| In Iceland, lobbying activities are regulated by the Act on protection against conflicts of interest in Iceland’s Cabinet (Lög um varnir gegn hagsmunaárekstrum í Stjórnarráði Íslands), which entered into force on 1 January 2021. According to the Act, information on the relations between the government and stakeholders must be registered. Before a lobbyist seeks to influence the work of the government on behalf of a private individual, he or she is obliged to declare himself or herself and his or her role; legal entities and non-profit organisations may submit a notification regarding persons who conduct lobbying activity on their behalf, providing personal identification data and role, indicating e.g. on behalf of which parties the lobbyist acts and their main interests; etc. (art. 4). The Prime Minister oversees the transparency of lobbying activities as well as collecting and publishing declarations of interest, gifts and benefits for members of the government, keeping a register of information on the interests and gifts declared by ministers, of the exemptions provided for by law and information on stakeholder referred to in Article 4, with the register being published on the websites of Icelandic Government Offices Services (art. 7).Furthermore, on 5 December 2023, the Prime Minister’s Office has issued guidelines for public officials covering the conduct of PTEF’s (and other public officials) in their interaction with third parties and lobbyists (available here in Icelandic). |
