Munnlegur málflutningur fyrir æðra dómi: Aðdragandi breytinga á 3. mgr. 158. gr. og 3. mgr. 182. gr. laga um meðferð einkamála og mál Súsönnu Rósar Westlund gegn Íslandi

Abstract

The principle of oral hearings is one of the fundamental principles of justice. The European Court of Human Rights has addressed oral hearings in its judgments regarding what constitutes a fair trial. Provisions on oral proceedings before higher courts in Iceland were first established by Act no. 22/1919 when the highest judicial authority was transferred to the country with the Union Act. On December 6, 2007, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in the case of Susanna Rós Westlund v Iceland that the Icelandic state was found to have violated Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding fair trial proceedings, as the applicant had been denied the opportunity to present her case orally before the Supreme Court. In response to the judgment, Act no. 18/2019 was adopted, which included amendments to the Icelandic Law on Civil Procedural no. 91/1991. This article discusses the Icelandic legislation on oral proceedings before higher courts in private law cases and the interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights regarding what constitutes fair proceedings, as well as whether Iceland has responded adequately to the ruling in Susanna Rós Westlund v Iceland.

Keywords

• european court of human rights
• mannréttindadómstóll evrópu
• oral hearing
• civil procedural law
• fair trial
• lög um meðferð einkamála
• munnlegur málflutningur
• opinber málsmeðferð
• public proceedings
• réttlát málsmeðferð