Law of Iceland on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Law of Iceland during the Commonwealth (930–1262) was decided by the ''Alþingi'' (
, in ''Nordisk familjebok'', 2nd edn (1913). Iceland's early laws were changed by agreement at the Alþingi, with prominent changes including the polity's conversion to Christianity in 1000 and the criminalisation of aspects of pagan practice around 1016. Codification was undertaken in 1117–18, led by Hafliði Másson. The resulting text, known as ''Hafliðaskrá'', does not survive, but seems to have been one of the foundations of the voluminous records of the law of the Icelandic Commonwealth known as '' Grágás''. ''Grágás'' became Iceland's law up to 1262–64, when Iceland came under Norwegian rule. Following the '' Gamli sáttmáli'' (Old Covenant) of 1262, Magnus VI of Norway attempted to introduce the law code '' JárnsÃða'' around 1271–73; this was itself superseded when existing laws were compiled in ''Jónsbók'' by Jón Einarsson (in 1281). ''Jónsbók'' was supplemented by or competed with some other sources of law, including ecclesiastical law, laws of local '' þing'', and other tracts such as ''BúalÇ«g'' ('farmers' laws'), a body of laws concerning farming and trade within Iceland from around 1400. Although Icelandic law has changed much over time, and Iceland came under Danish rule until 1944, ''Jónsbók'' remained the basis for Icelandic law into the twentieth century. The Althing was suspended in 1799, but re-established in 1845 as an advisory body of the Danish king and from 1874 as a legislative body.
Official journal: ''StjórnartÃðindi''
Official journal: ''Reglugerð''Icelandic manuscripts
John Rylands Library (MSS. Icel. 2-5 are copies of the Jónsbók) *''A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law'', ed. by Jeffrey Love, Inger Larsson, Ulrika Djärv, Christine Peel, and Erik Simensen (Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2020), * Hans Fix: ''Wortschatz der Jónsbók''. Lang, Frankfurt am Main/Bern/New York 1984, . {{Europe topic, Law of
Law of Iceland during the Commonwealth (930–1262) was decided by the ''Alþingi'' (Althing
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...
). It has changed over the years, but the legislative body is still called the Althing.
History
Following thesettlement of Iceland
The settlement of Iceland ( ) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norsemen, Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration are uncertain: later in the Middle Ages Icel ...
around the 870s, Iceland lacked a unitary legal system. Already around the year 930, the chiefs of the different regions of Iceland united into a single polity. A people's assembly, the ''Alþingi'', was instituted, meeting annually to exercise both judicial and legislative activities. This included having one lawspeaker (''lÇ«gsÇ«gumaðr'') on a rotating basis. His role was to know the law by heart and inform on points of law in legal cases. The first lawspeaker is said to have been Úlfljótr, who gave Iceland its first set of laws. These are thought to have corresponded closely to the Gulating laws from Norway.Nordisk rätt, in ''Nordisk familjebok'', 2nd edn (1913). Iceland's early laws were changed by agreement at the Alþingi, with prominent changes including the polity's conversion to Christianity in 1000 and the criminalisation of aspects of pagan practice around 1016. Codification was undertaken in 1117–18, led by Hafliði Másson. The resulting text, known as ''Hafliðaskrá'', does not survive, but seems to have been one of the foundations of the voluminous records of the law of the Icelandic Commonwealth known as '' Grágás''. ''Grágás'' became Iceland's law up to 1262–64, when Iceland came under Norwegian rule. Following the '' Gamli sáttmáli'' (Old Covenant) of 1262, Magnus VI of Norway attempted to introduce the law code '' JárnsÃða'' around 1271–73; this was itself superseded when existing laws were compiled in ''Jónsbók'' by Jón Einarsson (in 1281). ''Jónsbók'' was supplemented by or competed with some other sources of law, including ecclesiastical law, laws of local '' þing'', and other tracts such as ''BúalÇ«g'' ('farmers' laws'), a body of laws concerning farming and trade within Iceland from around 1400. Although Icelandic law has changed much over time, and Iceland came under Danish rule until 1944, ''Jónsbók'' remained the basis for Icelandic law into the twentieth century. The Althing was suspended in 1799, but re-established in 1845 as an advisory body of the Danish king and from 1874 as a legislative body.
Uses of old laws
Old laws are still quoted: the 13th century law of Grágás was used in a case in 2017 regarding an injury caused in a MMA tournament, citing the rules of "friendly fight".Current system
The legislative body of the modern Republic of Iceland (since 1944) is again known asAlthing
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing ...
, although it is a representative parliamentary body and not a popular assembly like the original '' thing''.
Icelandic law consists primarily of statutes adopted by the Althing, with some orders issued by the Cabinet (executive branch of the state), normally as regulations. The Ministry of Justice makes public the rules of law which apply in Iceland.
Under Article 2 of the constitution, the Althing and the President of Iceland jointly exercise legislative power, with Articles 13 and 19 requiring the President to entrust his authority to the Ministers, with the President validating each law by signing with a Minister to give formal consent. Between 1944 and 2023 the president has refused consent on two occasions.
Article 78 allows certain public tasks and rights to be delegated to local municipalities, governed by the Local Authorities Act No. 138/2011. There are 74 local municipalities, each governed by an elected body of locally elected representatives.
See also
* Energy law * Icelandic nationality lawReferences
External links
Official journal: ''StjórnartÃðindi''
Official journal: ''Reglugerð''
John Rylands Library (MSS. Icel. 2-5 are copies of the Jónsbók) *''A Lexicon of Medieval Nordic Law'', ed. by Jeffrey Love, Inger Larsson, Ulrika Djärv, Christine Peel, and Erik Simensen (Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2020), * Hans Fix: ''Wortschatz der Jónsbók''. Lang, Frankfurt am Main/Bern/New York 1984, . {{Europe topic, Law of