Icelandic Bar

As a practicing attorney in Iceland, I have experienced the complexity of the EEA legal order. Iceland applies the dualist principle when it comes to the relationship between domestic and international law. As a result there is a tendency to regard ‘Icelandic law’ as separate from EU law or EEA law. The EEA Agreement has, however, been incorporated into the Icelandic legal order by statutory legislation giving it a stronger position in the Icelandic legal order. This has created a struggle between EEA law and ‘Icelandic law’, which in my opinion affects the effectiveness of EEA law in Iceland. An example of this is the tendency in general legal discussion in Iceland to resort very quickly to the principle of State liability for breaches of EEA law instead of trying to establish rights directly by interpreting ‘Icelandic law’ in the light of ‘EEA law’ in a teleological manner. At the same time the principle of State liability seems to be a very weak protection for those relying on EEA law. In this chapter I explore to what extent EEA law is a part of Icelandic legal teaching and the application of EEA law before Icelandic authorities and courts. Furthermore, due to the importance of the roles of ESA and the EFTA Court in the application of EEA law in Iceland, I discuss the effectiveness of these institutions from my experience.