Norway is one of the most developed European countries. It is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula and borders on three countries. So, its neighbors are Russia and Finland. The official name is the Kingdom of Norway.
Government structure of Norway
Norway in its state system is a constitutional monarchy, the head of which is the king. He performs representative functions. Officially, the King of Norway leads the executive branch, but in fact, many of his powers are limited to the country's legislature. He also has some competences in relation to parliament: opens sessions, speaks at meetings, etc. Currently, the king of Norway is Harald V.
The Kingdom of Norway in its territorial structure is a unitary state. It consists of 19 regions, or the so-called fulke. In turn, they are divided into municipalities, the average population of which is mainly less than 5 thousand people.
Legislature of Norway
Legislative power in the Kingdom of Norway is exercised by the people through the Norwegian Parliament, which is called the Storting. It is unicameral, however, for the adoption of laws, its participants are divided into Lagting (upper house) and Odelsting (lower).
In its current form, the country's legislative body has existed since the beginning of the 19th century, but its roots go far into history - back to the ninth century. Already then, on the territory of modern Norway, there were local institutions that united into a single inter-regional assembly. This body had the same name as the modern upper house of the Norwegian parliament.
Parliamentary elections
The legislative institution of the country consists of 169 members (until 2005 it consisted of 165). In order to qualify for a place in it, the candidate must have the right to vote and have lived for at least ten years in Norway. Parliamentary elections are held once every four years. However, their end should fall in September.
The composition of the parliament is determined by the proportional election system, in which deputy seats are allocated according to the votes received. Such a system has been operating in Norway since World War I. One hundred and fifty deputies are appointed on the basis of electoral lists, and the remaining nineteen receive equalizing mandates. These seats are provided to parties that received fewer seats than the one corresponding to the percentage of votes received.
All citizens of the country who are over 18 years old have the right to vote. For voting, Norway is divided into 19 districts (coincide with the boundaries of the regions). Each of which, in turn, is divided into polling stations (they are communes). Depending on the size of the population and the size of the territory, the districts are given different numbers of seats in the Storting.
Storting Functions
The main function of the Norwegian Parliament is the adoption and repeal of the laws of the country, as well as the establishment of the state budget. In addition, he is also entitled to establish taxes, customs duties, etc. He can provide state loans, allocate funds to eliminate the country's debts, and also sets the amount of expenses for the maintenance of the king and his family.
The Norwegian parliament also has the right to require information on alliances and agreements concluded by the head of the country with foreign states, the provision of all official documents of the State Council (the highest executive body of the country), as well as appoint a number of officials (the auditor to review the government report and a special person to oversee the whole apparatus of officials). Another important function of the Storting is to grant citizenship.
Law Making Procedure
At the first regular session after the parliamentary elections, the Storting chooses among its members those who will be part of Lagting. The upper house is one fourth of all deputies, and Odelsting is made up of the remaining three quarters.
The first step in adopting laws is to introduce the bill into the lower house of parliament, which can be committed by both its members and officials of the Norwegian government. After the adoption of the bill by Odelsting, it is submitted to Lagting, which can either approve the submitted document or attach comments to it and return it back. In this case, the deputies of the lower house again consider the bill, and after that either there may be a refusal to further work on its adoption, or it will be sent for re-consideration to Lagting. At the same time, Odelsting can make changes to the document, and can leave it unchanged.
After the bill is approved by the entire Storting (parliament), it is sent for signature to the king. The latter has the right to either approve the proposed document or return it back to the lower house. In this case, the bill cannot be re-sent to the head of state for signature during the work of the same parliamentary session.
