Lagaboðum

Lagaboðum refers to formal directives issued by government authorities under the power of an enabling statute in Icelandic law. They function as secondary, or subordinate, legislation that fills in technical details, administrative procedures, and regulatory standards necessary to implement primary laws (lög). A lagaboð may specify procedural rules, deadlines, penalties, forms, or technical specifications that legislators did not lay out in exhaustive detail.

Such orders derive their authority from the statute they implement and must operate within its scope. If a lagaboð exceeds the powers granted by the enabling law or conflicts with higher law, it may be challenged in court and could be struck down or amended.

They are typically published in the official government gazette, Stjórnartíðindi, and may come into force on a stated date or upon publication. Their creation is generally overseen by a ministry or chief official charged with implementing the statute, and they can be repealed or amended by subsequent lagaboð or by new primary legislation.

Although the term lagaboð appears in legal texts, the contemporary Icelandic term for this kind of instrument is often reglugerð. Lagaboð is thus mostly encountered in historical or formal contexts, while reglugerð describes the same concept in modern usage.