government: constitutional republic
state of civil and political rights: Free
constitution: 17 June 1944; amended many times
legal system: civil law system based on Danish system
legislative system: unicameral Parliament (Althing)
judicial system: Supreme Court (justices are appointed for life by the Minister of Justice); eight district courts
religion: Protestant majority
death row:
year of last executions: 0-0-0
death sentences: 0
executions: 0
international treaties on human rights and the death penalty:International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
1st Optional Protocol to the Covenant
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (aiming to the abolition of the death penalty)
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
6th Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (concerning the abolition of the death penalty)
European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
Statute of the International Criminal Court (which excludes the death penalty)
situation:
The death penalty was officially abolished in Iceland in 1928, but it had not been applied since 1830.
The Constitution of the Republic of Iceland (1944, as amended in 1995) states at Art. 69: "A law prescribing the death penalty must never be enacted."
On November 10, 2004, Iceland ratified Protocol No 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms banning the death penalty in all circumstances. It entered into force on March 1, 2005.
On December 16, 2020, Iceland once again co-sponsored and voted in favour of the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly, as in previous years.
