EFTA ruling could strengthen rights in Icelandic courts

A recent EFTA Court ruling could strengthen legal protections for individuals and companies in Icelandic courts, lawyer and EEA law specialist Dóra Sif Tynes told mbl.is.

The case concerns an information request by Iceland’s tax authority to the law firm Advel. Dóra Sif, who owns a stake in the firm and represents it in the case, said the EFTA Court had spoken more firmly than in earlier rulings about the relevance of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Tarjei Bekkedal, a professor at the University of Oslo’s Centre for European Law, described the ruling as historic in an article on the Norwegian legal website Rett24. He said it clarified the Charter’s position within EEA law and argued that it has the same status as the European Convention on Human Rights.

Dóra Sif said Bekkedal’s analysis was persuasive, while cautioning that the case is still before the Reykjavík District Court. She said the EFTA Court gives equal weight to the EU Charter and the European Convention as important legal sources when interpreting human rights rules under EEA law.

In her view, people and companies relying on provisions of the EEA Agreement in court could also invoke human rights rules under the agreement. Relevant interpretations could include rulings by the EU Court of Justice on the Charter and judgments by the European Court of Human Rights.

That could make it easier for parties to argue, for example, whether a restriction on the EEA’s four freedoms conflicts with human rights protections. Dóra Sif said this route differs from taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights, where domestic remedies generally must first be exhausted.

She also said the ruling was significant for its clear statement on lawyers’ duty of confidentiality and their role in the justice system, an issue she said had received limited attention in previous discussions.