Iceland appoints group to examine foreign ownership of land

Iceland’s minister of industry has appointed an expert group to examine foreign ownership of land in the country, mbl.is reported. The group is chaired by Friðrik Árni Friðriksson Hirst, an adjunct at the University of Iceland’s Faculty of Law.

The group was appointed following a parliamentary resolution proposed by Halla Hrund Logadóttir, a Progress Party MP, and approved this spring. The proposal cited Iceland’s long-term interests in natural resources.

The group is expected to begin work later this month and submit a report by March 1. The report will be presented to parliament and used as input for a planned bill to amend the land laws, which Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson intends to introduce.

Other members are Kristín Ösp Jónsdóttir, a lawyer at the Ministry of Industries; Sif Guðjónsdóttir, a lawyer at the Prime Minister’s Office; Hafsteinn S. Hafsteinsson, a lawyer at the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate; Björn Ingi Brands Óskarsson, a lawyer at the Ministry of Infrastructure; and Magnea Magnúsdóttir, a lawyer at the Ministry of Justice.