Constitution to replace the four existing constitutional laws in the form of a Government bill. The Commission completed its work on 17 June 1997, and during 1998, the bill was considered by the Constitutional Law Committee, which finally produced its unanimous report on the bill in January 1999. On 12 February, Parliament gave its approval for the Committee's proposal for the new Constitution to be left in abeyance until after the parliamentary elections. The new Parliament elected in March 1999 approved the new Constitution in June that year and it was ratified by the President of the Republic. The Constitution has since been amended a number of times, notably in 2011 to allow bills to be introduced in Parliament by popular petition and in 2017 to expand the access of police and intelligence services to private communications. Main provisions Structure The official text of the constitution consists of 131 Sections, divided into 13 Chapters, as follows: Fundamental provisions Basic rights and liberties Parliament and the Representatives Parliamentary activity The President of the Republic and the Government Legislation State finances International relations Administration of justice Supervision of legality Administration and self-government National defence Final provisions Fundamental provisions and basic rights The opening chapter on fundamental provisions continues the affirmation of Finland's status as a sovereign Republic, the inviolability of human dignity and the rights of the individual, and the sovereignty of the Finnish people. It also affirms the principle of representative democracy and the position of Parliament as the highest organ of government, the separation of powers, the independence of the courts, and the principle of parliamentary government. The provisions for constitutional rights closely mirror the European convention on human rights, including the educational, social and economic rights in addition to political liberties. The international human rights obligations of Finland are set as the highest legal norm of the law, even above the constitution. Provisions on the Constitutional Organs The Constitution establishes a government under a parliamentary system. It provides for a directly elected President of the Republic, a Government comprising the Prime Minister and the Ministers who form the Government (Chapter 5) the Parliament of Finland (Chapter 3). It also establishes an independent judiciary and two judicial systems: one general, and the other administrative. Parliament One of the main goals of the constitutional reform process was to move Finland further in the direction of a parliamentary system of government. Accordingly,