Historical background Althing

1 historical background

1.1 foundation
1.2 lögrétta
1.3 monarchy until 1800
1.4 high court: 1800–1845
1.5 consultative assembly: 1845–1874
1.6 legislative assembly 1874
1.7 home rule
1.8 personal union
1.9 republic
1.10 recent elections

historical background
foundation

the alþingi claims longest running parliament in world. establishment, outdoor assembly or thing held on plains of Þingvellir ( thing fields ) year 930 ad, laid foundation independent national existence in iceland. begin with, althing general assembly of icelandic commonwealth, country s powerful leaders (goðar) met decide on legislation , dispense justice. free men attend assemblies, main social event of year , drew large crowds of farmers , families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers , travellers. attending assembly lived in temporary camps (búðir) during session. centre of gathering lögberg, or law rock, rocky outcrop on lawspeaker (lögsögumaður) took seat presiding official of assembly. responsibilities included reciting aloud laws in effect @ time. duty proclaim procedural law of althing attending assembly each year.

19th-century rendering of law rock in Þingvellir.


lögrétta

public addresses on matters of importance delivered @ law rock , there assembly called order , dissolved. lögrétta, legislative section of assembly, powerful institution. comprised 39 district goðar plus 9 additional members , lawspeaker. legislative section of althing, lögrétta took stand on legal conflicts, adopted new laws , granted exemptions existing laws. althing of old performed judicial function , heard legal disputes in addition spring assemblies held in each district. after country had been divided 4 quarters around 965 ad, court of 36 judges (fjórðungsdómur) established each of them @ althing. court (fimmtardómur) established in 11th century. served supreme court of sorts, , assumed function of hearing cases left unsettled other courts. comprised 48 judges appointed goðar of lögrétta.

monarchy until 1800

when icelanders submitted authority of norwegian king under terms of old covenant (gamli sáttmáli) in 1262, function of althing changed. organization of commonwealth came end , rule of country goðar ceased. executive power rested king , officials, royal commissioners (hirðstjórar) , district commissioners (sýslumenn). before, lögrétta, comprising 36 members, continued principal institution , shared formal legislative power king. laws adopted lögrétta subject royal assent and, conversely, if king initiated legislation, althing had give consent. lawspeaker replaced 2 legal administrators, called lögmenn.

towards end of 14th century, royal succession brought both norway , iceland under control of danish monarchy. introduction of absolute monarchy in denmark, icelanders relinquished autonomy crown, including right initiate , consent legislation. after that, althing served exclusively court of law until year 1800.

high court: 1800–1845

the althing disbanded royal decree in 1800. new high court, established same decree , located in reykjavík, took on functions of lögrétta. 3 appointed judges first convened in hólavallarskóli on 10 august 1801. high court hold regular sessions , function court of highest instance in country. operated until 1920, when supreme court of iceland established.

consultative assembly: 1845–1874

a royal decree providing establishment of new althing issued on 8 march 1843. elections held following year , assembly met on 1 july 1845 in reykjavík. icelandic nationalists (the fjölnir group) did not want reykjavík location newly established althing due perception city influenced danes. jón sigurðsson claimed situating of althing in reykjavík make city icelandic.

it comprised 26 members sitting in single chamber. 1 member elected in each of 20 electoral districts , 6 royally nominated members appointed king. suffrage was, following danish model, limited males of substantial means , @ least 25 years of age, begin meant 5% of population. regular session lasted 4 weeks , extended if necessary. during period, althing acted merely consultative body crown. examined proposed legislation , individual members raise questions discussion. draft legislation submitted government given 2 readings, introductory 1 , final one. proposals adopted called petitions. new althing made number of improvements legislation , administration of country.

legislative assembly 1874

parliament house, @ austurvöllur in reykjavík, built 1880–1881.

the constitution of 1874 granted althing joint legislative power crown in matters of exclusive icelandic concern. @ same time national treasury acquired powers of taxation , financial allocation. king retained right veto legislation , often, on advice of ministers, refused consent legislation adopted althing. number of members of althing increased 36, 30 of them elected in general elections in 8 single-member constituencies , 11 double-member constituencies, other 6 appointed crown before. althing divided upper chamber, known efri deild , lower chamber, known nedri deild. 6 elected members , 6 appointed ones sat in upper chamber, meant latter prevent legislation being passed acting bloc. twenty-four elected representatives sat in lower chamber. 1874 until 1915 ad hoc committees appointed. after 1915 7 standing committees elected each of chambers. regular sessions of althing convened every other year. supplementary session first held in 1886, , these became more frequent in 20th century. althing met 1881 in newly built parliament house. governor-general (landshöfðingi) highest representative of government in iceland , responsible advisor iceland (Íslandsráðgjafi) in copenhagen.

home rule

a constitutional amendment, confirmed on 3 october 1903, granted icelanders home rule , parliamentary government. hannes hafstein appointed icelandic minister on 1 february 1904 answerable parliament. minister had have support of majority of members of althing; in case of vote of no confidence, have step down. under constitutional amendment of 1903, number of members increased four, total of forty. elections althing had traditionally been public – voters declared aloud of candidates supported. in 1908 secret ballot adopted, ballot papers on names of candidates printed. single election day entire country @ same time made mandatory. when constitution amended in 1915, royally nominated members of althing replaced 6 national representatives elected proportional representation entire country.

personal union

the act of union took effect on 1 december 1918 made iceland state in personal union king of denmark. set expire after 25 years, when either state choose leave union. althing granted unrestricted legislative power. in 1920 number of members of althing increased 42. since 1945, althing has customarily assembled in autumn. constitutional act of 1934 number of members increased 7 , system of national representatives abolished in favour of 1 providing eleven seats used equalize discrepancies between parties popular vote , number of seats received in althing, raising number of members of althing 49. in 1934, voting age lowered 21. further changes in 1942 provided additional 3 members , introduced proportional representation in double-member constituencies. constituencies 28 in number: 21 single-member constituencies; 6 double-member constituencies; , reykjavík, elected 8 members. additional eleven equalization seats, total number of members 52.

republic

when denmark occupied germany on 9 april 1940 union iceland severed. on following day, althing passed 2 resolutions, investing icelandic cabinet power of head of state , declaring iceland accept full responsibility both foreign policy , coastal surveillance. year later althing adopted law creating position of regent represent crown. position continued until act of union repealed, , republic of iceland established, @ session of althing held @ Þingvellir on 17 june 1944.

in 1959 system of electoral districts changed completely. country divided 8 constituencies proportional representation in each, in addition previous eleven equalization seats. total number of members elected 60. in 1968, althing approved lowering of voting age 20 years. further amendment constitution in 1984 increased number of members 63 , reduced voting age 18 years. constitutional amendment of june 1999, implemented in may 2003, constituency system again changed. number of constituencies cut 8 six; constituency boundaries fixed law. further major changes introduced in althing in may 1991: assembly sits unicameral legislature. there twelve standing committees.

recent elections

while elections may held every 4 years, can held more due extenuating circumstances.

icelandic parliamentary election, 2003
icelandic parliamentary election, 2007
icelandic parliamentary election, 2009
icelandic parliamentary election, 2013
icelandic parliamentary election, 2016
icelandic parliamentary election, 2017




^ cite error: named reference eu-oldest invoked never defined (see page).
^ cite error: named reference cnbc-oldest invoked never defined (see page).
^ alþingi (pdf). althingi.is. alþingi. retrieved 7 april 2017. 
^ lögberg -the law rock . thingvellir.is. Þjóðgarðurinn á Þingvöllum. retrieved 7 april 2017. 
^ karlsson, gunnar (2000). history of iceland. p. 206. 
^ clements encyclopedia of world governments, volume 8, john clements political research, incorporated, 1989, page 162