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Stúdentablaðið - 01.02.2010, Blaðsíða 35

Stúdentablaðið - 01.02.2010, Blaðsíða 35
because time and again our leaders have said publically that we will take on obligations because of those accounts in the UK and the Netherlands. The parliament has made three decision in the matter, in December 2008, August 2009 and towards the end of December 2009. It is my opinion that it would be difficult for us politically to now back out and say we won't pay until there is a court decision in the matter. Even though there would be legal grounds for it. A court decision would have been an option to begin with, and we lawyers generally prefer that option, that people don't take on any obligations unless there's been a court decision. There are also those who believe that even though we ought to take on some obligations, they are too great according to the present deal; that this matter could be resolved in a way that makes our burden lighter. In that regard, people often allude to the legislation passed in August. The conditions in the August deal go further than the conditions in the present law. The laws from August contained no declaration that the state guarantee would be applicable past 2024. Another thing was also changed in the latest legislation, that during certain economic difficulties there would be no payments made, neither installments nor interest. The new law, however, stipulates that even during economic difficulties we will always pay the interest on the loan, but installments will be delayed. The new law also backs down on legal conditions. First of all there was the dedaration that if a legal party stated we were not obliged to pay, our obligation to pay the loan would be cancelled and thus the payment of the loan. The other condition, the one named after Ragnar H. Hall, was put more directly in the older law. The new law, however, assumes that a judgment be made by the EFTA Court and the decision of lcelandic courts may not be in opposition to its advisory opinion." In general, do you consider the EU's courts to be impartial and independent? "The EU runs these courts which employ judges that are supposed to be independent and impartial. I don't doubt the judges are, but however, the European Court has had a tendency to make judgments in the EU's favour, because that is one of the things that the judges are required to keep in mind; that is, the unity of the union and a regard for common aims. This may influence the court's decision and in that sense it isn't as independent and impartial when it comes to nations outside the EU." The next steps "It is my opinion that it would be difficult for us politically to now back out and say we won't pay until there is a court decision in the matter. The direct implication of that would be to take the case to the lcelandic courts, because there is no other international court available except with the agreement of all parties. The British and Dutch could however possibly take their case to court somewhere the lcelandic state has assets and at least attempt to have their claim recognised. I also believe that if the law is rejected during the national vote we will need to seek an agreement on the issue. That is precisely what people need to evalute; is it likely that we will get a better deal after a rejection than we have now, or could a rejection mean that no deal would be reached and create uncertainty? Then there's also the question of how other states and the IMF will react to that situation." Maria Elvira Mendez Pinedo, Reader in European Law Arguments for: Economic. "The possible cost of not agreeing to the deal, with regard to the currency, shortage of loans etc." Political. "The EU wants us to honour our commitments and be part of European society." Arguments against: Legal. "First of all, the legal uncertainty surrounding this dispute is great. The biggest factors of uncertainty have to do with state guarantee and a possible case of discrimination when it comes to the emergency legislation. From a legal point of view, those arguments could go both ways because of the economic collapse in lceland." There could be a better flow of information "It appears to me that due to economic and political reasons, the decision was made in October 2008 that lceland should pay. No legal reasons lay behind that decision. The economic argument can be strong, and it may be best to accept the lcesave deal. However, the government and the administration have yet to present a proper explanation of the economic and political reasons. There is a certain lack of a bigger picture, which would show you what the real consequences would be for our society. I believe in Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Finance Minister Steingrímur J. Sigfússon when they say there are no other ways out of this situation; however, the legal uncertainty is very great." Should never have happened "The EU's legislatory framework is powerless when it comes to lcesave because an issue of this kind was never supposed to happen. There were no appropriate rules and therefore one can say that this has fallen through the cracks. What's now happening is that two countries {the UK and the Netherlands) are interpreting European law in their favour. Those countries do not have legal power to do so, that power rests with the European Court for EU countries, or the EFTA Court for EFTA countries. The European Commission could also send out an interpretation which would have legal value. State guarantee is not a given in European law, the specific situation matters. It isn't stated anywhere in the law that when the deposits of the DIGF run out, the state should pay." Is this the future we want? "In order to gain a better understanding of the matter, it is important to look at a report issued by the Central Bank of Europe in 2009. One might point out that several government said they would only bail out banks that were solvent. Ireland was also made responsible for saving banks that had a systematic connection to the country's economy. There's a certain degree of discrimination in that. In 2010, it unfortunately seems to me that this case might be outside of EU jurisdiction and there could be some incongruity within the EU when it comes to this. I therefore ask, since we haven't been given a chance to make a legal argument for our case, is this the future we want for European nations, that big and powerful nations can control the smaller ones? Whether it is possible to change course and get a better deal, I just don't know. That's something these nation states should be discussing with each other." Do you consider the EU to be impartial when it comes to this case? "To me, the EU has been too impartial because this is a delicate matter and I feel as if they've decided to stay out of it. But it's entirely inappropriate that a European country which has been part of EU agreements for 16 years have all its legal rights taken away. It's not for me to say whether lcelanders have put up enough protest. In my opinion, this confirms that the EU does not have the power to put in place rules for the resurrection of a nation's economy following a bank collapse." Do you feel the IMF is impartial in matters concerning their member states? "They claim to be, but if you read the criticism of Joseph Stieglitz and Amartya Sen on modern economies and IMF projects you might begin to doubt that. Nobody l've met so far has said that those academics' books contain errors. I had no particular view on the IMF but after doing some further reading l've become concerned. So I would prefer to borrow money from European countries or from the EU than from the IMF. I highly encourage people to read up on it because the world will not be the same once you've read the criticism put forward by these academics." Kristján Andri Jóhannsson STÚDENTABLAÐIÐ 35

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