Stöðulögin (The Laws of Standing, da, Landsstillingsloven or formally , Law of 2 January 1871 on the constitutional standing of Iceland within the realm) were laws passed by

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

in 1871, determining the standing of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

in relation to the Danish state. The laws were followed by the granting of Iceland's first constitution in 1874. Some time had passed since the abolition of

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...

of the Danish king in 1848, and the

Danish parliament The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands an ...

had acquired legislative powers, while the Icelandic

Althing The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly ...

was only a consultative assembly. The status of the

Constitution of Denmark The Constitutional Act of the Realm of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Riges Grundlov), also known as the Constitutional Act of the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply the Constitution ( da, Grundloven, fo, Grundlógin, kl, Tunngaviusumik inatsit), is the c ...

in Iceland was disputed: while the Danish government and legal experts claimed that the constitution did include Iceland, even though it had only to a limited degree become effective there, Icelandic politicians and

Jón Sigurðsson Jón Sigurðsson (17 June 1811 – 7 December 1879) was the leader of the 19th century Icelandic independence movement. Biography Born at Hrafnseyri, in Arnarfjörður in the Westfjords area of Iceland, he was the son of Þórdís Jónsdótti ...

in particular stated that the constitution was not valid in Iceland as it had never been formally made public there and as the royal promise that Iceland would be consulted on the constitution had not been fulfilled. The Danish trade monopoly had been abolished in 1855, and the Icelanders' struggle for independence, led by Jón Sigurðsson and his supporters, found little backing in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. The proposed Icelandic constitution was accepted by the

with some changes, but their amendments were turned down by the Danish parliament in 1867. The Danes passed the ''Stöðulög'', which declared Iceland to be an inseparable part of Denmark.Björn Thorsteinsson, p. 226. As compensation for this, the Danish state was to pay the Icelanders 50 thousand rigsdaler for the next ten years, decreasing to 30 thousand the following 20 years. The Icelanders were not happy with these laws, and the Althing voted against them 10 votes to 14 but accepted the financial subsidy.Steining, p. 335. According to the bill, the new office of "Land-Chief of Iceland" was introduced. This official was to run the country according to orders from Denmark. The first to occupy this office was Hilmar Finsen, who began his duties on 1 April 1873.

Notes

References

*Björn Thorsteinsson (1985). ''Island'' . Politikens Danmarkshistorie. Politikens Forlag. . *Steining, Jørgen (1953). "Danmark og Island" in Fabricius, Knud; Bomholt, Jul.; Hjelholt, Holger; Mackeprang, M.; Møller, Andr. (eds.) ''Den danske rigsdag 1849–1949 bind VI''. Copenhagen: J. H. Schultz Forlag. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stodulog Legal history of Denmark Legal history of Iceland 1871 in law 19th century in Denmark 1871 in Denmark 1871 in Iceland