The Constitutional Committee completed its task of creating a draft for Iceland’s new constitution yesterday, and will soon be submitted to parliament.
Iceland’s original constitution is more or less borrowed from the Danes. In the wake of the 2008 economic collapse, a public outcry to change the very structure of Iceland’s socio-political system led to an initiative to write a new constitution. The committee – comprised of 25 men and women from around Iceland, and appointed by the Prime Minister for the task – have for the past few months been working on writing a new constitution for Iceland.
During this time, the committee has been posting their progress on a website, inviting comments from the general public on what changes they would like to see, or what changes the public would like made to new constitutional articles that the committee has drafted.
The committee concluded their work yesterday, and the new constitution has been submitted to the Prime Minister, who will in turn submit it to parliament for possible changes and an eventual vote.
The changes made to Iceland’s political structure include a re-working of government checks and balances, how natural resources may be used, and the role of the president.
A final vote on the matter is not yet for months to come, but this remains nonetheless a landmark in Icelandic history.
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