Introduction

• Author: Guomundsdottir, Guorun D.
• Pages: 13-15

13

INTRODUCTION

The national legal system

The Icelandic legal system is based on the civil law tradition. Principal sources of law include

the Constitution of the Republic of Iceland and statutory legislation and regulations, as well

as legal precedents and customary law. Iceland is party to the European Economic Area

(EEA) Agreement and is thus obliged to adopt the EU acquis related to the single market.

Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC have not been incorporated into the EEA

Agreement, but two legislative acts based on the directives entered into force on 1

September 2018: the Act on Equal Treatment irrespective of Race or Ethnic Origin

No. 85/2018 (Racial Equality Act) and the Act on Equal Treatment in the Labour Market

No. 86/2018 (Labour Equality Act).

The legal system is structured into various fields (criminal law, civil law, administrative

law, etc.), with many of them governed by specific procedural codes. Primary legislation

consists of the Constitution and acts, which take precedence over other sources of law such

as regulations issued by ministers, rules, notices and other legislative decrees published in

the Government Gazette. The latter, on the other hand, generally take precedence over

common law, case law, analogy, collective agreements, legal principles and the tradition

of culture.

The Icelandic judiciary consists of three levels: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal

and eight district courts. The Court of Appeal, Landsréttur, commenced operation on 1

January 2018, its aims being, inter alia, to guarantee the use of first-hand evidence in

appeals procedures, in line with international human rights standards and the constitutional

provision on fair trial; to lighten the workload of the Supreme Court and improve its work;

and to facilitate quality judgments in technically complex cases. In addition to the district

courts and the Supreme Court, the Labour Court can be convened and, exceptionally, the

Impeachment Court, which addresses criminal actions brought by the Parliament against

sitting and former Government ministers.

The judiciary is competent to review administrative decisions and the constitutionality of

legislation. It is established custom that Icelandic courts are competent to review the

constitutionality of all laws. District courts, the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court may

decide that legislation they find incompatible with the Constitution, for instance its equality

provisions, cannot be applied. The Supreme Court, the Appeals Court and the district courts

are also competent to review decisions taken by the executive, albeit only on procedure.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman monitors the administrative functions of public and local

authorities and safeguards the rights of citizens vis-à-vis the administrative authorities.

The ombudsman should ensure that the principle of equality is observed, and that

administration is conducted in conformity with the law and good administrative practice.

The ombudsman investigates administrative cases based on complaints, or on his or her

own initiative. The ombudsman may also examine whether laws conflict with the

Constitution (e.g. the equality provision) or are flawed in other respects.

Iceland is a dualist country. International treaties do not automatically become domestic

law when ratified; until they are incorporated into national law, they are simply binding

under international law. Consequently, international law that has not been incorporated

into Icelandic law cannot be directly applied by the courts. It is a principle of the Icelandic

legal system that domestic law should be interpreted in accordance with international

obligations. However, in cases of divergence, domestic law generally takes precedence. In

recent years, the Supreme Court of Iceland has sought to interpret Icelandic law, as far as

possible, in conformity with Iceland’s international obligations. The court has made several

references to international obligations undertaken by Iceland, and it has interpreted both

the Constitution and other laws in the light of such obligations.