Proposals to amend the Constitution
Forty proposals to amend the Norwegian Constitution have been submitted during the 2017-2021 parliamentary term. The Storting will vote on these proposals during the next four-year term, after this autumn’s parliamentary election.
Signatures with their seals in the Constitution of 1814. Photo: Storting.
Presentation and debate
The draft amendments to the Constitution that have been tabled during the current parliamentary term were presented and debated in the Storting Chamber on 11th March 2021.
Watch the debate here (Norwegian only)
Draft amendments to the Constitution 2019–2020
During the 2019-2020 session, 39 draft amendments to the Norwegian Constitution were submitted. The deadline for tabling this type of proposal was 30th September 2020, the final day of the session.
Among the draft amendments that have been submitted are proposals that relate to
- replacing the monarchy with a republic as the system of government
- the independence of the public prosecuting authority
- banning MPs from being government state secretaries
- giving 16-year-olds the right to vote
- raising the minimum threshold for political parties to qualify for seats at large after a parliamentary election from 4% to 5% of the national vote
- protecting life from conception to natural death, and
- the public right of access
Draft amendments to the Constitution 2018–2019
Only one draft constitutional amendment was tabled during the 2018-2019 parliamentary session. This was a proposal to allow private citizens to put forward matters for consideration in the Storting.
How are draft constitutional amendments dealt with?
It is always an MP’s responsibility to table a draft constitutional amendment in the Storting. However, such amendments may come from others. Draft amendments must always be put forward in one of the first three years of a four-year parliamentary term. All the proposals will then be considered in the first, second or third year of the following parliamentary term.
Amendments to the Constitution are dealt with by the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, and are voted on by the Storting as a whole. Draft amendments to the Constitution are always submitted in the form of a single document (Document no. 12 - Norwegian only).
Constitutional amendments must be passed by a two-thirds majority, and at least two-thirds of the Storting’s 169 MPs must be present in the Chamber when the vote is taken. Consequently, the composition of the Storting after the autumn’s parliamentary election may be decisive in the outcome of the votes on the proposed amendments.
Constitutional amendments enter into force with immediate effect. This will be before they have been officially announced, unless the amendment itself specifies otherwise.