Search results

Science and Technology Policy Council The Science and Technology Policy Council is responsible for setting public policy in matters of science and technology in Iceland. The role of the Science and T...

The Schengen Cooperation The Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985 by the the Governments of Germany, France and the Benelux states, i.e. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Schengen coopera...

Anti-Money laundering and Terrorist-Financing AML/CFT policies The Governments policy on AML, CFT and CPF was published in July 2019. The policy states clear determination to on-going combat of money...

Prevention of brush fires Brush fires can spread rapidly, for instance, in dry conditions and strong winds and in many cases can result in extensive damage. Lighting fires outdoors is prohibited wher...

Meteorology and Natural Hazards Iceland is an unusally dynamic country in terms of weather and tectonic forces. This means that Icelanders have to be prepared for a multitude of natural hazards: Stor...

Planning Planning matters include everything from the National Planning Strategy to planning by local authorities, including regional, municipal and detail plans. These plans comprise a formal, bindi...

Environmental Impact Assessment Assessment of the impact of projects on the environment involves evaluating and providing information on the probable effects of specific undertakings on the environme...

Construction Legislation and regulations on construction are intended to ensure that structures are safe and do not present a threat to human life or health, or to property and the environment. It is...

The Public Procurement Complaints Commission The role of the Commission is to settle, quickly and impartially, complaints submitted by undertakings relating to alleged violations of the Public Procur...

Master Plan for Nature Protection and Energy Utilization The Icelandic Master Plan for Nature Protection and Energy utilization is a tool to reconcile the often competing interests of nature conserva...

Regional Plans of Action Regional plans of action are strategic plans that include the jurisdictions of regional Associations of Local Authorities. They consist of an assessment of the situation of t...

Legal aid in Iceland - basic information Legal aid is provided for all individuals involved in judicial proceedings in Iceland. Foreign nationals who are involved in judicial proceedings in Iceland m...

The Judicial System in Iceland A new court level was introduced in Iceland on 1 January 2018, replacing the former two tiers with a three-tier system. The new court is called the Court of Appeal (Ice...

Geodata Geodata is basic data on the country ensuring public access to information on the environment and nature. The data is also important to support the government's policy formulation and activit...

Equality The objective of the Gender Equality Act is to prevent discrimination on the basis of gender and to maintain gender equality and equal opportunities for the genders in all spheres of society...

Housing Complaints Committee Last modified June 2021 What can be appealed to the Housing Complaints Committee? Disagreement between tenants and landlords regarding the implementation and/or the draft...

Icelandic Coat of Arms Description Iceland's coat of arms is a silver cross in a sky-blue field, with a bright red cross inside the silver cross. The arms of the cross shall extend to the rim of the ...

Icelandic National Flag Design Regular national flag The following description of the Icelandic national flag is given in Article 1 of the Flag Act No. 34/1944: “The blue hoist sections are square an...

National Anthem History The Icelandic national anthem (Our country's God) was originally written as a hymn on the occasion of the nationwide celebrations held in 1874 to commemorate the millennium of...

How is Iceland governed? Iceland is a constitutional republic with a multi-party system. The head of state is . Executive power is exercised by the Government. Iceland is arguably the world's oldest ...