title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Support for the SNP reached 30% in the October 1974 general election, with 11 SNP MPs being elected. In 1978 the Labour government passed the Scotland Act which legislated for the establishment of a Scottish Assembly, provided the Scots voted for such in a referendum. However, the Labour Party was bitterly divided on the subject of devolution. An amendment to the Scotland Act that had been proposed by Labour MP George Cunningham, who shortly afterwards defected to the newly formed Social Democratic Party (SDP), required 40% of the total electorate to vote in favour of an assembly. Despite officially favouring it, considerable numbers of Labour members opposed the establishment of an assembly. This division contributed to only a narrow 'Yes' majority being obtained, and the failure to reach Cunningham's 40% threshold. The 18 years of Conservative government, under Margaret Thatcher and then John Major, saw strong resistance to any proposal for devolution for Scotland, and for Wales.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In response to Conservative dominance, in 1989 the Scottish Constitutional Convention was formed encompassing the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Green Party, local authorities, and sections of "civic Scotland" like Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Small Business Federation and Church of Scotland and the other major churches in Scotland. Its purpose was to devise a scheme for the formation of a devolution settlement for Scotland. The SNP decided to withdraw as independence was not a constitutional option countenanced by the convention. The convention produced its final report in 1995.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In May 1997, the Labour government of Tony Blair was elected with a promise of creating devolved institutions in Scotland. In late 1997, a referendum was held which resulted in a "yes" vote. The newly created Scottish Parliament (as a result of the Scotland Act 1998) has powers to make primary legislation in all areas of policy which are not expressly 'reserved' for the UK Government and parliament such as national defence and international affairs. Note that 76% of Scotland's revenue and 36% of its spending are 'reserved'.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Devolution for Scotland was justified on the basis that it would make government more representative of the people of Scotland. It was argued that the population of Scotland felt detached from the Westminster government (largely because of the policies of the Conservative governments led by Margaret Thatcher and John Major). Critics however point out that the Scottish Parliament’s power is on most measures surpassed by the parliaments of regions or provinces within federations, where regional and national parliaments are each sovereign within their spheres of jurisdiction.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: A referendum on Scottish independence was held on 18 September 2014, with the referendum being defeated 55.3% (No) to 44.7% (Yes). In the 2015 United Kingdom general election the SNP won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats with 50% of all Scottish votes. This saw the SNP replace the Liberal Democrats as the third largest in the UK Parliament.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election the SNP fell two seats short of an overall majority with 63 seats but remained in government for a third term. The proportional electoral system used for Holyrood elections makes it very difficult for any party to gain a majority. The Scottish Conservatives won 31 seats and became the second largest party for the first time. Scottish Labour, down to 24 seats from 38, fell to third place. The Scottish Greens took 6 seats and overtook the Liberal Democrats who remained flat at 5 seats.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Following the 2016 referendum on EU membership, where Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to Remain and England and Wales voted to Leave (leading to a 52% Leave vote nationwide), the Scottish Parliament voted for a second independence referendum to be held once conditions of the UK's EU exit are known. Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May rejected this request citing a need to focus on EU exit negotiations. The SNP had advocated for another independence referendum to be held in 2020, but this was stopped by the Conservatives winning the majority of seats in the 2019 General Election. They were widely expected to include a second independence referendum in their manifesto for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Senior SNP figures have said that a second independence referendum would be inevitable, should an SNP majority be elected to the Scottish Parliament in 2021 and some claimed this was going to happen by the end of 2021, though that hasn't been the case.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 restricted and undermined the authority of the Scottish Parliament. The legislation restricts the ability of the Scottish government to make different economic or social choices from those made in Westminster.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Following the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, Wales was treated in legal terms as part of England. However, during the later part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century the notion of a distinctive Welsh polity gained credence. In 1881 the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881 was passed, the first such legislation exclusively concerned with Wales. The Central Welsh Board was established in 1896 to inspect the grammar schools set up under the Welsh Intermediate Education Act 1889, and a separate Welsh Department of the Board of Education was formed in 1907. The Agricultural Council for Wales was set up in 1912, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries had its own Welsh Office from 1919.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Despite the failure of popular political movements such as Cymru Fydd, a number of national institutions, such as the National Eisteddfod (1861), the Football Association of Wales (1876), the Welsh Rugby Union (1881), the University of Wales (Prifysgol Cymru) (1893), the National Library of Wales (Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru) (1911) and the Welsh Guards (Gwarchodlu Cymreig) (1915) were created. The campaign for disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Wales, achieved by the passage of the Welsh Church Act 1914, was also significant in the development of Welsh political consciousness. Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: An appointed Council for Wales and Monmouthshire was established in 1949 to "ensure the government is adequately informed of the impact of government activities on the general life of the people of Wales". The council had 27 members nominated by local authorities in Wales, the University of Wales, National Eisteddfod Council and the Welsh Tourist Board. A cross-party Parliament for Wales campaign in the early 1950s was supported by a number of Labour MPs, mainly from the more Welsh-speaking areas, together with the Liberal Party and Plaid Cymru. A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 and the post of Secretary of State for Wales and the Welsh Office were established in 1964 leading to the abolition of the Council for Wales and Monmouthshire.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Labour's incremental embrace of a distinctive Welsh polity was arguably catalysed in 1966 when Plaid Cymru president Gwynfor Evans won the Carmarthen by-election. In response to the emergence of Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party (SNP) Harold Wilson's Labour Government set up the Royal Commission on the Constitution (the Kilbrandon Commission) to investigate the UK's constitutional arrangements in 1969. The 1974–1979 Labour government proposed a Welsh Assembly in parallel to its proposals for Scotland. These were rejected by voters in the 1979 referendum: 956,330 votes against, 243,048 for.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In May 1997, the Labour government of Tony Blair was elected with a promise of creating a devolved assembly in Wales; the referendum in 1997 resulted in a narrow "yes" vote. The turnout was 50.22% with 559,419 votes (50.3%) in favour and 552,698 (49.7%) against, a majority of 6,721 (0.6%). The National Assembly for Wales, as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 1998, possesses the power to determine how the government budget for Wales is spent and administered. The 1998 Act was followed by the Government of Wales Act 2006 which created an executive body, the Welsh Government, separate from the legislature, the National Assembly for Wales. It also conferred on the National Assembly some limited legislative powers.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The 1997 devolution referendum was only narrowly passed with the majority of voters in the former industrial areas of the South Wales Valleys and the Welsh-speaking heartlands of West Wales and North Wales voting for devolution and the majority of voters in all the counties near England, plus Cardiff and Pembrokeshire rejecting devolution. However, all recent opinion polls indicate an increasing level of support for further devolution, with support for some tax varying powers now commanding a majority, and diminishing support for the abolition of the Assembly.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The 2011 Welsh devolution referendum saw a majority of 21 local authority constituencies to 1 voting in favour of more legislative powers being transferred from the UK parliament in Westminster to the Welsh Assembly. The turnout in Wales was 35.4% with 517,132 votes (63.49%) in favour and 297,380 (36.51%) against increased legislative power.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: A Commission on Devolution in Wales was set up in October 2011 to consider further devolution of powers from London. The commission issued a report on the devolution of fiscal powers in November 2012 and a report on the devolution of legislative powers in March 2014. The fiscal recommendations formed the basis of the Wales Act 2014, while the majority of the legislative recommendations were put into law by the Wales Act 2017.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: On 6 May 2020, the National Assembly was renamed ""Senedd Cymru"" or "the Welsh Parliament" with the ""Senedd"" as its common name in both languages.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The devolved competence of the Welsh Government, as the Scottish Government, is restricted and undermined by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: England is the only country of the United Kingdom to not have a devolved Parliament or Assembly and English affairs are decided by the Westminster Parliament. Devolution for England was proposed in 1912 by the Member of Parliament for Dundee, Winston Churchill, as part of the debate on Home Rule for Ireland. In a speech in Dundee on 12 September, Churchill proposed that the government of England should be divided up among regional parliaments, with power devolved to areas such as Lancashire, Yorkshire, the Midlands and London as part of a federal system of government.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The division of England into provinces or regions was explored by several post-Second World War royal commissions. The Redcliffe-Maud Report of 1969 proposed devolving power from central government to eight provinces in England. In 1973 the Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom) proposed the creation of eight English appointed regional assemblies with an advisory role; although the report stopped short of recommending legislative devolution to England, a minority of signatories wrote a memorandum of dissent which put forward proposals for devolving power to elected assemblies for Scotland, Wales and five Regional Assemblies in England.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The 1966-1969 Redcliffe-Maud Report recommended the abolition of all existing two-tier councils and council areas in England and replacing them with 58 new unitary authorities alongside three metropolitan areas (Merseyside, 'Selnec', and the West Midlands). These would have been grouped into eight provinces with a provincial council each. The report was initially accepted "in principle" by the government.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In April 1994 the Government of John Major created a set of ten Government Office Regions for England to coordinate central government departments at a provincial level. Regional Development Agencies were set up in 1998 under the Government of Tony Blair to foster economic growth around England. These Agencies were supported by a set of eight newly created Regional Assemblies, or Chambers. These bodies were not directly elected but members were appointed by local government and local interest groups.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Following a referendum in 1998, a directly elected administrative body was created for Greater London, the Greater London Authority.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In a white paper published in 2002, the government proposed decentralisation of power across England similar to that done for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1998.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: A proposal to devolve political power to a fully elected Regional Assembly was put to public vote in the 2004 North East England devolution referendum. This, however, failed by a large margin, resulting in the cancellation of subsequent referendums planned in North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber, with the government abandoning its plans of regional devolution altogether. As well as facilitating an elected assembly, the proposal would also have reorganised local government in the area.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Regional Assemblies were abolished between 2008 and 2010, but the Regions of England continue to be used in certain governmental administrative functions.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: After the proposal of devolution to regions failed, the concept of city regions was pursued. The 2009 Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act provided the means for the creation of combined authorities based upon city regions, a system providing cooperation between authorities, and a single directly elected mayor. The first such, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, was established in 2011, followed by four in 2014, two in 2016, two in 2017, and one in 2018, with further proposals for other conurbations.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Over the latter part of the 2010s the national government reached deals with several regional authorities to further devolution, though some authorities choose not to take up the proposals. The Local Government Association keeps a register of up to date devolution proposals, as of the beginning of 2021 some of these deals include creating the North of Tyne Combined Authority, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, and Sheffield City Region Combined Authority. Liverpool and Manchester similarly received combined authorities. Each of these has an elected mayor, and some powers devolved to it by the national government. Compared to the powers of the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the powers in the regional English authorities are limited, the powers they do have are largely economic in nature, and concern related regional transport and planning powers.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: There have been proposals for the establishment of a single devolved English parliament to govern the affairs of England as a whole. This has been supported by groups such as English Commonwealth, the English Democrats, and Campaign for an English Parliament, as well as the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru who have both expressed support for greater autonomy for all four nations while ultimately striving for a dissolution of the Union. Without its own devolved Parliament, England continues to be governed and legislated for by the UK Government and UK Parliament, which gives rise to the West Lothian question. The question concerns the fact that, on devolved matters, Scottish MPs continue to help make laws that apply to England alone, although no English MPs can make laws on those same matters for Scotland. Since the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, there have been a wider debate about the UK adopting a federal system with each of the four home nations having its own, equal devolved legislatures and law-making powers.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In the first five years of devolution for Scotland and Wales, support in England for the establishment of an English parliament was low at between 16 and 19 per cent. While a 2007 opinion poll found that 61 per cent would support such a parliament being established, a report based on the British Social Attitudes Survey published in December 2010 suggests that only 29 per cent of people in England support the establishment of an English parliament, though this figure has risen from 17 per cent in 2007. John Curtice argues that tentative signs of increased support for an English parliament might represent "a form of English nationalism...beginning to emerge among the general public". Krishan Kumar, however, notes that support for measures to ensure that only English MPs can vote on legislation that applies only to England is generally higher than that for the establishment of an English parliament, although support for both varies depending on the timing of the opinion poll and the wording of the question.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In September 2011 it was announced that the British government was to set up a commission to examine the West Lothian question. In January 2012 it was announced that this six-member commission would be named the Commission on the consequences of devolution for the House of Commons, would be chaired by former Clerk of the House of Commons, Sir William McKay, and would have one member from each of the devolved countries. The McKay Commission reported in March 2013.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: On 22 October 2015 The House of Commons voted in favour of implementing a system of "English votes for English laws" by 312 votes to 270 after four hours of intense debate. Amendments to the proposed standing orders put forward by both Labour and The Liberal Democrats were defeated. Scottish National Party MPs criticized the measures stating that the bill would render Scottish MPs as "second class citizens". Under the new procedures, if the Speaker of The House determines if a proposed bill or statutory instrument exclusively affects England, England and Wales or England, Wales and Northern Ireland, then legislative consent should be obtained via a Legislative Grand Committee. This process will be performed at the second reading of a bill or instrument and is currently undergoing a trial period, as an attempt at answering the West Lothian question. English votes for English laws was suspended in April 2020, and in July 2021 the House of Commons abolished it, returning to the previous system with no special mechanism for English laws.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Within England regional devolution has been more limited than the other constituent nations of the United Kingdom. Where devolution has been most prominent is in London where the Greater London Authority has “accrued significantly more power than were originally envisaged.”


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Within the Greater London Authority (GLA) are the elected Mayor of London and London Assembly. The GLA is colloquially referred to as the City Hall and their powers include overseeing Transport for London, work of the Metropolitan Police, London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, various redevelopment corporations, and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Part of the work of the GLA entails monitoring and furthering devolution in London: the Devolution Working Group is a committee which is particularly aimed at this. In 2017 the work of these authorities along with Public Health England achieved a devolution agreement with the national government in regard to some healthcare services.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: There is a movement that supports devolution in Cornwall. A law-making Cornish Assembly is party policy for the Liberal Democrats, Mebyon Kernow, Plaid Cymru and the Greens. A Cornish Constitutional Convention was set up in 2001 with the goal of establishing a Cornish Assembly. Several Cornish Liberal Democrat MPs such as Andrew George, Dan Rogerson and former MP Matthew Taylor are strong supporters of Cornish devolution.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: On 12 December 2001, the Cornish Constitutional Convention and Mebyon Kernow submitted a 50,000-strong petition supporting devolution in Cornwall to 10 Downing Street. This was over 10% of the Cornish electorate, the figure that the government had stated was the criteria for calling a referendum on the issue. In December 2007 Cornwall Council leader David Whalley stated that "There is something inevitable about the journey to a Cornish Assembly".


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: A poll carried out by Survation for the University of Exeter in November 2014 found that 60% were in favour of power being devolved from Westminster to Cornwall, with only 19% opposed and 49% were in favour of the creation of a Cornish Assembly, with 31% opposed.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In January 2015 Labour's Shadow Chancellor promised the delivery of a Cornish assembly in the next parliament if Labour are elected. Ed Balls made the statement whilst on a visit to Cornwall College in Camborne and it signifies a turn around in policy for the Labour party who in government prior to 2010 voted against the Government of Cornwall Bill 2008–09.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Cornwall has also been discussed as a potential area for further devolution and therefore a federal unit, particularly promoted by Mebyon Kernow. Cornwall has a distinct language and the Cornish have been recognised as a national minority within the United Kingdom, a status shared with the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish. The electoral reform society conducted a poll which showed a majority supported more local decision making: 68% of councillors supported increased powers for councils and 65% believed local people should be more involved in the decision making process.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The Yorkshire Devolution Movement is an all party and no party campaign group campaigning for a directly elected parliament for the whole of the traditional county of Yorkshire with powers second to no other devolved administration in the UK.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The Yorkshire Party advocates for the establishment of a devolved Yorkshire Assembly within the UK, with powers over education, environment, transport and housing. In the 2019 European Parliament election, it received over 50,000 votes in the Yorkshire and the Humber constituency. In the 2021 West Yorkshire mayoral election, 2022 South Yorkshire mayoral Election, and the 2022 Wakefield By-Election, the Yorkshire Party beat major parties, being the third most voted for political party in each election.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Arguments for devolution to Yorkshire, which has a population of 5.4 million – similar to Scotland – and whose economy is roughly twice as large as that of Wales, include focus on the area as a cultural region or even a nation separate from England, whose inhabitants share common features.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: This cause has also been supported by the cross-party One Yorkshire group of 18 local authorities (out of 20) in Yorkshire. One Yorkshire has sought the creation of a directly elected mayor of Yorkshire, devolution of decision-making to Yorkshire, and giving the county access to funding and benefits similar to combined authorities. Various proposals differ between establishing this devolved unit in Yorkshire and the Humber (which excludes parts of Yorkshire and includes parts of Lincolnshire), in the county of Yorkshire as a whole, or in parts of Yorkshire, with Sheffield and Rotherham each opting for a South Yorkshire Deal. This has been criticised by proponents of the One Yorkshire solution, who have described it as a Balkanisation of Yorkshire and a waste of resources.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The Northern Party was established to campaign for a Regional Government for the North of England covering the six historic counties of the region. The Campaign aims to create a Northern Government with tax-raising powers and responsibility for policy areas including economic development, education, health, policing and emergency services. In 2004, a referendum for North East England devolution took place, it was defeated 78% to 22%.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The creation of a Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2011, a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in 2014, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Sheffield City Region Combined Authority and North of Tyne Combined Authority followed all furthering a level of devolution for the North. The Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the oldest of these authorities, is a positive case for devolution in the North.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The Northern Independence Party is a secessionist and democratic socialist party founded in 2020, in response to the perceived growth of the North-South divide in England, aiming for the formation of an independent north of England under the name of Northumbria, after the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the same name. The party currently has no elected representatives in parliament.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The legislatures of the Crown Dependencies are not devolved as their origins predate the establishment of the United Kingdom and their attachment to the British Crown, and the Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom. However, the United Kingdom has redefined its formal relationship with the Crown Dependencies since the late 20th century.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Crown dependencies are possessions of the British Crown, as opposed to overseas territories or colonies of the United Kingdom. They comprise the Channel Island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: For several hundred years, each has had its own separate legislature, government and judicial system. However, as possessions of the Crown they are not sovereign nations in their own right and the British Government is responsible for the overall good governance of the islands and represents the islands in international law. Acts of the UK Parliament are normally only extended to the islands only with their specific consent. Each of the islands is represented on the British-Irish Council.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: The Lord Chancellor, a post in the UK Government, is responsible for relations between the government and the Channel Islands. All insular legislation must be approved by the Queen in Council and the Lord Chancellor is responsible for proposing the legislation on the Privy Council. He can refuse to propose insular legislation or can propose it for the Queen's approval.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In 2007–2008, each Crown Dependency and the UK signed agreements that established frameworks for the development of the international identity of each Crown Dependency. Among the points clarified in the agreements were that:


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Jersey has moved further than the other two Crown dependencies in asserting its autonomy from the United Kingdom. The preamble to the States of Jersey Law 2005 declares that 'it is recognized that Jersey has autonomous capacity in domestic affairs' and 'it is further recognized that there is an increasing need for Jersey to participate in matters of international affairs'. In July 2005, the Policy and Resources Committee of the States of Jersey established the Constitutional Review Group, chaired by Sir Philip Bailhache, with terms of reference 'to conduct a review and evaluation of the potential advantages and disadvantages for Jersey in seeking independence from the United Kingdom or other incremental change in the constitutional relationship, while retaining the Queen as Head of State'. The Group's 'Second Interim Report' was presented to the States by the Council of Ministers in June 2008. In January 2011, one of Jersey's Council of Ministers was for the first time designated as having responsibility for external relations and is often described as the island's 'foreign minister'. Proposals for Jersey independence have not, however, gained significant political or popular support. In October 2012 the Council of Ministers issued a "Common policy for external relations" that set out a number of principles for the conduct of external relations in accordance with existing undertakings and agreements. This document noted that Jersey "is a self-governing, democratic country with the power of self-determination" and "that it is not Government policy to seek independence from the United Kingdom, but rather to ensure that Jersey is prepared if it were in the best interests of Islanders to do so". On the basis of the established principles the Council of Ministers decided to "ensure that Jersey is prepared for external change that may affect the Island’s formal relationship with the United Kingdom and/or European Union".


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: There is also public debate in Guernsey about the possibility of independence. In 2009, however, an official group reached the provisional view that becoming a microstate would be undesirable and it is not supported by Guernsey's Chief Minister.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: In 2010, the governments of Jersey and Guernsey jointly created the post of director of European affairs, based in Brussels, to represent the interests of the islands to European Union policy-makers.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Since 2010 the Lieutenant Governors of each Crown dependency have been recommended to the Crown by a panel in each respective Crown dependency; this replaced the previous system of the appointments being made by the Crown on the recommendation of UK ministers.


title: Devolution in the United Kingdom

text: Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales enjoy different levels of legislative, administrative and budgetary autonomy. The devolved administration has exclusive powers in certain policy areas, while in others, responsibility is shared and some areas of policy in the specific area are not under the control of the devolved administration. For example, while policing and criminal law may be a competence of the Scottish Government, the UK Government remains responsible for anti-terrorism and coordinates serious crime through the NCA.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. There have been kings in what now is the Kingdom of Sweden for more than a millennium. Originally an elective monarchy, it became a hereditary monarchy in the 16th century during the reign of Gustav Vasa, though virtually all monarchs before that belonged to a limited and small number of families which are considered to be the royal dynasties of Sweden.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Sweden in the present day is a representative democracy in a parliamentary system based on popular sovereignty, as defined in the current Instrument of Government (one of the four Fundamental Laws of the Realm which makes up the written constitution). The monarch and the members of the royal family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representational duties within Sweden and abroad.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Scandinavian peoples have had kings since prehistoric times. As early as the 1st century CE, Tacitus wrote that the Suiones had a king, but the order of Swedish regnal succession up until King Eric the Victorious (died 995), is known almost exclusively through accounts in historically controversial Norse sagas (see Mythical kings of Sweden and Semi-legendary kings of Sweden).


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Originally, the Swedish king had combined powers limited to that of a war chief, a judge and a priest at the Temple at Uppsala (see Germanic king). However, there are thousands of runestones commemorating commoners, but no known chronicle about the Swedish kings prior to the 14th century (though a list of kings was added in the Westrogothic law), and there is a relatively small number of runestones that are thought to mention kings: Gs 11 (Emund the Old – reigned 1050–1060), U 11 (Håkan the Red – late 11th century) and U 861 (Blot-Sweyn – reigned 1080).


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: About 1000 A.D., the first king known to rule both Svealand and Götaland was Olof Skötkonung, but further history for the next two centuries is obscure, with many kings whose tenures and actual influence/power remains unclear. The Royal Court of Sweden, however, does count Olof's father, Eric the Victorious, as Sweden's first king. The power of the king was greatly strengthened by the introduction of Christianity during the 11th century, and the following centuries saw a process of consolidation of power into the hands of the king. The Swedes traditionally elected a king from a favored dynasty at the Stones of Mora, and the people had the right to elect the king as well as to depose him. The ceremonial stones were destroyed around 1515.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: In the 12th century, the consolidation of Sweden was still affected by dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans, which ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan and the House of Bjelbo was established on the throne. That dynasty formed pre-Kalmar Union Sweden into a strong state, and finally king Magnus IV (reigned 1319–1364) even ruled Norway (1319–1343) and Scania (1332–1360). Following the Black Death, the union weakened, and Scania reunited with Denmark.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: In 1397, after the Black Death and domestic power struggles, Queen Margaret I of Denmark united Sweden (then including Finland), Denmark and Norway (then including Iceland) in the Union of Kalmar with the approval of the Swedish nobility. Continual tension within each country and the union led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century led to prolonged rivalry between Denmark-Norway and Sweden (with Finland) for centuries to come.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Catholic bishops had supported the King of Denmark, Christian II, but he was overthrown in a rebellion led by nobleman Gustav Vasa, whose father had been executed at the Stockholm bloodbath. Gustav Vasa (hereinafter referred to as Gustav I) was elected King of Sweden by the Estates of the Realm, assembled in Strängnäs on 6 June 1523.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Inspired by the teachings of Martin Luther, Gustav I used the Protestant Reformation to curb the power of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1527 he persuaded the Estates of the Realm, assembled in the city of Västerås, to confiscate church lands, which comprised 21% of the country's farmland. At the same time, he broke with the papacy and established a reformed state church: the Church of Sweden. Throughout his reign, Gustav I suppressed both aristocratic and peasant opposition to his ecclesiastical policies and efforts at centralisation, which to some extent laid the foundation for the modern Swedish unitary state. Legally Sweden has only been a hereditary monarchy since 1544 when the Riksdag of the Estates, through "Västerås arvförening", designated the sons of King Gustav I as the heirs to the Throne.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Tax reforms took place in 1538 and 1558, whereby multiple complex taxes on independent farmers were simplified and standardised throughout the district and tax assessments per farm were adjusted to reflect ability to pay. Crown tax revenues increased, but more importantly the new system was perceived as fairer. A war with Lübeck in 1535 resulted in the expulsion of the Hanseatic traders, who previously had had a monopoly on foreign trade. With its own burghers in charge, Sweden's economic strength grew rapidly, and by 1544 Gustav controlled 60% of the farmlands in all of Sweden. Sweden now built the first modern army in Europe, supported by a sophisticated tax system and an efficient bureaucracy.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: At the death of King Gustav I in 1560, he was succeeded by his oldest son Eric XIV. His reign was marked by Sweden's entrance into the Livonian War and the Northern Seven Years' War. The combination of Eric's developing mental disorder and his opposition to the aristocracy led to the Sture Murders in 1567 and the imprisonment of his brother John (III), who was married to Catherine Jagiellon, sister of King Sigismund II of Poland. In 1568 Eric was dethroned and succeeded by John III. In domestic politics John III showed clear Catholic sympathies, inspired by his queen, creating friction with the Swedish clergy and nobility. He reintroduced several Catholic traditions previously abolished, and his foreign policy was affected by his family connection to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where his eldest son had been made King Sigismund III in 1587. Following the death of his father, Sigismund tried to rule Sweden from Poland, leaving Sweden under the control of a regent – his paternal uncle (Gustav I's youngest son) Charles (IX) – but was unable to defend his Swedish throne against the ambitions of his uncle. In 1598 Sigismund and his Swedish-Polish army were defeated at the Battle of Stångebro by the forces of Charles, and he was declared deposed by the Estates in 1599.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: In 1604, the Estates finally recognized the regent and de facto ruler as King Charles IX. His short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare. The hostility of Poland and the breakup of Russia involved him in overseas contests for the possession of Livonia and Ingria, the Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611) and the Ingrian War, while his pretensions to claim Lapland brought on a war with Denmark (Kalmar War) in the last year of his reign.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Gustavus Adolphus inherited three wars from his father when he ascended to the throne. From 1612, when Count Axel Oxenstierna was appointed Lord High Chancellor, which he remained until Gustavus Adolphus's death, the two men struck a long and successful partnership and complemented each other well: In Oxenstierna's own words, his "cool" balanced the King's "heat". The war against Russia (the Ingrian War) ended in 1617 with the Treaty of Stolbovo, which excluded Russia from the Baltic Sea. The final inherited war, the war against Poland, ended in 1629 with the Truce of Altmark, which transferred the large province of Livonia to Sweden and freed the Swedish forces for subsequent intervention in the Thirty Years' War in Germany, where Swedish forces had already established a bridgehead in 1628.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Brandenburg was torn apart by a quarrel between the Protestants and the Catholics. When Gustavus Adolphus began his push into northern Germany in June–July 1630, he had just 4,000 soldiers. But he was soon able to consolidate the Protestant position in the north, using reinforcements from Sweden and money supplied by France at the Treaty of Bärwalde. Gustavus Adolphus was killed at the 1632 Battle of Lützen. Queen Maria Eleonora and the king's ministers took over the government of the Realm on behalf of Gustavus Adolphus' underage daughter Christina, until she reached the age of majority. Gustavus Adolphus is often regarded by military historians as one of the greatest military commanders of all time, with innovative use of combined arms.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: As the heiress presumptive, at the age of six Christina succeeded her father on the Swedish throne (being the only person left in the line of succession), although a regency government would rule in her name until she turned 18 years of age. During the regency, Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna wrote the 1634 Instrument of Government, which although never approved by any monarch, nevertheless would continue to have an important normative role in the state administration. Christina early on showed an interest in literature and the sciences and famously brought René Descartes to Sweden. Sweden continued to be involved in the Thirty Years' War during reign of Christina and that conflict was settled at the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, and the Swedish monarch received representation at the Imperial Diet due to the German conquests (Bremen-Verden and Swedish Pomerania) that were made. Having decided not to marry, Christina abdicated the throne on 5 June 1654 in favor of her cousin Charles Gustav, went abroad, and converted to Roman Catholicism.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The Estates elected Charles X Gustav as their new King, and his short reign is best characterized by foreign wars: first a lengthy campaign within Poland and then with Denmark. In the latter case, the risky 1658 March across the Belts which resulted in the Treaty of Roskilde, would prove to be the largest permanent territorial gain Sweden ever had: Skåne, Blekinge and Bohuslän now became Swedish provinces and have remained so ever since. Charles X Gustav was not satisfied, as he wanted to crush Denmark once and for all, but the 1659 Assault on Copenhagen did not prove successful for the Swedes, largely due to the Dutch naval intervention to the aid of the Danes.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Charles X Gustav died in Gothenburg in 1660 and as the Crown passed to his five-year-old son Charles XI, a new regency government would assume the responsibilities of the state. The regency government, composed of aristocrats and led by Chancellor Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, was more interested in feathering their own nests rather than working in the interest of the country at large. When Charles XI came of age in 1672, the effectiveness of the armed forces had seriously deteriorated and the country was ill-prepared as the King of Denmark, Christian V, invaded to settle old scores. The Danes were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts, and Charles XI undertook several measures to prevent what had just almost happened from occurring again: reducing the influence of the aristocracy by nationalizing estates and properties which had been handed out to them by his predecessors, introducing the Allotment system () which would form the basis of the armed forces until the 20th century, and with the support of the Estates he was declared in 1680 an absolute monarch.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Charles XI was succeeded by his son, Charles XII, who would prove to be an extremely able military commander, defeating far larger enemies with the small but highly professional Swedish army. His defeat of the Russians at Narva when just 18 years old was to be his greatest victory. However his campaigning at the head of his army during the Great Northern War would ultimately lead to catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Poltava after which he spent several years in Turkey (now Moldova). Some years later he was killed at the Siege of Fredriksten during an attempt to invade Norway. The Swedish Age of Greatness () had ended.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Charles XII's sister, Ulrika Eleonora, had now inherited the throne but she was forced by the Estates to sign the 1719 Instrument of Government, which ended the absolute monarchy and made the Riksdag of the Estates the highest organ of the state and reduced the role of monarch to a figurehead. The Age of Liberty () with its parliamentary rule, dominated by two parties – the Caps and the Hats – had begun. Ulrika Eleonora had had enough after a year on the throne and abdicated in favor of her husband, Frederick, who had little interest in the affairs of state and was elected King by the Estates as King Frederick I, resulting in the 1720 Instrument of Government: content-wise almost identical to the one from 1719. Despite having many extra-marital affairs, Frederick I never sired a legitimate heir to the throne.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The 1720 Instrument in Government was later replaced by the 1772 Instrument of Government in a self-coup orchestrated by King Gustav III.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: On 17 September 1809 in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn, as a result of the poorly managed Finnish War, Sweden had to surrender Finland to Russia. King Gustav IV Adolf and his descendants were deposed in a coup d'état led by dissatisfied army officers. The childless uncle of the former king was almost immediately elected as King Charles XIII. The Instrument of Government of 1809 put an end to royal absolutism by dividing the legislative power between the Riksdag (primary) and the king (secondary), and vested executive power in the king when acting through the Council of State.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The present Bernadotte dynasty was established in September 1810 when the Riksdag, convened in Örebro, elected French Marshal and Prince of Pontecorvo Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte as crown prince. This took place because Charles XIII had no legitimate heir, and a crown prince previously elected in January 1810, Charles August, suddenly had died of a stroke during a military exercise.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Although the 19th century Bernadotte monarchs that would follow Charles XIV John's reign tried to defend the power and privileges they still had, the tide incrementally turned against "personal regal rule" () with the growth of the liberals, social democrats, and the expansion of the franchise.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: When King Gustav V publicly objected to the defence budget cuts made by Prime Minister Karl Staaff and the cabinet just before the First World War in event known as the Courtyard Crisis accompanied by the Peasant armament support march (), it was seen as a deliberate provocation by conservatives and reactionaries against the uncodified norm of a parliamentary system supported by the liberals and the social democrats, leading to Staaff's resignation. Gustaf V then appointed a caretaker government, supported by the conservatives, led by legal scholar Hjalmar Hammarskjöld, which remained in power longer than expected due to the outbreak of World War I (in which Sweden remained neutral) and increased defence spending was no longer a controversial issue. Nevertheless, in the year of the outbreak of the Russian revolution, social tensions continued to rise; the general election in 1917 gave the liberals and social democrats greatly strengthened representation in both Riksdag chambers and a conservative government was no longer a defensible option. Following the definite breakthrough of parliamentarism in 1917, with the appointment of the coalition government of liberals and social democrats led by Professor Nils Edén, the political influence of the King was considerably reduced and an unwritten constitutional precedent was set that would remain in effect until 1975.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Only during World War II, in the so-called Midsummer crisis (regarding the issue whether neutral Sweden should permit rail transport of German troops from Norway passing through to Finland), did Gustaf V allegedly try to intervene in the political process by threatening to abdicate.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: King Gustaf VI Adolf succeeded his elderly father who died in 1950, and he is generally regarded as a constitutional monarch who stayed out of politics and controversy. In 1954, a royal commission began work on whether Sweden should undergo constitutional reform to adapt the 1809 Instrument of Government to current political realities, or whether a new one should be written; ultimately the latter idea was chosen. The future role of the monarchy was settled in a manner well known within Swedish political discourse: a political compromise reached at the summer resort Torekov in 1971 (hence known as the "Torekov compromise", ) by representatives of four of the parties in the Riksdag (the Social Democrats, the Centre Party, the Liberal People's Party, and the Moderate Party, that is all the parties except the Communists).


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Following the required double Riksdag votes that took place in 1973 and 1974, a new Instrument of Government was brought into effect. The monarch's functions and duties, as defined in the 1974 Constitution Act, include heading the special cabinet council held when there is a change of government, but no executive powers with respect to the governance of the realm are vested in him.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Carl XVI Gustaf became king on 15 September 1973 on the death of his grandfather Gustaf VI Adolf and because of his father's early death has become the longest reigning monarch in Swedish history.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: When, on 1 January 1975, it replaced the Instrument of Government of 1809 as part of the Constitution of Sweden, the Instrument of Government of 1974 () transformed the advisory Council of State () into the collegial Government (), to which all executive power was transferred. Responsibility for nominating and dismissing the prime minister (who, since 1975, is elected by the Riksdag) was transferred to the Speaker of the Riksdag; the prime minister appoints and dismisses the other ministers at his or her discretion. Furthermore, bills passed by the Riksdag become law without royal assent: the prime minister or any other cabinet minister signs them "On Behalf of the Government" ().


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Although the unwritten precedent was set in 1917, when Gustaf V had little choice but to support the idea of a parliamentary system and promised Prime Minister Nils Edén to stop seeking advice from secret advisors other than the duly appointed cabinet ministers and not to interfere in politics again; the Torekov compromise, struck in 1971 by the four major parties at the time, provided, and continues to provide, a majority consensus in Swedish political discourse on the role of the monarchy within the constitutional framework. The official motive for the radical changes which came to pass in 1975 was for it to be as descriptive as possible of the workings of the state and clear on how decisions actually are made. Minister of Justice Lennart Geijer further remarked on the 1973 government bill that any continued pretensions of royal involvement in government decision making would be of a "fictitious nature" and therefore "highly unsatisfactory".


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Thus, the monarch lost all formal executive powers, becoming a ceremonial and representative figurehead. The monarch, while explicitly referred to as the "Head of State" () in the 1974 Instrument of Government, is not even the nominal chief executive. The Instrument of Government of 1974 does grant the person serving as king or queen regnant absolute immunity from criminal (but not civil) charges for as long as he or she remains in office. The monarch therefore cannot be prosecuted or otherwise held to account for his or her actions, both official and private, in judicial proceedings. None of the other members of the Royal Family or the employees the Royal Court enjoy similar immunity.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: At the request of the Speaker of the Riksdag, the monarch opens the annual session of the Riksdag () in the chamber of the Riksdag building. The king or queen regnant also receives Letters of Credence of foreign ambassadors sent to Sweden and signs those of Swedish ambassadors sent abroad. The monarch also chairs the Cabinet Council () in a session that establishes the new government following a general election or major cabinet reshuffle and also chairs information councils () approximately four times a year to get information from the assembled Government, apart from that given by ministers in individual audiences or through other means. Formally, it is the explicit responsibility of the prime minister to keep the monarch informed on the affairs of the realm; the failure to do so following the 2004 tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean (in which many Swedes perished) gave rise to wide criticism of Prime Minister Göran Persson for his handling of the matter. The monarch also chairs the Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs (), a body that enables the government of the day to inform not only the head of state, but also the speaker and representatives of the opposition parties in the Riksdag, on foreign affairs issues in a confidential manner.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: While the monarch is no longer the commander-in-chief () of the Swedish Armed Forces, as he once was under the 1809 Instrument of Government King Carl XVI Gustaf is the foremost representative of the Swedish defence establishment and holds supreme rank in each of the service arms. He ranks as a four star admiral in the Swedish Navy and general in the Swedish Army and Air Force. As part of his court, the monarch has a military staff, which is headed by a senior officer (usually a general or admiral, retired from active service) and includes active duty military officers serving as aides-de-camp to the monarch and his or her family.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The monarch and members of the Royal Family undertake a variety of official, unofficial and other representative duties within Sweden and abroad. The monarch and his or her family play a central role in state visits to Sweden and conduct state visits to other nations on behalf of Sweden. Other members of the Royal Family may also represent the country abroad at lesser functions.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Many of the Swedish general flag flying days have direct royal connections; among them are the name days of the King (28 January), the Queen (8 August), and the Crown Princess (12 March); the birthdays of the King (30 April), the Queen (23 December), and the Crown Princess (14 July); and Gustavus Adolphus Day (), on 6 November, in memory of King Gustavus Adolphus, who was killed on that date (old style) in 1632 in the Battle of Lützen. None of these flag days are public holidays, however.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Perhaps the most globally known ceremony in which the Royal Family annually participate is the Nobel Prize award ceremony held at the Stockholm Concert Hall (and the subsequent banquet in the Stockholm City Hall), where the monarch hands out the Nobel Prizes on behalf of the Nobel Foundation for outstanding contributions to mankind in physics, chemistry, literature, physiology or medicine, and the economic sciences.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: "Eriksgata" was the name of the traditional journey of newly elected medieval Swedish kings through important provinces to have their election confirmed by local "Things". The actual election took place at the Stone of Mora in Uppland and participation was originally restricted to the people of that area; hence, the need of having the election confirmed by the other parts of the realm. The Eriksgata gradually lost its importance when, as of the 14th century, representatives of other parts of Sweden began to participate in the election. After 1544, when hereditary monarchy was instituted, that meant that the Eriksgata had little practical importance. The last king to travel the Eriksgata according to the old tradition was Charles IX, whose reign began in 1604. Later, kings, up until present times, have made visits to all the Swedish provinces and called them an "Eriksgata", while those visits bear little resemblance to the medieval tradition.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: During the reign of the House of Holstein-Gottorp from 1751 to 1818, the title "Heir to Norway" () was also used, as well as other titles connected to the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. When, after the Napoleonic Wars, Norway was in personal union with Sweden, the title included "King of Norway", in older Swedish spellings: .


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The customary title of the heir apparent is crown prince ("kronprins") or crown princess ("kronprinsessa"). The wife of a crown prince would also receive a corresponding title, but not the husband of a crown princess. The traditional official title used until 1980 for other dynastic male heirs was hereditary prince ("arvfurste"), although the word prince ("prins") was used in constitutional legal texts such as the Act of Succession and also colloquially and informally. Female dynasts are titled princess ("prinsessa").


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: King Gustav III revived a tradition from the time of Gustav Vasa and the medieval era by giving male heirs to the throne ducal titles of Swedish provinces. The difference between the ducal titles from the Vasa era and those granted by Gustav III is they now are non-hereditary courtesy titles given at birth. Since 1980, they have been conferred to all royal heirs, male and female. The wives of royal dukes have always shared their husbands' titles; the husbands of royal duchesses have done so as of 2010.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The regalia of Sweden are kept deep in the vaults of the (), located underneath the Royal Palace in Stockholm, in a museum which has been open to the public since 1970. Among the oldest objects in the collection are the sword of Gustav Vasa and the crown, orb, sceptre and key of King Erik XIV. The Regalia is state property and the government authority which holds it in trust is the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The last king to have been crowned was Oscar II. His son and successor, Gustaf V, abstained from having a coronation. While the crowns and coronets have not been worn by Swedish royalty since 1907, they are nevertheless still displayed on royal occasions such as at weddings, christenings and funerals. Until 1974, the crown and sceptre were also displayed on cushions beside the Silver Throne at the annual solemn opening of the Riksdag ().


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The Royal orders have a historical basis, dating back to the 1606 founding of the now extinct Jehova Order. The Royal Orders of Knights of Sweden were only truly codified in the 18th century, with their formal foundation in 1748 by King Frederick I. In 1974 the Riksdag significantly changed the conditions and criteria under which orders and decorations could be awarded: that no Swedish citizen outside the Royal Family is eligible to receive such decorations. The Order of the Seraphim () is only awarded to foreign heads of state and members of the Swedish and foreign royal families, while the Order of the Polar Star () can be bestowed on any non-Swedish citizen. Following the reforms, the Order of the Sword () and the Order of Vasa () are no longer conferred: officially they have been declared as "dormant".


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Since 1975, H. M. The King's Medal () is the highest honour that can be awarded to Swedish citizens other than members of the Royal Family.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The Royal Palaces (including the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Drottningholm Palace, Haga Palace, Rosendal Palace, Ulriksdal Palace, Rosersberg Palace, Tullgarn Palace and Gripsholm Castle) are government property, managed by the National Property Board () and are at the disposal of the Monarch, an arrangement that has been in place since the beginning of the 19th century. There are also residences which are held privately by the Royal Family, such as Solliden Palace on the island of Öland, a cottage in Storlien in the Jämtland and Villa Mirage in Sainte-Maxime in southern France (originally acquired by Prince Bertil).


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The Royal Palace (), also known as Stockholm Palace (), is the official residence of the king. The Royal Palace is located on "Stadsholmen" ("City Island"), commonly known as "Gamla Stan" ("the Old Town") in the national capital city Stockholm.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The offices of the king, other members of the Swedish Royal Family, and the offices of the Royal Court are located in the palace. The Royal Palace is used for representative purposes and State occasions by the king. The Royal Palace is guarded by "Högvakten", a royal guard, consisting of regular service members of the Swedish Armed Forces. The tradition of having a regular unit of the Army guarding at the royal residence dates back to 1523. Until the mid-19th century, the royal guards also maintained law and order in the city and provided firefighting services.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The southern façade faces the grand style slope "Slottsbacken"; the eastern façade borders "Skeppsbron", a quay which passes along the eastern waterfront of the old town; on the northern front "Lejonbacken" is a system of ramps named for the Medici lions, sculptures on the stone railings; and the western wings border the open space "Högvaktsterrassen". The Royal Palace in Stockholm is unique among European royal residences in that large portions of it are open year-round to visitors, who pay entrance fees.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The first building on this site was a fortress with a keep built in the 13th century by Birger Jarl to defend the entry into Lake Mälaren. The fortress gradually grew to a castle, known as "Tre Kronor": named after the spire on the centre tower with Three Crowns, which have become the Swedish national symbol. In the late 16th century, work was done to transform the castle into a Renaissance palace during the reign of John III. In 1690, it was decided that the castle be rebuilt in Baroque style in a design by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. In 1692, work began on the northern row. However, much of the old castle was destroyed in a disastrous fire on 7 May 1697.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Tessin rebuilt the damaged palace, and work continued for another 63 years. Semicirclular wings around the outer western courtyard were finished in 1734, the palace church was finished in the 1740s, and the exterior was finished in 1754. The royal family moved to the palace with the southwest, southeast, and northeast wings finished. The northwest wing was finished in 1760. In the north, "Lejonbacken" (the "Lion's Slope") was rebuilt from 1824 to 1830.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Drottningholm Palace () is located at Drottningholm on the island of Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), and is one of Sweden's Royal Palaces. It was originally built in the late 16th century. It has served as a residence of the Swedish royal family members for most of the 18th and 19th centuries. Apart from being the current private residence of the King and Queen, Drottningholm Palace is a popular tourist attraction.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The gardens and park areas surrounding Drottningholm Palace and adjacent to its buildings are one of the main attractions for the tourists that visit the palace each year. The gardens have been established in stages since the palace was first built, resulting in many different styles.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The royal domain of Drottningholm is a well-preserved milieu from the 17th and 18th centuries, inspired by French buildings such as the Chateau of Versailles, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, principally because of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre and the Chinese Pavilion at Drottningholm. It was added to the World Heritage List in 1991.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: Haga Palace (), formerly known as the Queen's Pavilion (), is located in the Haga Park, Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm. The palace, built between 18021805, was modelled after balletmaster Louis Gallodier's Italian villa at Drottningholm by architect Carl Christoffer Gjörwell on appointment by King Gustaf IV Adolf for the royal children. It has been the home or summer house of several members of the Swedish royal family – notably it was the birthplace of the present King Carl XVI Gustaf – until 1966 when King Gustaf VI Adolf transferred its disposal to the prime minister and it was turned into a guest house for distinguished foreign official visitors (heads of state and heads of government et cetera).


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: In April 2009, it was announced by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt that the rights of disposal of the palace would be transferred back to the King and thus could be used by Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland. They moved into the palace in the autumn after their wedding on 19 June 2010.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: However, in any case, there is no legislation or other public document which delineates the rules of membership in either the Royal House or Royal Family, as it is left to the sole discretion of the King.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: The Act of Succession of 1810 provides the rules governing the line of succession and designates the legitimate heirs to the Swedish Throne; it also states in that the Monarch and dynastic members of the Royal House must at all times be a Protestant Christian of the "pure evangelical faith" (by implication the Church of Sweden).


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: A rewrite of the Act, entering into force in 1980, fundamentally changed the rules of succession from agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. This allowed for the crown to pass to the eldest child regardless of gender and thus retroactively installed Princess Victoria as crown princess over her younger brother, Prince Carl Philip, who had been born as crown prince a few months before.


title: Monarchy of Sweden

text: In its present reading, Article 1 of the Act of Succession limits the potential number of claimants to the throne, so that only the descendants of Carl XVI Gustaf can inherit the Throne. If the royal house were to be extinct, the Riksdag is not obligated to elect a new royal house, as it once was up until the constitutional reforms of the 1970s.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Mark Charles Edward Wright (born 20 January 1987) is an English television personality, football pundit, entertainment reporter, and professional footballer who last played for side Crawley Town. He is best known for appearing as a cast member on the first three series of "The Only Way Is Essex." Wright gained more popularity after appearing on the eleventh series of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" where he finished as runner-up, and the twelfth series of "Strictly Come Dancing", where he finished in fourth place.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Before his appearances on "The Only Way Is Essex", Wright was a semi-professional footballer, with a youth career at West Ham United, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: He started his senior career with Southend United, but moved into nightclub promoting and playing only semi-professionally. In November 2006, he was loaned from Grays Athletic to fellow Conference National side Crawley Town. On 27 January 2007, he scored the only goal of a 1–0 win at Tamworth. In March that year, he was lent to Rushden & Diamonds for the rest of the season. Wright played once for the England national football C team, playing in a defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina B on 16 September 2008.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In January 2012, it was reported that he rekindled his semi-professional footballing career, by signing for St Neots Town, but this was denied by Wright on his Twitter account.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Wright made his return to professional football on 14 December 2020, signing for League Two side Crawley Town on a non-contract basis. He made his professional debut at the age of 33 in the third round of the FA Cup, coming on as a 90th minute substitute as Crawley won 3–0 against Premier League side Leeds United on 10 January 2021. His brother, Josh, also played in the match, having signed for Crawley in January 2021. Wright made his first professional start in League Two against Harrogate Town on 6 February, and was substituted at half time in a 3–1 home loss. He was released by Crawley at the end of the 2020–21 season.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In October 2010, Wright was one of the original cast members in the ITV reality programme "The Only Way is Essex". He announced his departure from the show on 23 October 2011, near the end of the third series. He later returned for a cameo appearance in the sixth series and also, for the 2012 Christmas special. He briefly returned again in 2014 and again in 2016.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In November 2011, Wright took part in the eleventh series of "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!". He was the runner-up, losing to McFly bassist Dougie Poynter.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: From January 2012 until 2017, Wright and Laura Jackson co-presented the "Take Me Out" spin-off programme "" for ITV2. Zoe Hardman previously hosted with Wright. The series did not air in 2018. He also appeared as a fitness expert on the ITV Breakfast programme "Daybreak" for two weeks, to front its mini series "Downsize in Dubai".


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: From 20 June to 7 July 2012, Wright presented and starred in a new ITV2 show, titled "Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights". It was later dropped after one series. He was due to co-present with Melanie Sykes on a new entertainment series named "My Man Can". After filming one series, ITV made the decision not to air the show.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In 2014, Wright fronted his own ITV2 reality show entitled "Party Wright Around The World". In 2014, Wright was one of the celebrities competing in the twelfth series of "Strictly Come Dancing". He was paired up with professional dancer Karen Hauer. The couple made into the final in which they came fourth.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Wright also presented "The Dengineers" with Lauren Layfield on CBBC from 2015 until 2017. He left at the end of the second series and was replaced by Joe Tracini.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In December 2016, Wright made an appearance on an episode of E!'s "The Royals" (season 3, episode 1).


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Wright presented on the American entertainment news programme "EXTRA" by Warner Bros from 2017 to 2020.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Wright presents series 6 of Channel 5's "The Bachelor", based on the US television show of the same name.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: On 5 July 2019, Wright guest presented "This Morning" with Rochelle Humes. Wright starred in the BBC programme "Who Do You Think You Are?" in September 2019.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In January 2021, Wright featured in a BBC iPlayer mini-series, "Mark Wright: The Last Chance", about his efforts to revive his professional football career with Crawley Town.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Since 24 December 2012, Wright has presented the "Club Classics" show every Friday and Saturday evening on Heart Radio, between 7pm and 9pm. He left in December 2017 when he moved to the United States, and returned to the station in July 2019. In March 2020, after the defection of Sian Welby to Capital FM, he took up the Monday to Thursday evening slot at the station.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In December 2021, he left the Monday-Thursday evening slot with Dev Griffin taking over at the start of the new year. He now presents the Saturday early evening show from 4-7pm.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In June 2013, Wright was signed by online retail giant, Littlewoods, as its new face of menswear, which sees him style and model a capsule collection each season for Littlewoods' own-brand menswear line, "Goodsouls". In September 2018 he was signed by Matalan as the face of their menswear range.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: In June 2016, he took part in "Soccer Aid" for the first time. He played for 'England'. He scored a goal from a direct free kick in the 3–2 victory, and was named Man of the Match. Wright also played in the 2018 and 2019 editions of "Soccer Aid".


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Mark is the son of Carol and Mark Wright, Sr, and the brother of fellow professional footballer Josh Wright, whom he played alongside at Crawley Town, and fellow "The Only Way is Essex" cast member Jess Wright. He has a younger sister.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: On 22 February 2009, Wright was best man at the wedding of the reality star Jade Goody and Jack Tweed, as he was a childhood friend of the groom. Footage of the ceremony was shown in the Sky Living series "Jade: The Reality Star Who Changed Britain" in 2019. In August 2011, Wright appeared at Redbridge Magistrates' Court charged with using threatening behaviour on a night out. He was found not guilty, while Tweed pleaded guilty to common assault.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Wright was in a relationship with fellow "TOWIE" cast member Lauren Goodger. Since December 2012, Wright has been in a relationship with former "Coronation Street" actress Michelle Keegan. They married on 24 May 2015.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: According to "Who Do You Think You Are?", Mark's great-great-grandfather was of Jewish heritage, and his nine-times great grandfather, David Antonio de Mendoza, was a "converso" of Sephardic Jewish descent who was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition in 1696 accused of secretly practising his ancestors' religion. David, who was 36 at the time, was tortured for two years in Seville using methods including the toca. Once out of prison, David moved his family to Amsterdam where it was safe to practise their faith. His nephew Miguel, however, returned to Spain and was burned at the stake.


title: Mark Wright (TV personality)

text: Wright is a supporter of the Conservative Party and had previously called for people to support then-Prime Minister Theresa May, plus endorsing Shaun Bailey for the 2021 London Mayoral election.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, Spanish for "Assistance, Assessment, and Administration"), the promotion was founded in 1992 when Antonio Peña broke away from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) to set up a promotion, which allowed him more creative freedom. AAA has held a number of pay-per-views (PPV) over the years and has promoted shows not just in Mexico but in the United States and Japan as well.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In addition to the conventional "squared circle", the promotion occasionally uses a hexagonal wrestling ring and has a reputation for its outlandish gimmicks and characters as well as having developed a more extreme match style in recent years. Over the years, AAA has worked together with several American promotions, while currently having working relationships with other Mexican promotions.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: AAA dates from May 15, 1992, when Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) booker Antonio Peña broke with the company in favor of establishing his own group along with Konnan and much of the young and exciting talent from CMLL. This left CMLL with a middle-aged roster and a seemingly bleak future. AAA also looked for talent from other markets, as they found and signed Tijuana natives Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Psicosis. The promotion flourished with top talent like El Hijo del Santo, Octagón, Blue Panther, the Casas brothers (Negro Casas and Heavy Metal) and possessed top draws in Los Gringos Locos, Cien Caras, Konnan, and Perro Aguayo. The rising popularity of AAA soon caused rival Universal Wrestling Association to go out of business, and Peña quickly signed up top draws including El Canek, Dos Caras and Los Villanos.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: AAA's "golden years" (from 1993–1995) peaked with the "When Worlds Collide" pay-per-view, promoted in conjunction with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast in the United States in 1994. Weeks after the show, Art Barr (a key member of Los Gringos Locos) died while visiting his family. As a result, AAA vacated the AAA Tag Team Championships, and this led to the departure of fellow stable-mates (in Los Gringos Locos) Eddie Guerrero and Madonna's Boyfriend. El Hijo del Santo also departed as a result of creative problems, and stars such as Fuerza Guerrera and Blue Panther soon left too when the Mexican economy began to slow down (which resulted in the company's inability to offer as much work). Many wrestlers, including Rey Misterio, Jr., Psicosis, La Parka, and Juventud Guerrera, would also depart to WCW in 1996, as well as Konnan's short-lived "Promo Azteca" promotion. In early 1997, AAA established a working agreement with the World Wrestling Federation, but the only significant outcome resulted in several luchadores featuring in the 1997 "Royal Rumble". In the mid-1990s the name of the company was changed to simply be "AAA", pronounced "Triple A" as the company bought out Televisa and became independent.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: AAA broadcasts shows regularly on Gala TV in Mexico and Univision TDN in Mexico and parts of the United States.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: On October 6, 2006, founder Antonio Peña died of a heart attack. Following Peña's death his sister Marisela Peña manages AAA financially, while Peña's brother-in-law Joaquín Roldán and his son, Dorian Roldán Peña serve as operational managers. In 2008 Lucha Libre USA presented AAA's second U.S. pay-per-view, "Legendary Battles of Triplemania". In 2009 AAA announced the official release of a video game originally entitled "AAA El Videojuego". The game was later retitled "" by the publisher of the game, with a release date of October 12, 2010.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: AAA developed a working relationship with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2004. Through the relationship, AAA sent the luchadores Juventud Guerrera, Héctor Garza, Abismo Negro, Heavy Metal, and Mr. Águila to TNA to compete in the America's X-Cup Tournament as a contingent known as Team Mexico. Team Mexico dominated the America's X-Cup Tournament, defeating Team USA in the first round before retaining the Cup against both Team Canada and Team Britain. They eventually lost at the World X-Cup, which saw Team USA defeat Team Canada and Team Mexico in the Ultimate X finals to win the Cup. For multiple reasons TNA and AAA broke off their working relationship late in 2004. TNA continued utilizing luchadores, but opted to contract them individually as opposed to working through AAA. In 2006, AAA and TNA teamed up again for an event in Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, utilizing some of TNA's talent and stage (which includes the tunnel and lasers). After Konnan left TNA in June 2007, any chance of a working relationship disappeared, especially given that Konnan has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against TNA. The lawsuit was later dismissed. TNA would later start a relationship with CMLL from 2007 to 2009, however TNA would once again start working together with AAA and exchange talent in February 2010.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: On January 12, 2014, it was announced that, with the backing of Mark Burnett, AAA would begin airing a show on American network El Rey in the second half of the year. The one-hour weekly program would be accompanied by monthly and quarterly specials as well as live pay-per-views. The show, titled "Lucha Underground", premiered on October 29, 2014.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: Beginning in March 2015, the company announced that it would be known as "Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide" from that point on, although it is still referred to mainly as AAA or "Triple A".


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In April and May 2018, some fighters like Teddy Hart, Juventud Guerrera and Taurus make their return to the company wearing their Elite League jerseys, dealing with a possible alliance between AAA and Liga Elite. On June 4 in "Verano de Escándalo", Jeff Jarrett (now a member of WWE Hall of Fame) makes his comeback after 3 years out of AAA, where he beat Rey Wagner and Rey Mysterio Jr. to win the AAA Mega Championship with the help from Konnan who also makes his comeback after 2 years.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: On February 1, 2019, AAA announced the breakup relationship with Televisa after 27 years changing to the Multimedios television station. However, on February 3 after the Super Bowl LIII broadcasts had concluded, AAA reached an agreement with TV Azteca to broadcast their show in Azteca 7. On April 4, 2019, AAA announced in press conference that its first event in the United States called Invading NY that would be held in Madison Square Garden on September 15, 2019. Later in the press conference AAA announced that would also held its second event in United States which is named Invading Los Angeles with the event taking place at The Forum in Inglewood, California on October 13, 2019. On August 16, 2019, it was reported by Pro Wrestling Insider that AAA decided to run Hulu Theater instead of Madison Square Garden after meeting with MSG executives to move the venue of the event due to its poor ticket sales.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In mid-March 2020, AAA began canceling or postponing its televised events following the COVID-19 pandemic, so the following month, a tournament called "Lucha Fighters" was created consisting of 12 "luchadores" and 8 "luchadoras".


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: During the indefinite recess due to health contingency due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, on July 20, 2020, AAA announced its project called ""AutoLuchas"" which consists of a events in Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez where fans could see through from a car. On September 24, AAA announced that it would return to its first performances in early October after the announced project.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: On February 2, 2021, the company signed an alliance with SECTUR to promote Mexico's tourist destinations. bearing the name of the tour as ""Lucha por la Identidad Nacional"" including shows such as "Rey de Reyes" and "Verano de Escándalo".


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: On August 14, "Triplemanía XXIX" was held at the Arena Ciudad de México, marking the first event with the return of fans but limited, this for biosecurity reasons. After this, "Héroes Inmortales XIV" was the second show that had an audience present, also albeit limited.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In 1997, the company did business with United States's World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) promotion, bringing in a number of AAA wrestlers for the Royal Rumble event and namesake match.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In April 2014, after TNA founder Jeff Jarrett, the man behind the AAA-TNA relationship, had left the company, he announced that his new Global Force Wrestling (GFW) promotion would begin working with the Mexican promotion though TNA and AAA would continue to work with each other being a part of the Lucha Libre World Cup on May 24, 2015. When Jarrett returned to TNA in 2017, with the promotion now known as Impact Wrestling, it was announced that AAA and Impact would once again continue to be working together.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In July 2015, Canadian-based International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) announced a talent partnership with AAA.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In June 2018, AAA partnered with Mexican Lucha Libre Elite promotion officially announced a working relationship.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In August 2018, AAA started a working agreement with American-based promotion Major League Wrestling (MLW).


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: In 2020, Lucha Libre Factory Made Ventures, one of the producers of "Lucha Underground", filed a lawsuit with AAA; claiming to have exclusive rights to distribute AAA events and merchandise outside of Mexico.


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: Each year AAA promotes a number of signature events and tournaments: some shown as pay-per-view events and others presented as TV Azteca television specials. The annual shows and tournaments, shown in order of occurrence during each year, include:


title: Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide

text: Since its inception AAA has placed very few restrictions on the number of championships it promotes, often allowing wrestlers to defend titles that do not technically belong within AAA, such as titles from the now defunct Universal Wrestling Association. While they allowed these to be defended and used to promote their wrestlers they're not officially listed as AAA titles and thus do not appear on this list. In December 2008 AAA announced it they will no longer recognize or promote any title that does not belong to AAA - ending the long-standing practice.


title: Section 230

text: Section 230 is a section of Title 47 of the United States Code that was enacted as part of the United States Communications Decency Act and generally provides immunity for website platforms with respect to third-party content. At its core, Section 230(c)(1) provides immunity from liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information provided by third-party users:


title: Section 230

text: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.


title: Section 230

text: Section 230(c)(2) further provides "Good Samaritan" protection from civil liability for operators of interactive computer services in the good faith removal or moderation of third-party material they deem "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected."


title: Section 230

text: Section 230 was developed in response to a pair of lawsuits against Internet service providers (ISPs) in the early 1990s that resulted in different interpretations of whether the service providers should be treated as publishers or, alternatively, as distributors of content created by its users. It was enacted as part of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 (a common name for Title V of the Telecommunications Act of 1996), formally codified as part of the Communications Act of 1934 at . After passage of the Telecommunications Act, the CDA was challenged in courts and was ruled by the Supreme Court in "Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union" (1997) to be unconstitutional, though Section 230 was determined to be severable from the rest of the legislation and remained in place. Since then, several legal challenges have validated the constitutionality of Section 230.


title: Section 230

text: Section 230 protections are not limitless and require providers to remove material illegal on a federal level, such as in copyright infringement cases. In 2018, Section 230 was amended by the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (FOSTA-SESTA) to require the removal of material violating federal and state sex trafficking laws. In the following years, protections from Section 230 have come under more scrutiny on issues related to hate speech and ideological biases in relation to the power that technology companies can hold on political discussions and became a major issue during the 2020 United States presidential election.


title: Section 230

text: Passed when Internet use was just starting to expand in both breadth of services and range of consumers in the United States, Section 230 has frequently been referred to as a key law, which allowed the Internet to develop.


title: Section 230

text: Section 230 has two primary parts both listed under §230(c) as the "Good Samaritan" portion of the law. Under section 230(c)(1), as identified above, an information service provider shall not be treated as a "publisher or speaker" of information from another provider. Section 230(c)(2) provides immunity from civil liabilities for information service providers that remove or restrict content from their services they deem "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected", as long as they act "in good faith" in this action.


title: Section 230

text: In analyzing the availability of the immunity offered by Section 230, courts generally apply a three-prong test. A defendant must satisfy each of the three prongs to gain the benefit of the immunity:


title: Section 230

text: Section 230 immunity is not unlimited. The statute specifically excepts federal criminal liability (§230(e)(1)), electronic privacy violations (§230(e)(4)) and intellectual property claims (§230(e)(2)). There is also no immunity from state laws that are consistent with though state criminal laws have been held preempted in cases such as "Backpage.com, LLC v. McKenna" and "Voicenet Communications, Inc. v. Corbett" (agreeing that "the plain language of the CDA provides ... immunity from inconsistent state criminal laws"). What constitutes "publishing" under the CDA is somewhat narrowly defined by the courts. The Ninth Circuit held that "Publication involves reviewing, editing, and deciding whether to publish or to withdraw from publication third-party content." Thus, the CDA does not provide immunity with respect to content that an interactive service provider creates or develops entirely by themselves. CDA immunity also does not bar an action based on promissory estoppel.


title: Section 230

text: As of mid-2016, courts have issued conflicting decisions regarding the scope of the intellectual property exclusion set forth in §230(e)(2). For example, in "Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill, LLC", the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the exception for intellectual property law applies only to "federal" intellectual property claims such as copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and patents, reversing a district court ruling that the exception applies to state-law right of publicity claims. The 9th Circuit's decision in "Perfect 10" conflicts with conclusions from other courts including "Doe v. Friendfinder". The "Friendfinder" court specifically discussed and rejected the lower court's reading of "intellectual property law" in "CCBill" and held that the immunity does not reach state right of publicity claims.


title: Section 230

text: Two bills passed since the passage of Section 230 have added further limits to its protections. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act in 1998, service providers must comply with additional requirements for copyright infringement to maintain safe harbor protections from liability, as defined in the DMCA's Title II, . The Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (the FOSTA-SESTA act) of 2018 eliminated the safe harbor for service providers in relationship to federal and state sex trafficking laws.


title: Section 230

text: Prior to the Internet, case law was clear that a liability line was drawn between publishers of content and distributors of content; a publisher would be expected to have awareness of material it was publishing and thus should be held liable for any illegal content it published, while a distributor would likely not be aware and thus would be immune. This was established in the 1959 case, "Smith v. California", where the Supreme Court ruled that putting liability on the provider (a book store in this case) would have "a collateral effect of inhibiting the freedom of expression, by making the individual the more reluctant to exercise it."


title: Section 230

text: In the early 1990s, the Internet became more widely adopted and created means for users to engage in forums and other user-generated content. While this helped to expand the use of the Internet, it also resulted in a number of legal cases putting service providers at fault for the content generated by its users. This concern was raised by legal challenges against CompuServe and Prodigy, which were early service providers at that time. CompuServe stated it would not attempt to regulate what users posted on its services, while Prodigy had employed a team of moderators to validate content. Both companies faced legal challenges related to content posted by their users. In "Cubby, Inc. v. CompuServe Inc.", CompuServe was found not be at fault as, by its stance as allowing all content to go unmoderated, it was a distributor and thus not liable for libelous content posted by users. However, in "Stratton Oakmont, Inc. v. Prodigy Services Co.", the court concluded that because Prodigy had taken an editorial role with regard to customer content, it was a publisher and was legally responsible for libel committed by its customers.


title: Section 230

text: Service providers made their Congresspersons aware of these cases, believing that if followed by other courts across the nation, the cases would stifle the growth of the Internet. United States Representative Christopher Cox (R-CA) had read an article about the two cases and felt the decisions were backwards. "It struck me that if that rule was going to take hold then the internet would become the Wild West and nobody would have any incentive to keep the internet civil," Cox stated.


title: Section 230

text: At the time, Congress was preparing the Communications Decency Act (CDA), part of the omnibus Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was designed to make knowingly sending indecent or obscene material to minors a criminal offense. A version of the CDA had passed through the Senate pushed by Senator J. James Exon (D-NE). People in a grassroots effort in the tech industry reacted to try to convince the House of Representatives to challenge Exon's bill. Based on the "Stratton Oakmont" decision, Congress recognized that requiring service providers to block indecent content would make them be treated as publishers in the context of the First Amendment, and thus would make them become liable for other content such as libel, not set out in the existing CDA. Cox and fellow Representative Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote the House bill's section 509, titled the Internet Freedom and Family Empowerment Act, designed to override the decision from "Stratton Oakmont", so that a service provider could moderate content as necessary and would not have to act as a wholly neutral conduit. The new provision was added to the text of the proposed statute while the CDA was in conference within the House.


title: Section 230

text: The overall Telecommunications Act, with both Exon's CDA and Cox/Wyden's provision, passed both Houses by near-unanimous votes and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton by February 1996. Cox/Wyden's section became Section 509 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and became law as a new Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934. The anti-indecency portion of the CDA was immediately challenged on passage, resulting in the Supreme Court 1997 case, "Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union", that ruled all of the anti-indecency sections of the CDA were unconstitutional, but left Section 230 as law.


title: Section 230

text: Section 230 has often been called "The 26 words that made the Internet". The passage and subsequent legal history supporting the constitutionality of Section 230 have been considered essential to the growth of the Internet through the early part of the 21st century. Coupled with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, Section 230 provides internet service providers safe harbors to operate as intermediaries of content without fear of being liable for that content as long as they take reasonable steps to delete or prevent access to that content. These protections allowed experimental and novel applications in the Internet area without fear of legal ramifications, creating the foundations of modern Internet services such as advanced search engines, social media, video streaming, and cloud computing. NERA Economic Consulting estimated in 2017 that Section 230 and the DMCA, combined, contributed about 425,000 jobs to the U.S. in 2017 and represented a total revenue of annually.


title: Section 230

text: The first major challenge to Section 230 itself was "Zeran v. AOL", a 1997 case decided at the Fourth Circuit. The case involved a person that sued America Online (AOL) for failing to remove, in a timely manner, libelous ads posted by AOL users that inappropriately connected his home phone number to the Oklahoma City bombing. The court found for AOL and upheld the constitutionality of Section 230, stating that Section 230 "creates a federal immunity to any cause of action that would make service providers liable for information originating with a third-party user of the service." The court asserted in its ruling Congress's rationale for Section 230 was to give Internet service providers broad immunity "to remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material." In addition, "Zeran" notes "the amount of information communicated via interactive computer services is ... staggering. The specter of tort liability in an area of such prolific speech would have an obviously chilling effect. It would be impossible for service providers to screen each of their millions of postings for possible problems. Faced with potential liability for each message republished by their services, interactive computer service providers might choose to severely restrict the number and type of messages posted. Congress considered the weight of the speech interests implicated and chose to immunize service providers to avoid any such restrictive effect."