The Icelandic Republic and Its Legal System

THE ICELAND REPUBLIC AND ITS LEGAL SYSTEM. BY JOHN THORGEIRSON. It is a well known fact that in Iceland was a regularly established republican form of government, which existed from the latter part of the ninth century to 1270 A. D. There are at present several vellum manuscripts extant, which contain, at least in part, the laws of Iceland as a republic. The most important one of these is a book of tanned calf-skin called Konungsbok (the King's Book), which is in the Royal Library of Denmark. It was presented to King Frederik III, in the year 1656, by Brynjolf Sveinson, who was then bishop of Iceland. The book is thirteen and one-half inches long, nine and one-fourth inches broad, and has one hundred and eighty-six pages. According to the investigation of the most reliable antiquarians it appears to have been written about the middle of the thirteenth century. It is well preserved, and the leaves are yet white and glossy. Dr. William Finsen, one of the leading Icelandic archaeologists and barristers, issued some time ago an accurate and critical edition of this valuable work. It is in two volumes and is divided into fifteen parts or divisions. First is the ecclesiastical law, which takes up eighteen pages of the vellum; second, rules of order, which occupies forty-two pages; third, military and criminal law, sixteen pages ; fourth, on weights and measures, comparative value of gold, silver, etc., seven pages; fifth, the authority and

duties of the president, two pages; sixth, the power and duties of congress {Althing), thirteen pages; seventh, laws of inheritance and family rights, twelve pages; eighth, law regarding the providing for the poor and indigent, eleven pages; ninth, law regarding engagements, marriages, etc., twenty-eight pages ; tenth, regarding real estate, etc., thirty-three pages ; eleventh, on rents, eleven pages; twelfth, on legal proceedings, etc., fourteen pages; thirteenth, on the civil division of the land, four pages; and fifteenth, on miscellaneous formulas and laws, consisting of fifteen pages, which completes the vellum King's Book, It was in the year 874 A. D. that Ingolf, the first settler in Iceland, arrived, and during the sixty years following the emigration was so heavy that it is regarded that at the end of that period Iceland had as great a population as she has ever had, it being estimated that about that time the inhabitants numbered no less than one hundred and fifty thousand. Prior to 927 the civil affairs of the land were in a very unsettled condition, yet judiciary districts had been established here and there by those who resided in different localities. It was in the year 924 that a man by the name of Ulfljot was selected and sent to Norway, by the assistance of the best legal lights in that country, to draft a brief code of laws for the purpose of establishing Iceland on a firm basis as an independent republic. Having spent three years at this, Ulfljot came back. Then a man by the name of Grimm was sent out to select a suitable place to hold the national congress ; he chose the world-famous place, Logberg, by the river Oxara, where the leading men of the land met in a council in the summer of 927 A. D., and adopted the law that Ulfljot brought, honoring him by unanimously electing him the first president of the Icelandic Republic. How much of this first law is preserved is unknown with the exception of the official oath and a few other unimportant matters which are preserved in the Sagas. The majority of the inhabitants were of the Asa faith. The administration of the oath was as follows: The man who was to take the oath was required to take two witnesses with him and go up to the altar and there take a gold ring that must not weigh less than two ounces, and was provided and placed on the altar for that purpose. It had first to be dipped into the warm blood, of an ox

Putting it on his hand, he said, '1 call so and so as the first witness, and so and so as the other witness, that I perform an oath by this ring, a lawful oath, so help me Freyr, Njordur arid the almighty god, that I will so prosecute, defend, testify or render judgment, as I know to be the most right, the most truthful and in the nearest conformity to the law. And to do according to law every and all legal duties that will be required of me to do, while I am at this court." In connection with this I wish to explain that this almighty god spoken of in the oath was Odin, and the other two were also among the chiefest of the Norse—Icelandic gods. It is also worth mentioning that in those heathen times, and according to the heathen law, perjury, murder, and taking a woman by force, were such gross crimes, that those committing them could not be ransomed. Any man found guilty of any of those crimes forfeited his life, and his property was confiscated by the state; a portion of the property was however used to pay damages to the wronged one, and the heirs of the guilty party lost all their natural rights. At the session of the first national congress, a general as well as local form of government was adopted for the whole land but it was not till about A. D. 960 that the organization was completed, when the whole land was divided into thirty-nine chieftainships. Three chieftainships formed one judicial district. Three judicial districts formed one judicial quarter, except in the northern quarter, where there were four. Each quarter was entitled to twelve representatives to the national congress, each of them selecting two counselors, whose duty it was to assist the representatives. These counselors had the right to discuss and debate in congress, but could not vote. The place where the assembly met was in the open air. In the plain Thingvoll three benches were ^put up in a hollow square. On the middle bench the people's representatives sat, while the two counselors of each sat one on the front bench in the front of his master, and the other behind. Each new law had to be read aloud before all present for three successive years in congress {Althing), and if during that time no successful objection was made thereto, it became a statutory law. Any one present had a right to make objection to the new law inymali), and any objection or anything of that kind must be taken

notice of no matter though the objector was not a member of congress. The president of the Icelandic Republic presided in the Althing like the vice-president of the United States does in the senate. During the earlier years of the republic, it appears that a two-thirds majority was required to carry a measure, but in later years a majority was sufficient, no matter how small. The place itself where the Althing (the national congress) met was called Lawyard. The number of men that had a seat there were forty-eight representatives, ninety-six counselors and the president. But after A. D. 1000, when Christianity was lawfully established as the national faith, the two bishops had their seat also, which made the number altogether one hundred and forty-seven. Althing met every year in the month of June, and was about two weeks, or hardly that long, in a session. Going home, the representatives and their counselors were required by law to hold meetings in every specified locality, and read to the people all new laws and amendments to laws that were passed at that session of Althing. To more fully explain how the legislative system was worked I shall have to cite the passing of a few important statutes. It was but shortly after the establishment of the Althing that it was noticed through the movements of the sun that a year of three hundred and sixty-four days was too short. To regulate this a man by the name of Thorstein Surt—it is not said whether he was a member of congress or not—proposed to add one week to the summer every seventh year, which was unanimously passed. The most remarkable case of law making was in the year 1000, when Christianity was established by law as the national religion. It was during the session of the Althing the year before that Hjalti Skeggason, one of the foremost men in the land, was found guilty of blasphemy against the gods, due to some cause not recorded. He said: "To fear the gods I folly see — Freya appears a wretch to me." Freya was the goddess of marriage and one which was highly adored; and for making such a remark about her he was exiled. Hjalti went to Norway that fall and went to King Olaf Triggvason, who was a very zealous Christian. Hjalti was baptized the next

spring into the Christian church, and was sent by King Olaf as a missionary to Iceland. Among the early settlers in Iceland were not a few who came from the British Isles, who had been reared in the Christian faith. But it appears that the majority of settlers were heathens, or rather of the Asa faith. All those in authority seem to have belonged to the latter class. Hjalti came to Thingvoll while Althing was in session, and got permission to deliver a sermon at Logberg. Every year a vast number of men and w^omen v/ere present during the session of Althing, and this time was no exception. Hjalti's sermon put a new life into those who had been reared in the Christian faith, which caused them to rebel and secede from the heathens, and elect a man by the name of Hall for their president. He was a close relative to Duke Rollo, the founder of Normandy. All the men were armed, but no fighting was done. On being elected by the adherents to Christianity, President Hall called his people together and required from their hands unlimited authority to act in their behalf, and made them, by a most sacred oath, obligate themselves to be satisfied with whatever he sav/ fit to do, regarding this most important question. This being done, he went to the real president, whose name was Thorgeir, and resigned his authority to him. This being done, President Thorgeir w^ent to his booth and forbid any one to disturb him for a day and a night. On the morning of June 24th he called the people together, explaining to them the great national difficulty that confronted them, saying, among other things, "If we are not all governed by the same law our peace, security and freedom are gone, for which our fathers and mothers left their native lands, and came here to establish." He reminded them that the disunion of the peoples of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and England, paved the way for absolute monarchy and thraldom. "To avoid this, here in this land," he said, "we must all be governed by the same law, and the same men. I therefore, for the security of our freedom, national unity and independence, advise that we adopt Christianity to be our national faith, cease worshiping idols and offering sacrifices to them, and we each and every one of us, young and old, men and women, be baptized into the Christian faith." Having before he began his speech secured the promise of

the assemblage to abide by his decision, and being sustained in his opinion by the majority of the congressmen, as well as many of the leading men of the land, Christianity was then and there adopted by law, and mad« the national faith of the Icelandic Republic. So much at the present in regard to the legislative system. I shall now proceed to give a brief account of the judicial one. As before stated, about 960 A. D., the land was divided into regular judicial districts; the chief divisions being four quarters, respectively called the southern, western, northern, and eastern quarters. Each quarter again was divided into three judicial districts, except the northern one, which, due to geographical condition and the wishes of its inhabitants, was divided into four; each of those consisting of three chieftainships. One of the duties of the chieftains was by and with the consent of the people of their respective districts to select twelve jurors; the whole number being according to law thirty-six. The verdict of a majority was a legal decision. From those courts appeals could be made to the quarter courts, where were also thirty-six jurors or domsnefud— doom-namers—as they were called. The law also provided that a preliminary hearing could be had in every locality; and to secure which the party aggrieved had a right to call together, without any previous notice, a committee of five, nine or twelve men in his immediate neighborhood; a decision by whom, in many cases, according to the law, could be final. Besides those districts and quarter courts, it was also provided by law that at Thingvoll, where the national congress met, four courts, also called quarter courts, were established, which were both courts of appeal, and where such cases should be tried when the parties to the suit resided in two or more judicial quarters. ^ How the jurors for those courts were selected, and how many it took to constitute the court is not agreed upon by those who have written about the subject. Dr. Konrad Mauree says thirtysix; Dr. William Finsen claims it was only nine. According to the meagre account given in Kings Book and the Sagas, it seems that thirty-six was the right number, nine from each quarter; and that there were certain places and probably certain day^ appointed for

the different quarter courts to be held; but the same thirty-six men served as jurors in all places and in all cases. It was in the year 1005 that through the subtilty and trickery of the la\A7ers, several important cases could not be settled, which came near causing bloodshed and anarchy. The greatest barrister and legislator in the republic at that time was a man named Nial Thorgeirson, who doubtless was one of the people's representatives. When the Althing met the next summer, there was a good deal of discontent among those who the year previous could not get their rights because of the alleged defects of the judicial system; and that discontent came near resulting in a general uproar and lawlessness. Several of the more cool-headed ones went to Nial to confer with him, and seek his advice, saying that lawlessness would be unavoidable if some remedy could not be provided. A great many did not lay their grievances before the courts, saying it was useless, as the only way to settle one's difficulties would be by force of arms. The account of this is recorded in the 97th chapter of the Saga of Nial Thorgeirson, where he is represented as saying of the proposition of resorting to arms: "That must not be done, and it is unbecoming not to have laws in the land. Yet you have considerable cause to be discontented, and the responsibility is with us who know the law, and are the makers thereof. Hence my advice is that w^e, the lawmakers, come together and see what can be done." They then went to the law-yard. Nial addressed himself to Skapti Thoroddson, who at that time was the president, and the members of congress, saying: "I wish to call your attention to the fact that our judiciary affairs are getting to be in a dreadful shape; if we shall bring our cases into the quarter courts, and through chicanery a decision is impossible, to me it seems the best plan that a fifth court be established, where those cases that can not be brought to a finish in the quarter courts, can be heard, and a decision rendered." Says Skapti: "How are you going to get officers to sit in that court, seeing that already three dozen jurymen have been selected out of each quarter of the land to sit in the quarter courts?" "I see how that can be done," says Nial, "select the best men

out of each quarter, allowing them to join any district that suits them." "That suits me," says Skapti, "but what cases are to be tried at that court?" "Disturbances and disorder at the law-yard shall be tried there. All perjury and false charges. All the cases that cannot be brought to an end in the quarter courts, and all bribes, whether paid or received. In this court shall be all the strongest oaths, and two men as vouchers to follow every oath who shall on their honor guarantee the truthfulness of the swearer. Every case shall be handled here as in the quarter courts, with the exception that there shall be forty-eight jurors in the fifth court. Of those, the plaintiff shall withdraw, or object to, six,and the defendant the other six. If the defendant does not withdraw any, then the prosecutor or plaintiff shall withdraw twelve; but if he does not withdraw any, then the case shall be lost; as the number of the jurors shall not be more than thirty-six. It shall belong to congress to decide what is a law, as also to grant special privileges or exceptions. But if a man who is personally interested in the case there under consideration, regards his right infringed upon by this granting of special privileges or exceptions, he shall have the right to make a lawful objection before the congress, and then such privilege or exception shall be void." President Skapti Thoroddson then laid this proposition before congress, and it was carried. This took place in the year 1006 A. D. In the fifth court, as vv^ell as in others, a simple majority no matter how small, ruled. One of the chief causes that cases could not be settled in the quarter courts, was a tie which some lawyers and influential men caused by money and trickery. According to law the plaintiff or prosecutor was first, the person injured, then his or her nearest relatives; then the chieftain (Godi) of the district where the person injured resided. In the earliest part of the republic, women were lawful prosecutors as well as men; but on one occasion in an important suit where women were prosecutors, the prosecution was so weak, that injustice prevailed. Next year it was made a law that women should not be acknowledged legal prosecutors, but they could select a man to represent their interest at law; but if they

did not avail themselves of these privileges, it was the duty of the chieftain of that district where the wronged woman resided, to see to it that her legal interest was duly represented. The right for the parties to a suit, to settle it between themselves in a friendly manner, was reserved by law except in case of murder, perjury, rape, and suchlike crimes.