Former Supreme Court judges Gudrún Pétursdóttir and Pétur Kr. Hafstein have announced that they will not provide legal advice on whether the government’s Icesave bill is in compliance with the Constitution of Iceland.
Inside the Icelandic parliament, Althingi. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
According to an agreement between the government and the opposition, legal advice should be sought before discussion on the Icesave bill continues in parliament, and Pétursdóttir and Hafstein were mentioned in that regard since neither of them have expressed their opinions on Icesave, unlike many other legal experts, Fréttabladid reports.
However, both of the former Supreme Court judges have refused to participate in the Icesave debate. Hafstein confirmed that to the newspaper, without explaining why he was unwilling to provide legal expertise.
Pétursdóttir said that she had never intended to do so. “I didn’t hear anything about it until I heard it on the news on the radio and I don’t intend to do it. It is not something that can be done in a second.”
The parliament will try to recruit other legal experts. The parliament has also asked British law firm Mishcon de Reya to provide their opinion on certain legal issues in the agreement with the UK and the Netherlands and is waiting for an answer.
The plan is for three parliamentary committees to review different parts of the Icesave bill. The opposition is eager to have former Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde and former Foreign Minister Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir meet with the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The committee’s chair, Árni Thór Sigurdsson, said their participation is uncertain. In fact, the committee hasn’t become formally involved yet. “At the moment I’m not sure what exactly is expected that [Haarde and Gísladóttir] can add to the debate.”
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