Organization

The Socialist Party of Iceland aims to be a powerful mass movement of the public and actively participate in its struggle for freedom, equality, equal rights, and human dignity in all areas of society. The purpose of the following Organization is to promote democracy, transparency, and decentralization of power in the party's work. No political movement is immune to problems such as clique formation, secrecy, and concentration of power, and the Organization is also intended to curb them.

Equality shall always be a guiding principle in the party's work, whether in the work of boards or in the implementation of random selection, and randomly selected groups shall have an equal gender ratio. The Organization has the status of party laws.

Socialist Congress

The Socialist Congress sets the political policy of the Socialist Party of Iceland based on proposals from Policy Groups, and other party institutions derive their mandate from it regarding policy formulation and implementation. A majority of votes cast at the Socialist Congress decides matters, and attending members have the right to vote.

The Socialist Congress shall be held at least annually and is simultaneously the venue for the annual General Meeting, as described in the Laws. The Socialist Congress can decide to postpone the continuation of General Meeting activities until a specified date within the operating year as often as deemed necessary.

The Socialist Congress is authorized to organize an open agenda, invite speakers from outside the party to address the meeting, and utilize other opportunities to make the Socialist Congress a public event that draws attention to the activities of the Socialist Party of Iceland.

Normally, the Executive Board shall be responsible for the implementation of the Socialist Congress (calling, promotion, provision of premises, agenda setting, etc.), but the Policy Board, Council of Directors, Membership Board, Campaign Board, and Conscience are also authorized to call a Socialist Congress on their own initiative if there is cause, and the Executive Board shall then assist them.

As specified in the laws, the Socialist Congress can call an Extraordinary General Meeting, and the rules of the General Meeting shall then apply to it.

Executive Board

The Executive Board manages the party's laws, organization, and structure and handles all party matters not specified in the laws, organization, or resolutions of the Socialist Congress as being the responsibility of other boards or groups within the party. The Executive Board manages the random selection of the Election Committee and Conscience and supports the work of these groups. The Executive Board oversees the development of work within the party and intervenes if boards become dysfunctional, and monitors that their work complies with the party's laws, organization, and resolutions of the Socialist Congress.

The Executive Board manages the work of collaborative groups such as the Socialist Congress Oversight Committee, where chairpersons and secretaries of all boards hold seats; the Legal and Data Committee, where secretaries of all boards sit; and the Finance Council, which all treasurers appoint in addition to people responsible for fundraising.

Policy Groups and Policy Board

To support the party's policy formulation, the Policy Board operates, which is responsible for implementing policy formulation work between Socialist Congresses and under its mandate. The Policy Board appoints randomly selected groups of members ("Policy Groups") who draft policies in specific policy areas. The Policy Board shall support the work of Policy Groups with advice and action and strive to ensure good working practices and quality outcomes from their work.

The election of the Policy Board takes place at the Socialist Congress. It shall consist of 9 principal members and 4 alternates. The board divides its duties among themselves and shall appoint a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary. The chairperson calls meetings. The Executive Board shall assist the Policy Board as needed but shall not interfere with its work beyond what is approved at the Socialist Congress.

Election Board

The Election Board manages the Socialist Party's candidacies for Alþingi and municipal councils and is responsible for selecting candidate lists using methods approved at a general meeting or membership meeting, formulating election policy based on the party's policies, and conducting election campaigns for parliament and municipal councils.

Candidate lists shall be approved by the Socialist Congress or a membership meeting, and election policy by a joint meeting of all party boards. The Election Board can form sub-groups and sub-boards to handle election monitoring, election management in individual constituencies and municipalities, and other groups if deemed necessary.

The Election Board shall manage political discourse on the party's website, train party spokespersons, organize political meetings, and engage in discussions about the Socialist Party's policy and priorities on a broad platform.

The Election Board is elected at the Socialist Congress and shall consist of 9 principal members and 4 alternates. The Chairperson of the Election Board is elected separately at a membership meeting and is also the political leader of the party in the field of Alþingi and municipal councils. Otherwise, the Election Board divides its duties among themselves, electing a vice-chairperson, secretary, and treasurer.

Within the Election Board, a nine-member Candidate List Nomination Committee operates, whose role is to propose candidate lists for parliamentary elections in all constituencies for approval by a membership meeting.

The Nomination Committee appoints two responsible persons who are in charge of the committee.

The Nomination Committee is authorized to specifically propose leaders for candidate lists and/or the front-line team of the candidacy according to proposals from the Chairperson of the Election Board, who is also the political leader of the candidacy.

Those who run for the Nomination Committee undertake not to run for the top five positions on candidate lists. The Nomination Committee is authorized to form sub-groups in individual constituencies and municipalities if deemed necessary.

The Membership Meeting 2024 defined the mandate of the Nomination Committee upon its election: "The Nomination Committee for the 2024 parliamentary elections is elected to arrange candidate lists in all constituencies and submit them to a membership meeting. The committee receives proposals from the political leader regarding the placement of the top three candidates in each constituency. The committee receives nominations for other positions from all party members and arranges candidates in all positions from the 4th position downwards. The committee submits proposals for a leadership team in one or more constituencies to a membership meeting and completed lists as they are ready."

Regional Associations and Membership Board

Regional Associations shall be operated within the Socialist Party. A Regional Association shall never be smaller than one municipality and may cover several municipalities within a constituency. Regional Associations elect their regional boards with a chairperson, secretary, and treasurer. Regional Associations manage municipal elections in their respective areas. Regional Associations within a constituency shall form a constituency council whose role is to manage parliamentary elections. Members have voting rights and are members of the regional associations where they have legal domicile or residence but enjoy freedom of speech and the right to propose at meetings of all regional associations. Allocations to regional associations shall take into account the number of members, projects, and the party's financial situation at any given time.

Election management includes, list arrangement and everything related to the election campaign of the respective elections.

The Socialist Party of Iceland strives to maintain the strongest possible ties with its members and support them in regular activity and responsible duties within the party. To fulfill this role, the Socialist Congress appoints a Membership Board.

The Membership Board supports Regional Associations to which members in a specific residential area automatically belong. The Regional Associations strengthen the party's ties with members and their local communities and shall strive to hold regular meetings and specifically welcome new members there. The Regional Associations shall also seek ways to recruit new members.

The Executive Board shall provide the Membership Board with access to the membership register and regularly inform it about the registration of new members.

The Membership Board is elected at the Socialist Congress and shall consist of 9 principal members and 4 alternates. It divides its duties among themselves but shall have a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary. The Socialist Congress can decide to allocate funds to the Membership Board to cover costs such as meeting room rental and coffee services. The Membership Board shall then appoint a treasurer, who shall submit financial statements to the treasurer of the Executive Board.

Campaign Groups and Campaign Board

Members of the Socialist Party are authorized to establish independent campaign groups such as Unga sósíalista, Meistaradeild, Verkalýðsráð, Innflytjendaráð, and Öryrkjaráð. These groups are independent and operate according to their own policy statements, able to pass resolutions in their own name but not in the name of the party itself.

Everyone is authorized to establish campaign groups, but permission for their establishment must be sought from the Executive Board. Each group must appoint a board of at least five members, and members of the Socialist Party shall sit on the board. It shall consist of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, treasurer, and one or more co-directors, and these roles shall connect to the party's Campaign Board (chairperson, vice-chairperson), the party's Finance Council (treasurer), and the party's Legal Committee (secretary).

The party's Campaign Board is the liaison between the campaign groups and the Socialist Congress and other party boards and supports the campaign groups in their work and development. The Campaign Board consists of the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of all authorized campaign groups, and the board members elect their own chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary. The Campaign Board is independent and does not fall under other party boards but is accountable to the grassroots at the Socialist Congress.

Trust CouncilThe Trust Council is the confidential and oversight body of the movement. Its role is to resolve disputes that may arise between members. The Trust Council shall promote sound working practices, good communication, respect for individuals, and equality among individuals in the party's work.

Cases that the Trust Council may need to address could concern, for example, alleged misconduct of board members in office or alleged inappropriate behavior of a member towards other members or in a public forum. To the best of its ability, the Trust Council shall endeavor to mediate disputes. Submissions to the Trust Council shall be sent to the email address:trunadarrad@sosialistaflokkurinn.is, which only elected trustees shall have access to at any given time. However, submissions received by the Trust Council through informal means shall also be addressed, and full confidentiality shall be maintained in sensitive matters.

The Trust Council has the right of initiative to promote a healthy work culture within the movement, including through education, discussions, and mediation. Otherwise, the Trust Council shall use the party's Laws, Organization, and other written resolutions as a reference in its decisions but shall also be guided by fairness, proportionality, and common sense. Its decisions shall be supported by objective considerations.

The board of the Trust Council is composed of three principal members and two alternates who are elected at the general meeting.

A provisional Trust Council is currently active, consisting of: Júlíus K Valdimarsson, Katrín Baldursdóttir, and Silja Sóley Birgisdóttir.

The Trust Council may, as appropriate, apply the following remedies:

Towards members of boards, policy groups, and general members: Issue a written warning.

As a rule, members shall not be expelled from the party or office without at least one warning, unless in particularly serious cases.

To expel an individual from the party, the Trust Council shall generally activate a randomly selected group of 30 people to review the matter and assess its validity. The individual concerned always has the right to respond to explain their side to the Trust Council or the randomly selected group should the group be convened. If all parties to the matter agree that the issue should be resolved confidentially, the matter shall be settled by the Trust Council without the involvement of a randomly selected group. The member has the right to appeal the decision of their expulsion to the general meeting.

Eligibility for Board Membership

A member can at any time only sit on one elected board (Executive Board, Membership Board, Campaign Board, Policy Board, or Election Board). A member's seat on an elected board does not exclude them from sitting on a randomly selected board (for example, the Election Committee or Policy Groups) or on individual project boards that fall under the boards. Nor does sitting on one randomly selected committee exclude sitting on another randomly selected committee. An elected board member on one board can attend meetings of other boards as an observer.

Each member shall not serve as a principal member and alternate for more than twelve years on any board and shall not hold the chairmanship of any committee for more than eight years. A member who is not eligible for one board for these reasons remains eligible for other committees.