Icelandic Constitutional Assembly
Encyclopedia
An Icelandic Constitutional Assembly (Stjórnlagaþing) for the purpose of reviewing the Constitution
of the Republic was summoned by an act of Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, on June 16, 2010 as a conseccuence of the Kitchenware Revolution. In an election on November 27, 2010, 25 delegates were elected. On January 25, 2011, following complaints about several faults in how the election was conducted, the Supreme Court of Iceland invalidated the results of the election. The parliament began the same day with deliberations on whether and how to continue the process, and they decided that those 25 elects would be a part of a Contitutional Council and the Constitutional change went on. On 29th July, 2011 the draft was presented to the Parliament.
The Assembly will for the first time in Iceland's history review broad areas of the constitution:
The Constitutional Assembly is also empowered to address additional matters beyond “reviewing the Constitution of the Republic”.
Constitution of Iceland
The Constitution of Iceland is the supreme law of Iceland. It is composed of 80 articles in seven sections, and within it the leadership arrangement of the country is determined and the human rights of its citizens are preserved. The current constitution was first instituted on June 17, 1944; since...
of the Republic was summoned by an act of Althingi, the Icelandic parliament, on June 16, 2010 as a conseccuence of the Kitchenware Revolution. In an election on November 27, 2010, 25 delegates were elected. On January 25, 2011, following complaints about several faults in how the election was conducted, the Supreme Court of Iceland invalidated the results of the election. The parliament began the same day with deliberations on whether and how to continue the process, and they decided that those 25 elects would be a part of a Contitutional Council and the Constitutional change went on. On 29th July, 2011 the draft was presented to the Parliament.
Act on a Constitutional Assembly
According to the Act on a Constitutional Assembly no. 90/2010, a special Constitutional Assembly will gather for the purpose of reviewing the Constitution of the Republic, no. 33 of June 17, 1944. The Assembly was to be composed of 25 delegates that were elected by direct personal election. The Assembly had to convene by February 15, 2011 and finish its work no later than April 15, 2011.Purpose
The Assembly is to prepare a proposal for a revised Constitution of the Republic and when the Assembly has passed the constitutional bill, it shall be sent to the Althingi, which is constitutionally responsible for the passing of laws to change the Constitution. After its decision, elections need to be called, in which the electorate makes the final decision on changes to the constitution. The aim of the Assembly is to enable a "dialogue between the peoples and their legislature". The Constitutional Assembly builds on National Forum 2010 (Þjóðfundur) of 1000 citizens which developed themes for the new constitution on November 6, 2010.The Assembly will for the first time in Iceland's history review broad areas of the constitution:
The Constitutional Assembly is also empowered to address additional matters beyond “reviewing the Constitution of the Republic”.
Elections to the Constitutional Assembly
External links
- Official website (English)