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IV. FOUR NORDIC COUNTRIES

Committee on Finance also prepares matters of general significance for local government finance (s. 4.6.2).

The authority of Parliament to receive information from Cabinet and/or ministers is specified in the constitutions of all four countries. In the case of Finland, “the appropriate minister must ensure that the committees receive without delay the necessary documents” (Art. 47). Individual Members of Parliament have the right to request information as well, although an exception is made for “the State budget proposal under preparation” (Art. 47). Even stronger provisions on ministerial accountability to Parliament are provided in Sweden’s Constitution: “The Committee on the Constitution shall examine ministers’ performance of their official duties. The committee is entitled for this purpose to have access to the records of decisions and all documents taken in government matters. Any other Riksdag member shall be entitled to raise with the Committee on the Constitution any issue relating to a minister’s performance of his official duties or the handling of government business” (Instrument of Government Act, s. 12.1).

In line with the strong attachment to the value of openness and providing the public with information, plenary sessions of Parliament are generally open to the public. In contrast, committee meetings are generally not open. In the case of Finland, although parliamentary committee discussions are not open to the public, the Constitution specifies that the minutes of parliamentary committees are to be made public. In Sweden, committees have open hearings on issues of a more general interest.

3.3. The political executive

Three of the four Nordic countries are constitutional monarchies, whereas Finland has a mixed presidential-parliamentary form of government (Table 3). Although the head of the executive – the monarch or the president – appoints the prime minister (the head of government), the Parliaments of each country usually propose the prime minister. In Sweden, the prime minister is usually the leader of a leading political party, although this is not necessarily the case. In Finland, the prime minister does not even have to be a politician.12 In three of the four countries, a cabinet/council of ministers – the key body for the approval of the draft budget – is specified in the constitution. In Sweden, the Constitution merely states that “government business shall be settled at government meetings”. In contrast, Finland’s Constitution not only specifies that “matters within the authority of government are decided at plenary meetings of the government or at the ministry” but that the “government may have Committees of Ministers” for the preparation of matters. Consistent with the principle of parliamentary supremacy, the Constitution of Finland specifies that the decision-making powers of the government are laid down in an act. In this context, the Cabinet Finance Committee, composed of

OECD JOURNAL ON BUDGETING – VOLUME 4 – NO. 3 – ISSN 1608-7143 – © OECD 2004

353

 

IV. FOUR NORDIC COUNTRIES

Table 3. Nordic countries: Constitutional provisions for the political executive

Phrasing in written constitution

Denmark

Finland

Norway

Sweden

 

 

 

 

 

The monarch is the head of State (usually without

 

 

 

 

constitutional authority).

Yes

 

Yes

Yes

A president heads the executive.

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ministers shall form a Council/Cabinet, presided over

 

 

 

 

by the prime minister or the monarch.

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Committees of ministers may be established by

 

 

 

 

the government.

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All bills and important government measures shall

 

 

 

 

be discussed in Cabinet.

Yes

 

 

 

Ministers shall be responsible before Parliament for their

 

 

 

 

actions and/or the conduct of the government.

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

Ministers may be impeached by Parliament for

 

 

 

 

maladministration of office.

Yes

 

 

 

The government or prime minister shall submit its

Yes (prime

 

 

 

programme to Parliament.

minister)

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The government may issue secondary law.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

The government and/or ministers shall have the confidence

 

 

 

 

of Parliament.

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

the prime minister, the minister of finance and one minister representing each party in the coalition, has been established (Blöndal et al., 2002, Box 8). The committee has a wide remit and must approve nearly all expenditure proposals in excess of 5 million.

Strong accountability requirements for ministers to Parliament are embedded in the constitutions of three of the four countries. Ministers are generally individually responsible to Parliament for their actions. In Denmark, “Ministers shall be responsible for the conduct of government; their responsibility shall be defined by statute” (Constitution of Denmark, s. 13). Although collective responsibility is stressed in Sweden, the Constitution also includes strong provisions for reviewing ministers’ individual performance. In particular, “a Riksdag committee or any Member of Parliament is entitled to raise in writing with the Committee on the Constitution any issue relating to a minister’s performance of his official duties or the handling of government business” (Sweden Instrument of Government Act, Chapter 12, Art. 1). In Finland, there is a constitutional requirement for ministers to disclose their assets and outside duties to Parliament.

The constitutions in each country specify that the government may issue secondary laws. Finland is the only country whose Constitution specifies the various issuing authorities of secondary law: “the president, the government and a ministry may issue decrees on the basis of the authorisation given to

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OECD JOURNAL ON BUDGETING – VOLUME 4 – NO. 3 – ISSN 1608-7143 – © OECD 2004

 

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