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final passing of the budget by both Houses in a united Althingi 
a simple majority of votes is sufficient. 
Provisional Laws. Subject to the restrictions mentioned above 
{under b.) and if it is unavoidable and necessary, the king may 
issue provisional laws in the interval between the annual sessions 
of Althingi, provided these laws do not infringe the constitution. 
Such provisional laws must, however, be submitted to Althingi in 
its next session, and, if not passed there, they are abolished. 
Changes in the Constitution. 1f changes in, or additions to, the 
constitution are passed by Althingi, whether in a regular or a spe- 
cial session, it must at once be dissolved and a general election 
take place. If these changes are passed unaltered by the new as- 
sembly, they are valid as constitutional law after receiving the 
royal assent. 
Changes in the Act of Union and in the Church Organization. 
Any changes in the act of union between Iceland and Denmark, 
or any alterations in the church organization according to § 58 of 
the constitution, passed by Althingi, shall be submitted to a refe- 
rendum at which the ballot is secret. The constitution nrovides that 
the Lutheran Church shall enjoy the support and protection of the 
government as the Established Church of Iceland. 
THE EXECUTIVE POWER 
According to § 2 of the Icelandic constitution, the executive power 
is vested in the king, regarding which the following provisions obtain: 
The king provides for the execution of the laws; this implies that the 
king is the highest administrative official in the couniry. He appoints 
functionaries to the same offices as heretofore, a custom which may, 
however, be changed by law. He may dismiss an official he has ap- 
pointed, or transfer him from one office to another, provided the 
transfer does not entail on the official thus transferred any decrease 
of salary, and provided also that he has been allowed the choice be- 
tween being thus transferred and resigning on his statutory pension 
or on an old age pension fixed by law. This rule, however, does not 
apply to judges (vide infra, justice), and certain other classes of officials 
may by law be exempted from this liability. 
The king negotiates treaties with other States. But such treaties as 
involve surrender of, or obligations on, land or territorial waters, or 
changes in the constitutional law of the country, require the sanction 
of Althingi.