Memorandum by Ingemar Dolfe, Minister,
Swedish Embassy
CONSTITUTIONAL PREREQUISITES CONCERNING DEPLOYMENT
OF SWEDISH ARMED FORCES ABROAD
INTRODUCTION
The government represents Sweden in interstate
relations and the government has been given far reaching competencies
through the Swedish constitution.
However, agreements with other governments and
unilateral international obligations need parliamentary approval
if they
(1) presuppose legislative action,
(2) concern areas within parliamentary competencies
(such as budgetary dispositions),
(3) are of greater importance.
The government should consult the Advisory Council
on Foreign Affairs on all foreign policy issues of greater importance,
if possible.
A foreign policy issue is an issue concerning
Sweden's relations to other states or international organisations.
Whether a foreign policy issue is of greater importance or not
is decided by the government under constitutional responsibility,
and "if possible" should be read "if it is not
impossible due to particular circumstances".
Deploying Swedish armed forces abroad normally
needs to be approved by the Parliament. But as outlined below,
the Parliament has adopted two laws through which the decision
making power has been delegated to the government under certain
preconditions.
DEPLOYING ARMED
FORCES TO
ANOTHER COUNTRY
According to the Swedish Constitution, the government
can use the armed forces to meet an armed attack against the country.
In addition, Swedish armed forces may be used
in battle or deployed in another country only if
(1) the Parliament approves it,
(2) it is approved by law through which
the preconditions for such use or deployment are identified, or
(3) the obligation to act follows from international
agreement or duty previously approved by the Parliament. (This
refers to article 43 of the UN Charter, in which member states
are obliged to provide necessary troops for maintaining international
peace and security to the Security Council's disposal upon its
request).
Thus, deploying a Swedish armed forces contingent
abroad normally needs to be approved by the Parliament, as stated
under (1) above.
But as is indicated under (2) above, the Parliament
can delegate to the Government the decision making power to deploy
Swedish troops abroad. The Parliament has adopted two such laws:
(i) The Law Concerning Armed Forces Service
Abroad
(ii) The Law Concerning Training for Peacekeeping
Operations
Below some comments about the use of these laws:
(i) The Law Concerning Armed Forces Service
Abroad stipulates that the government may decide to deploy
Swedish troops abroad for peacekeeping purposes, if asked to do
so by the UN or in accordance with a decision taken by the OSCE.
On the basis of this law, the Government decided
to deploy Swedish armed forces to traditional UN Peacekeeping
Operations in the Middle East area.
However, all the latest operations abroad (for
example in Afghanistan (ISAF), DR Congo (MONUC, Artemis), Liberia
(UNMIL), Kosovo (KFOR) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (IFOR, SFOR and
Althea), have been approved by a special decision in Parliament.
The reason being that these operations were not considered as
strictly peacekeeping in character, ie the mandates of the operations
were not entirely founded on chapter VI of the UN Charter.
(ii) The Law concerning Training for
Peacekeeping Operations allows sending Swedish troops to participate
in peacekeeping training abroad. This law mainly aims at providing
the possibility to partake in PfP-exercises without having to
ask for parliamentary approval each time.
25 November 2005
|
