Yesterday, I essayed the forced Parliament election in Iceland and how this was created by the use of the 'restored honor' law.
So I've spent a fair amount of time reading up on 'restored honor' and how this law was crafted.
What Icelandic people say is that around the late 1930s.....folks were talking about the problem of folks who'd been convicted of crimes and were no longer allowed to vote. The general public felt that once a guy had served his time in prison....he ought to get his ability to vote back.
The population in Iceland in this period? Around 120,000 residents. It's not a lot. No one ever says how many were affected by the jail-and-vote situation. One might take a guess that we are talking about dozens.....not hundreds.
So in 1940, this law was crafted with the intended purpose of just giving you your vote back.
Part of this crafting led to the reputation being restored, and you'd have the chance to hold a public position (like mayor).
Clearing your record? No....it won't do anything with the crime you committed.
To get 'restored honor'? You fill out a form and identify our past crime. No one says much over how much information is required. I doubt if it's more than four pages max. Then there's the matter of the three letters of recommendation. Character references....would be an appropriate translation. You find three folks who have some upstanding situation in the community and they will vouch for your character. Then the whole thing is packaged up and sent to the Justice Ministry. They review and make a decision. Once passed by them....it goes to the Icelandic President, and he signs. It's finished then....you have 'restored honor'.
If you go and look at commentary around Iceland....the public is fairly hyped up over this whole 'restored honor' business. It is front-page news and the number chat-item on social media. The odds that the 'restored honor' law will be dumped after this election? I'd likely bet on some modification occurring, without a complete dump of the law.
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