The "country shall be founded on laws". The words are those introducing the Jutland Act of 1241 and are meant to imply that in a well ordered society certain common guidelines are needed. Without them one would find oneself "beyond the laws of the country". A law is therefore in all ways a political matter.

"Now the Folketing must intervene"

We all know this remark. One may come across it in an interview on the radio or on television, it may be the final sentence in a letter to the editor, or it may play a trump to a point of view made over coffee in a private home. In the last resort, it is, however, up to the Members of the Government and the Folketing to decide whether a problem is to be solved by means of politics or by means of legislation.

The input to a law may thus come from an outside party and be taken up by the Government. But often it is the politicians themselves who get an idea. Any Member of the Folketing can introduce Bills, but three out of four Bills are, nevertheless, introduced by the Government. The attention of a Minister may e.g. be drawn to problems and shortages in existing Acts by his civil servants. And this may lead to existing rules being changed or to adopting new ones. A majority in the Folketing may also, outside the Government, demand that the Government introduce a Bill on a special subject.

Irrespective of how an idea has occurred,a Minister may set up a committee or a commission to look into the need for legislation within a specific area. The work results in a report which does eventually include a draft Bill. By allowing experts as well as representatives of interest groups to take part in the meetings of the committee in question, one makes sure that all problems are taken into consideration in the Bill.

From introduction to adoption

Section 41 in the Constitutional Act lays down that a Bill shall be read three times in the Folketing before it can be adopted. There must be time for careful consideration so that a Bill is not carried due to a sudden whipped up atmosphere. The thoroughness of legistion is safeguarded also by the committee work which comes between the first and second readings in the Chamber.

The first reading is a reading in principle. The details are examined by the committees and during the second reading the individual sections are discussed and amendments are often made before eventually adopting the entire Bill at the third reading. Not all Bills obtain a majority. Every year almost 300 Bills are introduced, on an average, but only about half of them finish as adopted Acts.