ministerbefore it is published and becomeslaw.

In recent years, the number ofGovernment Bills has amounted tobetween 200 and 300 while the num-ber of Bills submitted by theOpposition parties has amounted toabout 20 a year on an average. In thesessional year 2003-2004, 222 of the226 Government Bills were passed. 3of the 15 Opposition Bills were passed.

Parliamentary resolutionProposals for parliamentary resolutionare also read in the Folketing. A pro-posal for parliamentary resolution istypically an invitation or an order tothe Government to take action withina specific area. It is first and foremostthe Opposition which moves such pro-

Sessional year and work inthe Chamber

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posals. Proposals for parliamentaryresolution moved by the Governmenttypically deal with ratification of inter-national treaties. Contrary to Bills,proposals for parliamentary resolu-tion are only read twice in theChamber, including an intermediarycommittee reading. The reason forthis is that proposals for parliamen-tary resolution are addressed to theGovernment and as such are notdirectly legally binding upon the citi-zens. On an annual basis, 100 to 200proposals for parliamentary resolu-tion are moved. In the sessional year2003-2004, all proposals for parlia-mentary resolution which weremoved by the Government werepassed (10 in all). Only 5 of the privateMembers' proposals for parliamentaryresolution were passed.

Control of Government andadministrationIn addition to the reading of Bills andproposals for parliamentary resolu-tion, a number of other activities takeplace in the Chamber. All of thesebelong under the category of "parlia-mentary control of Government andadministration".

Questions to Ministers In accordance with the StandingOrders of the Folketing, Members ofthe Folketing may put questions toCabinet Ministers. Questions shall bemade in writing and be accompa-nied by a brief justification. The ques-tioner may ask for an oral reply duringQuestion Time If the Member asks fora written reply, the Minister shouldanswer the question within a shortspan of time.

The device of putting questions toMinisters is used a great deal in theFolketing. In the sessional year 2003-2004, 5.635 ordinary questions wereintroduced.

Interpellations One or several Members can make apublic matter the subject of a debatein the Folketing by means of an inter-pellation addressed to one or severalMinisters. An interpellation debateoften ends in a vote being taken onone or several proposals.

AccountsA Minister can give the Folketing anaccount of a public matter and if theMinister does so, the account is pub-lished in the Official Report entitledFolketingstidende. The account ismost often made in writing and gen-

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erally speaking it will become the sub-ject of an interpellation debate at alater date. However, Ministers mayalso simply forward an account to MPsor to a given committee.

Other types of parliamentary decisionsA special proposal for adoption can bemoved when debating a proposal,during the Opening Debate or duringan interpellation. If a proposal imply-ing a vote of no confidence in theGovernment is adopted, the Govern-ment or the Minister in question shallresign. It is, however, very rare forsuch proposals for adoption to bemoved.

Other parliamentary meansof controlIn addition to the parliamentary con-trol which is exerted in the Chamber,the Ombudsman of the Folketingexerts control on the part of theFolketing and eventually criticizesauthorities belonging under the pub-lic administration. The Ombudsmancan take on a matter on his own initia-tive or in the light of complaints on thepart of the citizens.

If it is suspected that a serious mistakehas been made or that the CentralAdministration has been negligent ofits duties, the Folketing can e.g.demand that the Government set up aCommittee of Enquiry or a SelectCommittee to investigate the matter.If a Minister is to be prosecuted forhaving acted as he did in his capacityas Minister, the matter is broughtbefore the High Court of the Realm (a

court of impeachment). In 1993, theFolketing – for the first time since1910 – brought a charge against a for-mer Minister for Justice at the HighCourt of the Realm for having adminis-tered in contravention of the AliensAct.

Government Bills and theConstitutional Act Formally, the Speaker of the Folketingshall control that the Bills moved arenot in contravention of the Consti-tutional Act but this is only verified ifan objection is raised to a Bill. If theSpeaker finds that a disparity existsbetween a Bill which has been movedand the Constitutional Act, theSpeaker shall request the Folketing toreject the Bill.

In Denmark, there is no special consti-tutional court of justice. It is for theordinary courts of justice to decidewhether an Act is in accordance withthe Constitutional Act. This com-petence is not laid down in theConstitutional Act. It is a legal prac-tice, which goes back to the beginningof the past century.

In 1999 the Supreme Court failed toapprove certain provisions of an Act,which the Folketing had adoptedthree years previously. The passing ofthis judgement marked a historicalevent in the sense that it was the firsttime the Supreme Court had acknow-ledged that the Folketing hadinfringed the competences to whichthe legislative power is entitled inaccordance with the ConstitutionalAct.

Official Report and record-ings from the ChamberThe work in the Chamber is recordedin various forms. An official record ofthe debates in the Chamber has since1849 been printed in the OfficialReport (Folketingstidende). Speechesare nowadays digitally recorded, tran-scribed and revised by a staff of tran-scribers, editors and proofreaders inthe Office of the Official Report. A couple of hours after the speecheshave been made, an online non-revised edition can be read on theintranet of the Folketing. The sameevening, the text is published on theFolketing’s internet homepage in arevised edition, and within a week aprinted version of the proceedings isissued. In the year 2003-2004, the proceedings of the Folketing amount-ed to about 13.000 printed pages.

It is possible for the general public tofollow the Folketing debates on TV.The transmissions from the Chambercan also be accessed via the Folketing’shomepage.

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Committee readings

The Standings Orders CommitteeThe Scrutineeers CommitteeThe Labour Market CommitteeThe Housing CommitteeThe Energy Policy CommitteeThe Trade and Industry CommitteeThe European Affairs CommitteeThe Finance CommitteeThe Research CommitteeThe Defence CommitteeThe Naturalization CommitteeThe Ecclesiastical Affairs CommitteeThe Municipal Affairs Committee

The Cultural Affairs CommitteeThe Environment and Regional Planning CommitteeThe Economic and Political Affairs CommitteeThe Legal Affairs CommitteeThe Fiscal Affairs CommitteeThe Social Services CommitteeThe Health CommitteeThe Transport CommitteeThe Education CommitteeThe Foreign Affairs CommitteeThe Food, Agriculture and Fisheries CommitteeThe Immigration and Integration Affairs Committee

Standing Committees of the Folketing

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There are 25 standing committees inthe Folketing. Moreover, the Folketingmay appoint ad hoc committees todeal with special cases. Likewise theFolketing appoints delegations to par-ticipate in the work of various inter-parliamentary fora.

Each committee is composed of 17Members and a number of substi-tutes. The substitutes can participatein the meetings of the committee inquestion in the same way as ordinaryMembers. However, they cannot takepart in the voting and they are notentitled to make a statement in thecommittee reports.

Committee workApart from the more internationallyoriented committees and delegationsthe main task of the committees is todeal with the Bills and proposals forparliamentary resolution which theFolketing refers to the committee con-cerned. It is typical for a Bill to bereferred to a committee after the firstreading. In practice, the committeereading consists in the committeeputting clarifying questions to theappropriate Minister. Thus it is theMinister (Ministry), who serves as themain source of information to thecommittees during the committeework.

It is not normal practice for a commit-tee Member to go into detail aboutthe individual provisions of a Bill, andthe system of rapporteur does notapply to the Folketing committeeseither. The Minister's reply to the writ-ten questions of the committees is,with a few exceptions, accessible tothe public. The Minister may also be

called in by the committee in order togive an oral briefing and to discuss aspecific question which has previouslybeen put in writing (consultation).Furthermore, citizens, institutions,enterprises and others apply to thecommittee either in writing or by askingfor an interview with the committee.

The committee can also deal withmatters, within its own sphere of com-petence, regarding which no Bills havebeen moved in the Folketing. This istypically done by putting questions tothe Minister.

Committee readings are usuallyundertaken behind closed doors andthe debates are confidential. However,MPs may quote what they themselveshave said in the committee in ques-tion. Subsequent to an amendment ofthe Standing Orders in 2000, manycommittees have begun to hold openconsultations to which the generalpublic and the press have access.

As part of the reading of Bills whichhave been referred to a committee orin order to throw light on a specialmatter of public interest, committeesmay also institute a hearing duringwhich persons whom the committeeasks to do so can make an account of agiven subject or express points ofview. Such hearings may be public.

In recent years, initiatives have beentaken to improve the quality of legis-lation further and to make EU law partof the committee work on an evenlarger scale. This has been done on theinitiative of a committee, a committeeMember, the clerk to a committee or aperson belonging to the Administra-

tion of the Folketing who is particularlyknowledgeable within one of theareas with which the said committeeis dealing.

Reports The committees' dealing with Bills andproposals for parliamentary resolu-tion concludes in the submission of areport. A committee report is a docu-ment in which the political partiesmake an account of their stand on aBill or on a proposal for parliamentaryresolution and eventually state theirreasons for deciding to vote for oragainst the Bill in the Chamber oreventually to abstain from voting.

Moreover, the report may containamendments moved by the Govern-ment or by the political parties repre-sented on the committee. The reportmay also comprise interpretation con-tributions e.g. information as to theway in which the Minister hasinformed the committee that heintends to administer a given provi-sion. In addition, the report may alsocontain reprints of the Minister' s replyto selected questions, notes etc. Thusthe committee report is a documentwhich sends a Bill back from the com-mittee for reading in the Chamber andwhich forms the basis of the con-tinued reading.

If the Folketing wishes to have a newcommittee reading between the secondand third readings of a Bill, the Bill isonce more entered on the agenda ofthe committee, and subsequently thecommittee elaborates a new report(supplementary report), which formsthe basis of the third reading of the Bill.

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The Administration employs a numberof academic staff as clerks. Normally, 1staff services 2 or 3 committees. TheEuropean Affairs Committee and theFinance Committee do, however, havetheir own secretariats.

European Affairs Committeeand Finance CommitteeTwo of the standing committees areparticularly influential: the EuropeanAffairs Committee and the FinanceCommittee.

European Affairs Committee The European Affairs Committee wasset up in 1972 in connection withDenmark’s accession to the EuropeanCommunities in 1973. The main taskof the European Affairs Committee isto coordinate the reading of EU mat-ters in the Folketing. The Governmentshall consult the Committee on ques-tions of major importance so that theimpact of the Folketing as well as theGovernment’s freedom to negotiateare taken into consideration.

No formal votes are taken in theCommittee, but as a rule theChairman of the Committee may con-clude after the discussions that thereis no majority against the Govern-ment’s mandate for negotiation(changes in the various positions mayhave occurred during the discussions).Since 1973, the practice has been forthe Chairman of the Committeeewhen counting the "votes" to make thecounting on the basis of the numberof seats which the party in questionhas in Parliament. This means that themandate for negotiation is only reject-

ed if the spokesmen for the partieswhich together reach 90 seats or more(i.e. more than half the 179 Membersof the Folketing), have been againstthe mandate.

Since 1989, an EU Counsellor has beenpermanently attached to theEuropean Affairs Committee. The taskof the Counsellor is to provide impar-tial advice and analyses to theMembers.

The EU Information Centre was estab-lished in 1994 in order to facilitate thegeneral public’s access to informationabout the EU. The priorities of the EUInformation Centre are thus clearlyfocused on the ordinary Danish citizenwith no special background know-ledge about the EU system but with akeen interest in obtaining informationon what is going on in the EU.

Finance CommitteeThe main task of the FinanceCommittee is to read Finance Bills andSupplementary Appropriation Billsand to consider legal documents deal-ing with the supplementary appro-priations from the individual Ministersin the course of the year. Moreover,the Finance Committee discusses thegeneral outlines of finance policy.Contrary to what is the practice inmany other countries, the FinanceCommittee does not deal with fiscalpolicy. The latter is the task of theFiscal Affairs Committee.

International relations and cooperationThe Folketing is part of international

cooperation in two ways: 1) indirectlyvia the work done in the international-ly oriented committees and commis-sions, and 2) by appointing a numberof delegations to various Inter-parliamentary assemblies.

The international committees andcommissions are: The Foreign PolicyCommittee, the Foreign Affairs Com-mittee and the Defence Committee.The work in these committees isfocused on the various aspects ofDanish foreign policy and security policy rather than on actual legislativework.

Foreign Policy CommitteeIn accordance with the ConstitutionalAct, the formulation and the imple-mentation of Danish foreign policyand security policy is primarily thetask of the Government. Therefore,the committee’s work on these issuesis formally limited to a counsellingfunction. This function is most clearlyformalised in relation to the ForeignPolicy Committee, "which theGovernment shall consult before mak-ing any decision of major importanceto Denmark’s foreign policy" as statedin the Constitutional Act.

Act. no. 54 of 5 March 1954 on theForeign Policy Committee defines theprovisions relating to the work of theCommittee. It is laid down that theduty of the Government to consult theCommittee requires that theCommittee shall discuss issues withsignificant bearing on Danish foreignpolicy with the Government, and thatthe Committee shall be informed by

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Apart from the moreinternationally orientedcommittees and delega-tions the main task of thecommittees is to deal withthe Bills and proposalsfor parliamentary resolu-tion which the Folketingrefers to the committeeconcerned.

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the Government of matters relating toforeign policy. The members of theCommittee therefore receive relevantmemoranda from the Ministry ofForeign Affairs, and reports fromDanish embassies.

As an overall rule, the Prime Minister,the Minister for Foreign Affairs and theMinister of Defence represent theGovernment at meetings.

Consultations between the Govern-ment and the Foreign Policy Com-mittee are not open to the public, andthe members of the Committee aretherefore bound to observe secrecywith regard to information received ator in connection with meetings of theCommittee.

Parliamentary delegations tointernational organizationsIn the efforts made to strengthen parliamentary influence on the workundertaken in the international organ-izations such as the Council of Europe,NATO and the OSCE, parliamentaryassemblies have been attached tothese organizations so that they mayfollow the work of the Governmentorganizations in question.

The main objective of the work of thedelegations varies from one organiza-tion to another but a dominant aspectis that topical issues are discussed andthe activities are being followed upand recommendations to Govern-ment organizations adopted.The Folketing sends delegations to thefollowing parliamentary assemblies:The Interparliamentary Union (IPU) –which is not attached to a Govern-ment organization – the OSCE

Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA),the NATO Parliamentary Assembly(NATO PA) and the ParliamentaryAssembly of the Council of Europe(CoE PA).

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The Folketing Services

The Folketing services provide assis-tance and counselling to the MPs, andin so doing contribute to improvingthe quality of legislation, the accessof the Folketing to control theGovernment and the political debates.Moreover, the task of the services is toprovide objective and impartial infor-mation on the work in the Folketing tothe general public. The Administrationemploys 440 staff. The Folketing Ser-vices are headed by a Board ofDirectors consisting of the SecretaryGeneral, the Clerk and 2 deputySecretaries General.

Secretary GeneralThe Secretary General is responsiblefor ensuring that the Administrationfunctions according to the guidelineslaid down by the Presidium. In the par-liamentary area, the SecretaryGeneral is responsible for matters ofprinciple and for matters relating tonew administrative initiatives.

ClerkThe Clerk – who is also DeputySecretary General – is responsible forthe work in the Chamber. He is assistedin this task by staff in the Law

The Folketing services pro-vide assistance and coun-selling to the MPs, and in sodoing contribute to theFolketing’s efforts toimprove the quality of legis-lation, the access of theFolketing to control theGovernment and the politi-cal debates.

Secretariat and working tasks includecounselling on constitutional and parliamentary matters on the part ofthe Speaker, the Presidium and theMembers of the Standing OrdersCommittee. In these areas, the Clerkrefers directly to the Speaker and tothe Presidium and is responsible tothe Secretary General.

Speaker’s Secretariat and General ManagementDepartmentThe Speaker’s Secretariat and GeneralManagement Department service thepolitical and administrative manage-ments. The General ManagementDepartment deals with various tasksacross the organization as well as withtasks relating to developments, plan-ning, coordination and information tothe overall organization. The GeneralManagement Department also acts assecretariat to the Board of Directors ofthe Folketing Services.

Law SecretariatThe main task of the Law Secretariat isto assist the Clerk in planning the workin the Chamber. Moreover, the staff ofthe Secretariat assists the Clerk in

counselling the political and adminis-trative managements on constitution-al matters and other parliamentarylegal matters as well as on questionspertaining to public law.

The Secretariat is also responsible forensuring that questions which areread in the Chamber are correct froma legally, technical point of view.Moreover, the Secretariat is responsi-ble for administering the rules on MPs’leave of absence and calling on theirsubstitutes. And finally, the Secretariatin cooperation with the other secre-tariats elaborate written explanatorynotes to the committees.

Committee SecretariatsThree of these secretariats service thestanding committees of the Folketingand the inter-parliamentary delega-tions. The secretariats employ a num-ber of committee clerks and clericalstaff. One or more committee clerksassist the committees in the work ofthe reading of Bills and proposals forparliamentary resolution, arranging hearings, planning committee tripsetc. The committee clerks also assistthe MPs in drafting private Members’

Bills and proposals for parliamentaryresolution. Moreover, the secretariatsprovide assistance to the various kindsof international cooperation in whichthe Folketing takes part, and they assistthe committees in dealing with foreignpolicy and security policy and also assistthe delegations sent to internationalparliamentary assemblies.

EU SecretariatThe servicing of the European AffairsCommittee is centered in the EUSecretariat which also comprises theOffice of the EU Counsellor and the EUInformation Centre. The EU Counsellormakes analyses of EU matters for theuse of the European Affairs Com-mittee and the standing committeeswhile the EU Information Centre is atthe disposal of the general public andthe MPs with information and docu-mentation on EU questions.

Secretariat of the DanishDelegation to the Nordic CouncilThe Secretariat services the DanishMembers of the Nordic Council and tosome extent the Faroese and Greenlandic Members. In cooperation withthe Council’s secretariats in the other

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Nordic countries, it also services thecollective Nordic Council, carries outpractical tasks in connection with thearrangements of the Council andinforms the general public about theCouncil.

Office of the Official ReportThe Office of the Official Report (entit-led Folketingstidende) takes minutesof the proceedings in the Chamberand is responsible for the linguisticproofreading of the Folketing publica-tions. They also publish Yearbook andRecords and other documentation.

Salaries and Financial AffairsOfficeThe Salaries and Financial Affairs Officetakes care of tasks related to theadministration of and developments inthe Folketing budget and accounts,financial support to the parliamentarygroups, remuneration to the MPs,salaries to the Folketing staff and pen-sions to former MPs and civil servants.

Personnel Office The Office deals with tasks related topersonnel policy and administration,including collective talks on condi-

tions of employment, staff develop-ment, recruiting, development of indi-vidual competences and post training.The central records are to be found inthis Office.

User Services The main task of this unit is to serviceMPs, take care of security matters andto undertake the cleaning of theFolketing building. The core of theUser Services is the User Centre com-prising the Security Unit, theMaintenance Unit, the Service Unit,the Cleaning Unit and also the Visitors’Service which arranges guided toursof the Folketing.

The User Centre administers a systemof various kinds of free admission tick-ets, parking permits etc. to MPs.Moreover, the User Centre, uponrequest, provides documents relatedto the parliamentary work.Furthermore, various kinds of teach-ing, insurance matters and booking ofmeeting rooms are administered bythis Unit. Rules on the access of thePress, rules on photographing and TVbroadcasting in the Folketing as wellas membership of the Office of the

Press Gallery also belong under theUser Centre. The Post Office, theTelephone Exchange and the TravelAgency are also placed here.

Linguistic Service and LanguageSchoolThese services also belong under theUser Services. The Linguistic Service isresponsible for official translations, foranswering questions of a linguisticnature on the part of the Ministriesand other external clients, MPs andstaff. It is also responsible for providinginterpretation at hearings, interna-tional meetings, EU Presidencies etc.

The Language School provides teach-ing in English and/or French to MPs.

IT and Telecommunications UnitThe IT and Telecommunications Unitis responsible for the primary runningof the IT, for providing IT user supportand for the current development proj-ects related to the technical infra-structure, including telephony.

CommunicationThe Information and CommunicationUnit is responsible for providing infor-

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mation to the general public on thework carried out in printed and in elec-tronic form. It is also responsible fordrawing up and implementing theinformation policy of the Folketing.The latter policy is aimed at providingneutral information about the legisla-tive process and democratic issues tothe political parties, the Press and thegeneral public.

Politician for a DayIn 2003 the Folketing opened an inter-active visitors’ centre, Politician for aDay, for the 8th and 9th forms of pri-mary schools. This computer-con-trolled role play is the first of its kind inthe world and lasts for slightly lessthan three hours. During the gamepupils learn about the political processand personally experience the every-day work of a Member of theFolketing.

Politician for a Day is laid out in a 300square metre room beneathChristiansborg as a miniature versionof the Folketing, with a Chamber, alobby, members’ offices, group andcommittee rooms.

The purpose of Politician for a Day is toenhance young people’s knowledgeof the political decision-makingprocess and inspire them to play anactive role in Danish democracy.Young people must feel that they canmake a difference.

More than 10.000 pupils try outPolitician for a Day every year. A visitto the centre is free of charge and canbe combined with a brief conductedtour of the Folketing.

Folketing Library, Archives andInformationThe Folketing Library, Archives andInformation provides information anddocumentation to MPs, staff, thePress and the public. The Library holdsa very large collection of books anddocuments and cooperates with otherlibraries in Denmark and abroad onquite a large scale. The Archives filedocuments of an administrativenature as well as documents on thelegislative process including commit-tee documents.

PlanningTasks relating to planning are organ-ized in a separate section. Theyinclude the premises of the Folketing,among these planning and control ofconversions, refurbishments and dec-oration as well as the running andmaintenance of all technical plantsand installations.