Landsdómur

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Landsdómur ("Regional Court") is a special court in Iceland . There are similar courts in Danish and Norwegian constitutional law.

History and composition

The Landsdómur institution was created in 1905 when Iceland was still a Danish colony. The legal basis of the Landsdómur today is Article 14 of the Icelandic Constitution of 1944. An implementing law ( Lög um landsdóm , Law No. 3/1963) was passed in 1963.

The Landsdómur's mandate includes the punishment of violations by incumbent or replaced members of the Icelandic government. The court can impose fines and imprisonment.

The Landsdómur is made up of fifteen members: five judges from the Supreme Court ( Hæstiréttur ), the chairman of the Reykjavík Regional Court ( Dómstjórinn í Reykjavík ), a professor of constitutional law from the University of Iceland ( Háskóli Íslands ) and eight members elected by Parliament for a term of six Years to be elected. The President of the Supreme Court chairs it.

Proceedings against Geir Haarde

On September 28, 2010, the Icelandic Parliament voted to convene the Landsdómur for the first time in Icelandic history. The MPs voted with a narrow majority in favor of bringing charges against former Prime Minister Geir Haarde ( Independence Party ). He is accused of serious misconduct in the run-up to the financial and economic crisis that led to the complete collapse of the Icelandic banking system in 2008. Haarde resigned from office in January 2009. Parliament decided at the same time that no charges should be brought against three former ministers in the previous government.

In April 2012 the Landsdómur ruled against Haarde. He was found guilty on only one of the four counts: Haarde had insufficiently informed the government about the events during the crisis. However, the court refused a prison sentence as requested by the public prosecutor.

Individual evidence

  1. Lög um landsdóm . althingi.is, no. February 3, 19, 1963
  2. ^ Iceland Review Online
  3. zeit.de April 2012