Constitution of Iceland - History

History

In the 19th century, the Icelandic independence movement was gaining momentum, while nationalism and demands for increased civil rights intensified in mainland Europe. In June 1849, the king of Denmark was forced to meet the demands of the liberals and the nationalists, and agree to a constitution for Denmark and thus also with Iceland. This constitution repealed the absolute monarchy and established a constitutional monarchy in which power over most important issues was handed over to a parliament elected by the people.

This change was not well-received with Icelanders, as it in reality translated to reduced autonomy for Iceland. Before 1849, Icelanders had officially ruled themselves as they happened to see fit in domestic matters. But now those matters were falling under the control of parliaments over which Icelanders had no influence. The Danes were reluctant to meet the demands of Icelanders for self-government as set forth during the National Assembly of 1851, in the belief that it would weaken Denmark's control in Schleswig and Holstein. But when said region was annexed by Prussia in 1867, new conditions were created and stöðulögin ("the laws of standing") were passed 1871, which determined the standing of Iceland in relation to the Danish state. In 1874, on the millennial anniversary of the settlement in Iceland, Christian IX became king of Denmark and attended the festivities of the watershed occasion. This opportunity was used to give Iceland its own separate constitution. This constitution was called Stjórnarskrá um hin sérstaklegu málefni Íslands, and was the basis of Iceland's current constitution.

With the sambandslögunum ("relationship law") of 1918, Iceland became a sovereign state and in 1920 the country received a new constitution to reflect this large change. This constitution was called Stjórnarskrá konungsríkisins Íslands. In early 1944 the Althing approved the cancellation of the sambandslögin and agreed to a new constitution, in addition to proclaiming a referendum to both. An election was run in May of the same year and had a turnout of 98%. 97% voted to break off the current relationship law with Denmark and 95% approved a constitutional republic. On June 17, 1944 the Althing met at Þingvellir, where the constitution was ratified and the republic established.

After the ratification of the constitution, it has been amended seven times in total, mostly due to changes in the structure of the constituencies of Iceland and the conditions of voting eligibility. In 1991 the organization of Althing changed so that it now worked in one house rather than two as previously before. Extensive modifications were made in 1995 when the human rights sections of the constitution were reviewed.