The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the
constitution of the
Kingdom of Denmark
The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...
, applying equally in the Realm of Denmark:
Denmark proper,
Greenland and the
Faroe Islands. The first democratic constitution was adopted in 1849, replacing the 1665 absolutist constitution. The current constitution is from 1953. It is one of the oldest constitutions in the world.
The Constitutional Act has been changed a few times. The wording is general enough to still apply today.
The constitution defines Denmark as a
constitutional monarchy, governed through a
parliamentary system. It creates
separations of power between the
Folketing, which enact laws,
the government, which implements them, and
the courts
The Courts Garden is an English country garden in Holt, near Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. The garden has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1943 and is Grade II listed.
History
The house known as The Courts, which was built ...
, which makes judgment about them. In addition it gives a number of
fundamental rights to people in Denmark, including
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
,
freedom of religion,
freedom of association, and
freedom of assembly. The constitution applies to all persons in Denmark, not just
Danish citizens.
Its adoption in 1849 ended an
absolute monarchy and introduced
democracy. Denmark celebrates the adoption of the Constitution on 5 June—the date in which the first Constitution was ratified—every year as
Constitution Day (Danish: ''Grundlovsdag'').
The main principle of the Constitutional Act was to limit the King's power (section 2).
[The Constitution of Denmark](_blank)
Accessed 14 April 2016. It creates a comparatively weak constitutional monarch who is dependent on Ministers for advice and Parliament to draft and pass
legislation. The Constitution of 1849 established a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
parliament, the , consisting of the
Landsting and the
Folketing. The most significant change in the Constitution of 1953 was the abolishment of the Landsting, leaving the
unicameral Folketing. It also enshrined fundamental
civil rights, which remain in the current constitution: such as ''
habeas corpus'' (section 71),
private property rights (section 72) and
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
(section 77).
The
Danish Parliament () cannot make any laws which may be repugnant or contrary to the Constitutional Act. While Denmark has no
constitutional court, laws can be declared unconstitutional and rendered void by the
Supreme Court of Denmark.
Changes to the Act must be passed by the
Folketing in two consecutive parliamentary terms and then approved by the electorate through a national
referendum.
History
Background
During the
late Middle Ages and the
renaissance, the power of the king was tempered by a
håndfæstning, a coronation charter each king had to sign before being accepted as king by the
nobility. This tradition was abandoned in 1665 when King
Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...
managed to establish a
hereditary
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
absolute monarchy by Lex Regia (''The Law of The King'', da, Kongeloven). This was Europe's only formal absolutist constitution. Under Lex Regia, absolute power was inherited for almost 200 years.
In the beginning of the 19th century, there was a growing democratic movement in Denmark and
King Frederick VI only made some small concessions, such as creation of ''Consultative Estate Assemblies'' () in 1834. But these only served to help the political movements, of which the
National Liberals and the
Friends of Peasants were the forerunners. When
Christian VIII
Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814.
Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederi ...
became king in 1839, he continued the political line of only making small democratic concessions, while upholding the absolute monarchy.
At this time Denmark was in a
personal union between kingdom of Denmark and the duchies of
Schleswig,
Holstein, and
Lauenburg called ''The Unitary State'' (Danish: ''Helstaten''), but the
Schleswig-Holstein question was causing tension. Under the slogan ''Denmark to the
Eider'', the National Liberals campaigned for Schleswig to become an integral part of Denmark, while separating Holstein and Lauenburg from Denmark. Holstein and Lauenburg were then part of the
German Confederation, while Schleswig was not. On the other side, German nationalists in Schleswig were keen to keep Schleswig and Holstein together, and wanted Schleswig to join the German Confederation.
Christian VIII had reached the conclusion that, should the Unitary State survive, a constitution covering both Denmark, Schleswig and Holstein was necessary. Before his death in January 1848, he advised his
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
Frederick VII to create such a constitution.
In March 1848 following a
series of European revolutions, the Schleswig-Holstein question became increasingly tense. Following an ultimatum from Schleswig and Holstein, political pressure from the National Liberals intensified, and Frederick VII replaced the sitting government with the
March Cabinet, where four leaders of the Friends of Peasants and the National Liberals served, among those
D.G. Monrad and
Orla Lehmann, both National Liberals. The ultimatum from Schleswig and Holstein was rejected, and the
First Schleswig War started.
Drafting and signing of the first constitution (1849)
Monrad drafted the first draft of the Constitution, which was then edited by Lehmann. Sources of inspiration included the
Constitution of Norway
nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov
nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov
, jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway
, date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814
, date_ratified =16 May 1814
, system =Constitutional monarchy
, b ...
of 1814 and the
Constitution of Belgium.
The draft was laid before the ''Constitutional Assembly of the Realm'' (). This assembly, which consisted of 114 members directly elected in October 1848, and 38 members appointed by Frederick VII, was overall split in three different groupings: the National Liberals, the Friends of Peasants, and the Conservatives. A key topic for discussion was the political system, and the rules governing elections.
On 25 May 1849, the Constitutional Assembly approved the new constitution, and on 5 June 1849 it was signed by Frederick VII. For this reason, it is also known as the ''June constitution''.
Today, 5 June is known as
Constitution Day.
The new constitution establish the
Rigsdag, a
bicameral
Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...
parliament, with an upper house called the
Landsting, and a lower house called the
Folketing. While the voting rights for both chambers were the same, the elections to the Landsting was indirect, and the eligibility requirements harder. The constitution gave voting rights to 15% of the Danish population. Due to the First Schleswig war, the constitution was not put into force for Schleswig; instead this question was postponed to after the war.
Parallel constitution for the Unitary State (1855–1866)
Following the First Schleswig war, which ended in Danish victory in 1852, the
London Protocol reaffirmed the territorial integrity of the Unitary State, and solved an impending succession issue, since Frederick VII was childless. Since the June constitution was not put into force in Schleswig, the Schleswig-Holstein question remained unsolved. Work for creating a common constitution for the Unitary State started, and in 1855 the rigsdag accepted ''Helstatsforfatning (Constitution for The Unitary State),'' which covered affairs common to Denmark, Schleswig and Holstein. At the same time, the June constitution was limited to only be applicable in Denmark.
In 1863 this constitution was changed, the new one was called ''Novemberforfatningen''. This was shortly before
Second Schleswig war, where Denmark lost control of Schleswig and Holstein, rendering the parallel constitution void.
The Revised Constitution (1866)
In 1866, the defeat in the
Second Schleswig War, and the loss of
Schleswig-Holstein led to tightened election rules for the Upper Chamber, which paralyzed legislative work, leading to provisional laws.
The conservative
Højre had pressed for a new constitution, giving the upper chamber of parliament more power, making it more exclusive and switching power to the conservatives from the original long standing dominance of the
National Liberals, who lost influence and was later disbanded. This long period of dominance of the Højre party under the leadership of
Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup with the backing of the king
Christian IX of Denmark was named the ''provisorietid'' (provisional period) because the government was based on provisional laws instead of parliamentary decisions. This also gave rise to a conflict with the Liberals (farm owners) at that time and now known as
Venstre (Left). This constitutional battle concluded in 1901 with the so-called systemskifte (change of system) with the liberals as victors. At this point the king and Højre finally accepted
parliamentarism as the ruling principle of Danish political life. This principle was not
codified until the 1953 constitution.
Universal suffrage (1915)
In 1915, the tightening from 1866 was reversed, and women were given the right to vote. Also, a new requirement for changing the constitution was introduced. Not only must the new constitution be passed by two consecutive parliaments, it must also pass a referendum, where 45% of the electorate must vote yes. This meant that Prime Minister
Thorvald Stauning
Thorvald August Marinus Stauning (; 26 October 1873 in Copenhagen – 3 May 1942) was the first social democratic Prime Minister of Denmark. He served as Prime Minister from 1924 to 1926 and again from 1929 until his death in 1942.
Under Staun ...
's attempt to change the Constitution in 1939 failed.
Reunion with Schleswig (1920)
In 1920, a
new referendum was held to change the Constitution again, allowing for the reunification of Denmark following the defeat of Germany in
World War I. This followed a
referendum held in the former Danish territories of Schleswig-Holstein regarding how the new border should be placed. This resulted in upper Schleswig becoming Danish, today known as
Southern Jutland, and the rest remained German.
Current Constitution (1953)
In 1953, the
fourth constitution abolished the Upper Chamber (the
Landsting), giving Denmark a
unicameral parliament. It also enabled females to inherit the throne (see ''
Succession
Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence.
Governance and politics
*Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
''), but the change still favored boys over girls (this was changed by a
referendum in 2009 so the first-born inherits the throne regardless of sex). Finally, the required number of votes in favor of a change of the Constitution was decreased to the current value of 40% of the electorate.
Summary of the constitution
The Danish constitution consists of 89 sections, structured into 11 chapters. The Folketing have published the constitution with explanatory annotations; it is available in both Danish and English through their website.
Constitutional institutions
The Constitution establishes Denmark as a
constitutional monarchy, where the
monarch serves as a
ceremonial Head of state
In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
. The title of monarch is
hereditary
Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...
and passed on to the firstborn child, with
equal rights for sons and daughters.
The political system of Denmark can be described as a
democracy with a
parliamentary system of governance. The powers of the state is
separated into 3 different branches. The
legislative branch held by the
Folketing, the
executive branch
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state.
In poli ...
held by the
Danish government, and the
judicial branch held by the
Courts of Denmark.
The monarchy
The Danish monarch, as the
head of state, holds great ''
de jure'' power, but ''
de facto'' only serves as a figurehead who is not interfering in politics. The monarch formally holds
executive power and, co-jointly with the
Folketing,
legislative power, since each new law requires
royal assent. By article 12, 13 and 14, the powers vested in the monarch can only be exercised through the ministers, who are responsible for all acts, thus removing any political or legal liability from the monarch.
[Grundloven, Mikael Witte 1997 ] The monarch appoints the ministers after advice from the
Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is itself appointed after advice from the leaders of the political parties of the Folketing, a process known as a ''Queen's meeting'' (). The monarch and the Cabinet attend regular meetings in the
Council of State, where royal assent is given, and the monarch is regularly briefed on the political situation by the Prime Minister and Foreign minister.
The Constitution requires the monarch to be a member of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church can refer to many different Lutheran churches in the world. Among them are the following:
U.S.
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mainline Protestant denomination in Chicago, Illinois
* Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...
, though not necessary the
Church of Denmark.
The government
The Government holds executive power, and is responsible for carrying out the acts of the Folketing. The Government does not have to pass a
vote of confidence before taking the seat, but any minister can be subject to a motion of no confidence. If a vote of no confidence is successfully passed against the Prime Minister, the government must resign or call a
snap election.
The Folketing
The Folketing is the legislative branch of Denmark, and is located at
Christiansborg
Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...
. It consists of 179 members, of which 2 members are elected in
Greenland, and 2 in the
Faroe Islands.
General election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
s is nominally held every 4 years, but the Prime Minister can at any point call a snap election. All Danish citizens over the age of 18 years who are living permanently within Denmark is eligible to vote, except those placed under
legal guardianship. The same group of people is able to run for office. The electoral system is characterized as a
party-list proportional representation system, with an
election threshold on 2%. As a result, Denmark has a
multi-party parliamentary system, where no single party has an absolute majority.
The session starts anew each year on the first Tuesday in October, and when interrupted by a general election; all previously unfinished business is cancelled. The Folketing then elects a
speaker, who is responsible for convening meetings. The Folketing lay down their own
rules of procedure, subject to the requirements in the Constitution. Among those, the required
quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
of 90 members of the Folketing, and the rule that every
proposed law requires three
readings in the Folketing, before it can be passed into law.
The Folketing also have the responsibility of holding the government accountable for the governance. The members of the Folketing does this by submitting questing to the ministers and convene them to explanatory hearings. In addition, the Folketing elect a number of ''State Auditors'' (), who has the responsibility to look through the public accounts, and check that everything is okay, and that the government only spend money approved by the Folketing. Furthermore, the Folketing also appoints an
ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
, who investigates wrongdoings by the public administrative authorities on behalf of the public.
The courts
The
Courts of Denmark are independent of the other two branches. The Constitution does not stipulate how the courts are to be organized. Instead, this is regulated by statute. In the normal court system, there are 24 District Courts, High Courts and the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. In addition to these, there is some special courts. There are certain rights in the Constitution with respect to the judiciary system.
There is a special
Court of Impeachment, which can prosecute ministers for their official acts.
The court system is
able to perform judicial review of laws, i.e. check
if they are constitutional. This right is not included in the constitution, but was established by the Supreme Court in the beginning of the 20th century, when it decided to hear cases about the constitutionality of
land law
Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use a ...
s. While this right was contested in the beginning, the political system eventually accepted it. The Supreme Court have been reluctant to rule laws unconstitutional; the only time it have done so was in 1999, when it found that the
Tvind
Tvind is the informal name of a confederation of private schools, humanitarian organizations, and businesses, founded as an alternative education school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a number ...
law breached the principle of separations of power. Cases about the constitutionality of laws can only be initiated by people directly affected by the laws. All can do this with respect to the Danish relation to EU, because of its wide effects on society.
The Church of Denmark
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Denmark is the
state church
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
established by the Constitution. The queen have a number of duties in the Church of Denmark, and is often considered its head, but this is not a formal role in any way.
The State Auditors
The state auditors are responsible for checking the public accounts. They are supported by
Rigsrevisionen.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman
The Parliamentary
Ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
is an independent institution under the Folketing, in charge of investigating and inspecting public authorities.
It is inspired by
Swedish example, and was established in 1955, following its inclusion in the 1953 constitution. The ombudsman is both appointed by and can be dismissed by the Folketing. The ombudsman cannot be a member of the Folketing themselves. While the constitution allows the Folketing to appoint two ombudsmen, by law it only appoints one.
The current ombudsman, , is
Niels Fenger
Niels is a male given name, equivalent to Nicholas, which is common in Denmark, Belgium, Norway (formerly) and the Netherlands. The Norwegian and Swedish variant is Nils. The name is a developed short form of Nicholas or Greek Nicolaos after Saint ...
.
The ombudsman handles 4,000-5,000 complains annually from the general public, and can also open cases on its own accord. In addition to that, the ombudsman have a monitoring division that inspects prisons, psychiatric institutions and social care homes. Since 2012 it has also had a children's division.
The ombudsman cannot demand any action from the administration. It can only voice criticism and make recommendations, but these carry a lot of weight, and its recommendations are usually followed by the administration.
Civil rights
The Constitution of Denmark outlines fundamental rights in sections 71–80. Several of these are of only limited scope and thus serve as a sort of lower bar. The
European Convention on Human Rights was introduced in Denmark by law on 29 April 1992 and supplements the mentioned paragraphs.
Personal liberty
The constitution guarantees the personal liberty. No citizen can be held in detention based on their race, religion or political views, and detention can only be used if prescribed by law. People arrested need to be put before a judge within 24 hours, known in Danish as a ''grundlovsforhør'' (lit. constitutional interrogation), who decides if the
provisional detention should be continued, and this decision can always be appealed. Special rules can apply in Greenland. Detention outside the criminal system or the immigration system, say due to
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, can be brought before the courts.
Right to property
The constitution guarantees the
right to property
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically h ...
. A
search warrant is needed to enter private property, confiscate things, or break the
secrecy of correspondence, though general exemptions can be made by law.
Expropriations must be for the public good, with full compensation, and as allowed by law. Bills regarding expropriations can by 1/3 of the Folketing be delayed until passed again after a general election. All expropriations can be brought before the courts.
Freedom of speech and freedom of the press
Denmark have
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and
freedom of press, but some things, say
libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
or breaking
confidentiality, can still be brought before a judge.
Censorship is forbidden. §77: "Anyone is entitled to in print, writing and speech to publish his or hers thoughts, yet under responsibility to the courts. Censorship and other preventive measures can never again be introduced."
There's widespread agreement in Danish legal theory that § 77 protects what is called "formal freedom of speech" (formel ytringsfrihed), meaning that one cannot be required to submit one's speech for review by authorities before publishing or otherwise disseminating it. However, there is disagreement about whether or not § 77 covers "material freedom of speech" (materiel ytringsfrihed), the right to not be punished for one's speech. There is agreement that the phrasing "under responsibility to the courts" gives legislators some right to restrict speech, but conversely there have been several court decisions implying that some material freedom of speech does exist. The discussion is about whether the material speech has limits or not, and if so, what those limits are.
Freedom of association
All citizens have
freedom of association, but associations who use violence or other illegal means can be temporarily banned by the government, while dissolution is tested in court. Dissolution of political association can always be appealed to the Supreme Court.
In 1941, during the
occupation by Nazi Germany, the Rigsdag banned the
Communist Party through the
communist law
The Communist Law or The Law on Prohibition Against Communist Associations and Communist Activities was an unconstitutional piece of Danish legislation passed under Nazi occupation on 22 August 1941 which banned the Communist Party of Denmark and o ...
. The law also legalized existing internments of Danish communists, including members of the Folketing. Both the internments and the law broke rights in the constitution, but was justified by the
necessity of the situation.
The Supreme Court found the law constitutional; a decision that was criticized as the Supreme Court President had been involved in its creation. The case illustrated how long Danish politicians was willing to go to ensure Danish control of law enforcement, and that democracy can be stretched to ensure its continued existence.
In addition to the communist law, on only two occasions have an association been forcefully dissolved. In 1874, the International Workers Organization, a precursor to the
Social Democrats, was dissolved for being revolutionary, and in 1924, the organization Nekkab was dissolved for being a meeting place for
homosexuals.
In 2020, the gang
Loyal to Familia
Loyal to Familia is a Danish street gang.
Origins
Loyal to Familia was established in Nørrebro in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2013. In the summer of 2017, the gang had a membership of 225.
Prohibition
In August 2017, the Minister of Justice Sø ...
was dissolved by the Copenhagen City Court; a judgment that has been appealed. The gang was temporarily banned in 2018, and the court case – the first dissolution case against a criminal gang – was initiated. Prior to this, it has been investigated if
Hells Angels,
Bandidos and
Hizb ut-Tahrir could be banned, but the conclusions was that it would be difficult to win the cases.
Freedom of assembly
Citizens have
freedom of assembly when unarmed, though danger to public order can lead to outdoor assemblies being banned. In case of riots, the police can forcefully dissolve assemblies when they have requested the crowd to disperse "in the name of the King and the law" three times.
Freedom of religion
Section 4 establishes that the
Evangelical Lutheran Church Evangelical Lutheran Church can refer to many different Lutheran churches in the world. Among them are the following:
U.S.
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a mainline Protestant denomination in Chicago, Illinois
* Evangelical Lutheran Chu ...
is "the people's church" (), and as such is
supported by the state. Freedom of religion is granted in section 67, and official discrimination based on faith is forbidden in section 70.
Other rights
All children have the right to free
public education
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
, though no duty to use it;
home schooling and
private schools are allowed. The political system shall seek to make sure that all able to work can find a job. Those unable to support themselves have the right to public support, if they submit to the related requirements. Access to professions shall only be regulated for the public good, so
trade guilds cannot regulate this themselves.
Other themes
National sovereignty
Section 20 of the current constitution establishes that the delegation of specified parts of national sovereignty to international authorities requires either a 5/6
supermajority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
in Parliament or an ordinary majority in both Parliament and the electorate. This section has been debated heavily in connection with Denmark's membership of the European Union (EU), as critics hold that changing governments have violated the Constitution by surrendering too much power.
In 1996, Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen was sued by 12 Eurosceptics for violating this section. The Supreme Court of Denmark, Supreme Court acquitted Rasmussen (and thereby earlier governments dating back to 1972) but reaffirmed that there are limits to how much sovereignty can be surrendered before this becomes unconstitutional. In 2011, Prime Ministers Lars Løkke Rasmussen faced a similar challenge when he was sued by 28 citizens for having adopted the European Lisbon Treaty without a referendum. The group of professors, actors, writers and Eurosceptic politicians argued that the Lisbon Treaty hands over parts of national sovereignty to the EU and therefore a referendum should have taken place. The case was later dismissed.
Section 20 was used in 1972 when Denmark, after a 1972 Danish European Communities membership referendum, referendum, joined the European Economic Community, EEC (now European Union, EU). More recently, in 2015 an (unsuccessful) 2015 Danish European Union opt-out referendum, referendum was held on one of its EU-opt-outs.
Greenland and the Faroe Islands
As section one of the constitution states that it "shall apply to all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark", is also applies in Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Faroe Island and Greenland each elect two members to the parliament; the remaining 175 members are elected in Denmark.
The Folketing have by law given the Faroe Island and Greenland extensive autonomy; the Faroe Island was given "home rule" in 1948, and Greenland was too in 1979. Greenland's home rule was in 2009 replaced by "self rule".
There is an ongoing legal debate about what constitutional weight these arrangements have. In general, there are two conflicting views: (a) the laws delegate power from the Folketing and can be revoked unilaterally by it, and (b) the laws have special status so changes require the consent of the Faroese Løgting or the Greenlandic Inatsisartut, respectively.
Proponent of the first interpretation include Alf Ross,
Poul Meyer,
and Jens Peter Christensen.
Ross, the chief architect of the Faeroese home rule, compared it to an extended version of the autonomy of municipalities.
Meyer wrote in 1947, prior to the Faeroese home rule, that if power was delegated as extensive in other parts of the country, it would probably breach section 2 of the 1915 constitution, suggesting it did not do that here due to the Faroe Islands' separate history.
Similarly, Christensen, a
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
judge, said that due to the special circumstances, the scope of delegation need not be strictly defined.
Proponents of the second interpretation include Edward Mitens,
Max Sørensen
and Frederik Harhoff.
Mitens, a Faeroese jurist and politician, argued that the Faeroese home rule had been approved by both the Løgting and the
Rigsdag, so it was an agreement between two parties, in particular because the approval by the Løgting happened according to special rules put in place in 1940 with the consent of the Danish representative there, during the occupation by the United Kingdom.
Sørensen said the intention with the Faeroese home rule was that it should not be unilaterally changed, as stated in the preamble, so it had that effect.
Harhoff, in his 1993 Doctorate dissertation, considered the home rule acts of the Faroe Islands and Greenland to be somewhere in between the constitution and a usual act by the Folketing, as it had Customary law, been treated as such.
Separation of powers
Denmark have separation of powers into the three classic branches: the legislative, held by the
Folketing; the executive held by the Cabinet of Denmark, government; and the judiciary, held by the Courts of Denmark, courts. The separation of powers is described in the constitution, and is there, as in many democracies, to prevent abuse of power. The Folketing enact laws, and the government implements them. The courts make judgments in disputes, either between citizens, or between authorities and citizens.
The Constitution is heavily influenced by the French philosopher Montesquieu, whose separation of powers was aimed at achieving mutual monitoring of each of the branches of government. However, the division between legislative and executive power in Denmark is not as sharp as in the United States.
In 1999, the Supreme Court found that the
Tvind
Tvind is the informal name of a confederation of private schools, humanitarian organizations, and businesses, founded as an alternative education school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a number ...
law, a law that barred specific schools from receiving public funding, was unconstitutional, because it breached the concept of separation of powers by settling a concrete dispute between the Tvind schools and the government. The judgment is the only time the courts have found a law to be unconstitutional.
Parliamentary power
In several sections the Constitutional Act sets out the powers and duties of the Danish Parliament. Section 15 in the Act, which deals with
the parliamentary principle, lays down that "a Minister shall not remain in office after the Parliament has passed a vote of no confidence in him".
This suggests that Ministers are accountable to Parliament and even subservient to it. The Cabinet exerts executive power through its Ministers, but cannot remain in office if the majority of the Folketing goes against it. Another important feature of the Danish parliamentary system is that the Constitutional Act lays down that "the Members of the Folketing shall be elected for a period of four years", but still, "the King may at any time issue writs for a new election".
See also
*Codified constitution
*Constitutional economics
*Constitutionalism
*Constitutional law
*Index of Denmark-related articles
*Politics of Denmark
Notes
References
External links
The Constitutional Act of Denmark- The Danish Parliament
- Ministry of Education of Denmark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution Of Denmark
Constitution of Denmark,
1849 in law
Government of Denmark
Legal history of Denmark
Politics of Denmark
History of the Faroe Islands
Politics of the Faroe Islands
History of Greenland
Politics of Greenland
Law of Denmark,
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