III. THE CONSTITUTION
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
According to paragraph 1 of the Icelandic constitution the form of
government is a limited monarchy, and § 2 of the constitution prescribes
 that the legislative power rests jointly with the crown and
Althingi. The executive power is vested in the crown, while the administration
 of justice is exercised by the courts. As will appear below the
constitution has not followed this division of powsr with full consistency.

THE ROYAL POWER, THE COUNCIL OF STATE
AND THE CABINET
The king has the highest power in all affairs of the State, subject
to the reservations set forth in the constitution. The kingdom passes
in direct male line to the descendants of king Christian IX and his
queen, Louise. The Crown-prince, in order to succeed to the throne,
must belong to the Lutheran Church; and he must not, without the
sanction of Althingi and the Rigsdag, be the sovereign of another
country. But in order to be able to exercise the royal power, he
must have reached the age (18 years) fixed by the law; he must be
so sound in mind and body as to be fit to discharge his official duties;
 he must be able personally to exercise his royal power, and
he must have taken an oath of fidelity to the constitution. If the king
is not in a condition to reign, the heir to the crown, a special regent,
or the council of State, exercises the royal power ad interim. The
king's person is sacred, and he enjoys in an especial degree the protection
 of the law. The Civil List of the king is fixed by law.
The king is exempted from responsibility, but the ministers are responsible
 for the conduct of affairs. The king appoints the ministers,
accepts their resignation, fixes their number, and defines their respective
 spheres of action. As a rule, the ministers have been three
since 1917, but sometimes a minister has been in charge of more
than one department for a short period of time. The king decides
which of the ministers shall be the premier. The seat of the government
 is Reykjavik. In order to be valid, all royal decrees, both concerning
 legislative and administrative affairs, must be countersigned
by a minister. All laws and important measures must be laid before
the king in council composed of the ministers and the Crown-prince,
if he is of age, and presided over by the king. Qutside Iceland the