COVID-19 in Iceland: The Need for Constitutional Justification and Checks and Balances

• Main Author: Hafsteinn Dan Kristjánsson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: German; English
• Published: Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog GmbH
• Subjects: COVID 19; Iceland; droit; phil
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/44ee9480b29448a2843970a2ebf2eb74

At the beginning of this pandemic in Iceland, the sense of urgency, uncertainty, and necessity seemed to be front and centre. New and far-reaching restrictions were seen, at least by some, as ‘a necessary evil’ in order to protect us from a new and, in a sense, invisible threat. The learning curve for the government was also steep. According to our law, the government had a wide discretion to address this novel situation. Less than a year later, this is still true to a certain extent. However, whereas the necessity to act was predominant in the first stages of the pandemic, questions of constitutionality and legality are now moving to the forefront.