Iceland appoints three lawyers to defend it in EFTA case

Iceland has appointed three lawyers to help defend it against a case brought by the EFTA Surveillance Authority over Protocol 35 to the EEA Agreement, mbl.is reported.

The lawyers will work with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Their appointment was outlined in a memo from the foreign minister to the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, published the previous day.

They are State Attorney Fanney Rós Þorsteinsdóttir, Supreme Court lawyer Helga Melkorka Óttarsdóttir of LOGOS, and Supreme Court lawyer Jóhannes Karl Sveinsson of Landslög.

Sveinsson has publicly supported the legislative amendment sought by the EFTA Surveillance Authority. In an October 2023 newspaper article, he argued that the bill would fulfil a 30-year-old commitment by Iceland that was long overdue. He also wrote that a case against Iceland before the EFTA Court would likely end in a ruling in the authority’s favour.