Iceland review - 2019, Qupperneq 9

7
Iceland Review
Courting Disagreement
In mid-March, the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) put the Icelandic
judicial system in a tight spot when it
ruled the Icelandic state had violated
human rights in the appointment of
judges to the recently-established Court
of Appeals. According to the ECHR,
the appointments violated Article 6 of
the European Convention on Human
Rights, meant to ensure individuals’
right to a fair trial. Minister of Justice
Sigríður Andersen, who received heavy
criticism for failing to follow the recom-
mendations of a selection committee in
her nominations to the court, resigned
from her position following the ruling. In
light of the fact that the ruling has put
the authority of the Court of Appeals
into question, the Icelandic government
decided to request a review of the deci-
sion. Whether the Grand Chamber of
the ECHR decides to review the decision
or not should be known within a few
months. In any case, the final ruling will
not only affect Iceland, but set a prece-
dent throughout Europe.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Protecting Tradition
Like champagne and Roquefort
cheese, the Icelandic sweater could
soon be protected with a so-called des-
ignation of origin. A group of Icelandic
sweater producers has submitted a
proposal to the Icelandic Food and
Veterinary Authority (MAST) to legally
protect the product name “Icelandic
sweater” (Icelandic: íslensk lopapeysa).
This would mean that sweaters with
the traditional decorative collar could
only be labelled with the term if they
are knitted by hand in Iceland using
Icelandic wool. In December 2014,
the Icelandic Parliament enacted the
Product Names Protection Act, which
allows for the protection of product
names on the basis of origin, territory,
or traditional uniqueness. If the pro-
posal is accepted, Icelandic sweaters
would be the second product in the
country to receive such a designation;
“Icelandic lamb” received the designa-
tion last year.
Unions and Employers Reach Truce
Following months of negotiations, strikes,
and protests, several unions signed
collective agreements with the Icelandic
Confederation of Enterprise (SA) in early
April, which were approved by union mem-
bers later that month. The agreements
outline four flat-rate wage hikes which will
increase minimum monthly wages by ISK
90,000 ($735/€660) by 2022. Following
the signing of the collective agreements,
the government presented a so-called
“Standard of Living Contract,” intended
to improve terms of employment further
than the collective agreements alone,
particularly for low earners and young
families. Several Icelandic food companies
and other companies who rely on mini-
mum-wage labour have stated that the
agreements will force them to raise prices
due to increased labour costs, a state-
ment which has been criticised by union
leaders. Efling Union Chairperson Sólveig
Anna Jónsdóttir called the collective
agreements a “ceasefire” and said unions
would return twice as strong to the next
negotiations.
Words by
Jelena Ćirić
Photography by
Golli