The (pronounced ; ) is the unicameral parliament of the Faroe Islands, a country within the Danish Realm.
The name literally means that is, a law assemblyand derives from Old Norse , which was a name given to ancient assemblies. A ting or þing has existed on the Faroe Islands for over a millennium and the was the highest authority on the islands in the Viking era. From 1274 to 1816 it functioned primarily as a judicial body, whereas the modern established in 1852 is a parliamentary assembly, which gained legislative power when home rule was introduced in 1948. Together with the Manx Tynwald and the Icelandic Alþing, the is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world, all three holding lineages to the old Norse assemblies of mainland Europe.
Today, the Faroe Islands comprise one constituency, and the number of MPs is fixed at 33. The first election with this new system was held on 19 January 2008, after the Election law was changed in late 2007, prior to which the membership of the varied from 27 to 32. The 7 constituencies had 27 seats and up to 5 supplementary seats. That Election Act came into force in 1978, and the eight general elections between 1978 and 2004 all resulted in 32 members.
The is elected for a period of four years. Election of the can take place before the end of an election period if the agrees on dissolving itself. The () issues a proclamation of the forthcoming election and appoints the day of election, which must take place, at the earliest, six weeks after the proclamation.
History The Viking Age The Faroese ting or assembly was originally a so-called alþing, with both legislative and judicial authority. During this time, there was no executive authority in the country. The Faroese society was a family society (eitt ættarsamfelag), where the families saw to it that the judgments and resolutions of the Løgting were put into practice.
There is some evidence that the Faroes were already colonised as early as 650. The first inhabitants, who were of Celtic descent, were driven out by Norse landnamsmen in about 825. Faroese society in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages resembled the other Nordic populations in many ways. This was particularly true when it came to legislation. The most important body of law was the Gulatingslógin, an ancient Norwegian agricultural law which originated in the Gulating legislative area in Vestlandet in Norway. Originally, this law was preserved through oral tradition, but it was written down about the year 1100.
The earliest historical sources locate the Løgting on the Tinganes a peninsula, today known as the oldest neighbourhood in Tórshavn. In the Viking age, it was a tradition to hold the ting at a neutral and uninhabited place, in order to prevent anyone from having an advantage. There were no settlements on Tinganes at the time, and its central location in relation to the rest of the islands may have made it the most ideal location.
Unlike the Icelandic Althing, the Løgting's foundation is not historically documented; however, it is implied to be a well-established institution when it is mentioned for the first time in the Færeyinga saga as the Straumseyarþing ("Streymoy thing"), in which a mid-10th century legal dispute at the thing between chieftains Havgrímur and Einar Suðuroyingur, resulting in the exile of Eldjarn Kambhøttur, is recounted in detail.
This early Faroese ting was also described as the assembly of the "Faroes' best men" who were a free assembly of the wealthier farmers, and the Faroes constituted a kind of republic with a population of about 4,000 people and 60,000 sheep. The president of the ting was the Løgsøgumaður, who had no voting rights.
The Viking Age in the Faroes ended in 1035 when Tróndur í Gøtu died and Leivur Øssursson (the son-in-law of Sigmundur Brestisson) became liege lord under king Magnus I of Norway. Yet, the Faroes remained a kind of self-governing society for the next 150 years.
Norwegian rule
The status of the Faroes changed under king Magnus VI of Norway, who introduced the Norwegian Landslog (Land's Law) in 1274. By this time, The Faroese ting had become an assembly of representatives of the 6 local vártings, with only judicial authority. This was called lǫgþing in Old Norse, according to the High Courts of Norway. Its president, the Løgmaður, was the presiding judge, and was, from then on, appointed by the king. Its members were called Løgrættumenn (approximately translating to "jurymen"), appointed by the King's Provost on the Faroes.
On 24 June 1298 the Faroes gained its first form of constitution, the Seyðabrævið ("Sheep Letter", concerning sheep breeding): the earliest such document the islands know today.
Around 1380, the Faroes, together with Norway, came under the Danish throne, but the islands preserved their special status as former Norwegian territory. Regardless of these developments, the Løgting preserved a certain influence on the legislature and the administration of the islands until the introduction of the absolute monarchy in 1660 under Frederick III. From that date the influence and authority of the Løgting had become again reduced, and the institution was finally abolished in 1816. At the same time, the judicial authority of the Løgting was transferred to other courts, such as the newly inaugurated Court of the Faroes.
Danish rule
When Denmark received a free and, for that period, democratic constitution in 1849, this signalled the end of the special status the Faroes had held within the kingdom of Denmark. This was enacted without consulting the Faroese population. At that time many of them wished to see the Løgting reinstated, one reason being that they were not satisfied with the situation that the highest Danish government official, called the Amtmaður, was the sole advisory authority on the Faroes on matters of Faroese legislation. Among those who campaigned for political rights of the Faroes was Niels Winther (1822–1892). When the Act of 23 March 1852 was passed it meant that the Faroese Løgting was to be reconstituted, although not as a legislative assembly, but as an advisory body, an amtsráð. The reconstituted Løgting held its first assembly on Ólavsøka in 1852, and thus revived the traditions of the former institution which had been abolished in 1816.
Even though at that time the Løgting had only limited political authority and influence, the institution gradually gained in significance as the representative of the Faroes to the Danish government and parliament (the rigsdag) and as a political forum where politically conscious Faroese islanders could gain experience of politics. The Løgting became the political platform for the Faroese nationalist movement. One of the chief objectives behind the demand for political home rule which its supporters put forward was that the Løgting should have legislative powers.
In the assembly established in 1852, the Amtmaður, the highest Danish government official, was ex officio the president of the Løgting. However, this rule was amended in 1923, so that the president was, from then on, elected by the members of the Løgting. Since 1927, the Løgting protocols are written in Faroese, and in 1935 the Løgting was authorised to levy taxes.
World War II
During World War II, when the Faroes were occupied by the United Kingdom on 12 April 1940 and relations with Denmark were interrupted, the Løgting actually functioned as a legislative assembly, and the Faroes had their own government consisting of the Amtmaður Carl Aage Hilbert and ministers appointed by the Løgting.
In this period, the Faroese proved able to govern themselves. At the end of the war, the independence movement (mainly under influence of the new Fólkaflokkurin) was so powerful that none of the political parties were willing to return to the pre-war situation where the status of the Faroes had practically been that of a Danish county (Færøernes amt).
Self-government Long and laborious negotiations followed between the Danish government and the representatives of the Løgting. Finally a public vote was held on 14 September 1946 where the electorate was to choose between a Danish proposition of Home rule and full secession from Denmark. This election is not considered a referendum, as the parliament was not bound to follow the decision of the vote. The result was a marginal majority of 161 votes for secession from Denmark (48.7% in favour, 47.2% against, 4.1% blank or spoilt).
The republican coalition majority in parliament interpreted the results as a resolve by the Faroese people for full Faroese independence from Denmark and started the process of secession as well as establishing proper governing bodies for an independent Faroese nation. The Government of Denmark contested the legality of this process, and on 25 September the King of Denmark signed a document dissolving the Faroese parliament and a new election was held a few months later. This election resulted in a significant majority of 2,000 votes for the parties favoring a union with Denmark, and a new unionist coalition was formed. Based on their growth in votes they chose not to pass the secession, but as a compromise, the Home Rule Act was constituted and came into force on 1 April 1948.
As it was then, this election is still shrouded in controversy today, and there exist two popular stances in this discussion. On one hand, some people argue that there was a resolve in favor of independence, as there actually was a factual majority for secession, even if it was a small one. On the other hand, other people argue that the majority was far too small, as there were in fact only 161 more votes for independence, and this side specifically argues that only a qualified majority can be large enough grounds to pass a vote of such social and political consequence.
Under the Home Rule Act, the Faroese Løgting is the legislative authority in special Faroese matters, defined as særanliggender, while other areas are administered by the Danish national authorities as common matters, fællesanliggender. With the passing of a new statute in 1995, parliamentarism was legally adopted and at the same time the structure and functions of the Løgting were modernised. A proper Faroese Constitution is planned and underway.
Authority After Home Rule had come into force the parliamentary work of the Løgting changed fundamentally. Before Home Rule the Faroese Parliament had only been a consultative body, whereas now the Faroese Parliament has legislative power within all the branches taken over from the Danish Parliament (Det danske Folketing). According to the Home Rule Act the various branches of legislative power are divided into an A-sector and a B-sector. The several branches within the A-sector can be taken over by the Løgting, if either the Løgting or the Danish Government so wish. The branches within the B-sector can only be transferred to the Løgting if the Faroese Government (Føroya Landsstýri) and the Danish Government agree on the terms.
Matters regarding defence and foreign policy are outside the scope of Home Rule. The Danish Folketing has legislative power in all areas except those which have been taken over by the Løgting. The Faroese have two seats in the Danish Folketing. Within the framework of Home Rule the Løgting provides for constitutional affairs and for the order of business.