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Constitutions: send in

the crowds

The Case of Iceland

27 June 2012

Outline

1) Crash – Serious business, cost 7 times GDP

2) Background – People demanded change

• Most new constitutions arise from crises

3) Process – From national assembly via

constituent assembly to new constitution

• Politicians not involved

4) Substance – Sharp focus on human rights

• One person, one vote; persons v. party lists
• Public ownership of natural resources

5) Method – Similar to US 1787

6) Obstacles – Usual suspects

3. process

• Parliament decided to proceed in three steps
• Convene National Assembly
  • 1,000 persons selected at random through stratified sampling to secure fair representation
• Appoint Constitutional Committee to gather

information, provide analysis, propose ideas

• Seven members from different directions (law, literature, science), produced 700-page report
• Hold election of Constitutional Assembly

representatives

• 25 representatives elected from among 522 candidates by STV (Single Transferable Vote) method to minimize number of ‘dead’ votes

3. process

• Civilized campaign – not a campaign, really

• Candidates viewed themselves not as

competitors but rather as advocates of a

common cause

• The 25 elected were doctors, lawyers,

priests, and professors, yes, …

• … but also company board members, a farmer,

a fighter for the rights of handicapped persons,

mathematicians, media people, erstwhile MPs,

a nurse, a philosopher, poets and artists,

political scientists, a theatre director, and a

union leader

• Good cross section of society

4. Substance

• Two key provisions concerning human rights

• Equal voting rights everywhere
• Public ownership of natural resources

• Other important provisions concerning

• Transparency and the right to information
• Environmental protection
  • Reciprocal rights of man and nature
• Checks and balances, including
  • Appointment of judges and other public officials
  • Independence of state agencies

4. Substance

• Equal voting rights everywhere
  • In Iceland’s electoral system, the number of votes needed to elect an MP for Reykjavík area where 2/ of population reside was 2, 3, and up to 4 times as large as the number of votes needed in rural electoral districts
  • Unequal voting rights constitute a violation of human rights as pointed out by European election supervisors - For over 100 years, representatives of rural areas in parliament have blocked equal voting rights
  • The bill stipulates that voters vote for persons as well as parties, even across party lists, also guaranteeing minimal representation of regions

5. method

• Invitation was well received

• Council received 323 formal proposals
  • All were discussed and answered by one of three committees
• Over 3,600 comments were posted on

website by visitors

• Council members answered many if not most of them
• Direct webcasts, also aired on TV, were

regularly watched by about 150-450 viewers

• Over 50 interviews with Council members and

5. method

• At the same time, many experts advised

the Council every step of the way

• Lawyers and others
• In meetings as well as in writing

• Council could not seek the advice of all

available and eligible experts

• However, like everyone else, they were

welcome to offer their comments and

suggestions

• Council did not invite representatives of

6. obstacles

• Some MPs have at least two strong reasons for

not wanting to see the bill go through

• Equal voting rights article will spoil re-election prospects of some MPs who are the products of an electoral system allowing political parties to allocate ‘safe seats’ to candidates - A bit like asking the turkey to vote for Christmas
• Natural resources article will not please some MPs either because, to quote a former newspaper editor, “it means political suicide to rise against the quota holders in rural areas.”

6. obstacles

 Bill is available in English

 Bill has been in public domain for 11 months

 No significant, concrete, technical criticisms have been voiced against it, nor have flaws been exposed, only points of political disagreement  Critical voices seem to echo special interests (boat owners, politicians) keen to preserve the status quo for their own benefit  Opponents resorted to filibuster in parliament  Polls suggest that 9% of voters trust parliament  Classic contest between special vs. public interest