News - 18.11.2024
Amendments to Agricultural Product Laws Deemed Unconstitutional
VR and the Consumer Association of Iceland welcome the ruling of the Reykjavík District Court in a case brought against the Icelandic Competition Authority regarding amendments made to agricultural product laws. The court ruled that the parliamentary process violated the Constitution, as the bill proposing changes to the agricultural laws did not undergo the required number of parliamentary debates as stipulated in Article 44 of the Constitution. Consequently, the amendment approved by Parliament in March this year lacks legal validity.
The bill proposing amendments to the agricultural laws was introduced late last year. Significant changes were made during the review process by the Industrail Affairs Committee, prompting severe criticism from various stakeholders. The amendments included an exemption for meat processing facilities from competition laws. In a joint submission, VR, the Consumer Association of Iceland, the Icelandic Federation of Trade and Services, and the Icelandic Federation of Employers highlighted that these changes would harm the interests of consumers, workers, and businesses, undermining the foundations of collective agreements in the general labor market, which had just been signed. The changes were expected to lead to higher prices for meat products and fuel inflation.
Criticism of the bill also focused on procedural errors in the parliamentary process. The committee’s amendments effectively constituted a new bill, which had not been reviewed in accordance with constitutional requirements, namely the requirement for three parliamentary debates.
Following the bill’s approval, meat processing facilities responded with acquisitions, leading to higher prices for meat products. A demand was made to the Competition Authority to address this development. However, the authority deemed itself bound by the legislative amendment and therefore unable to intervene as requested. Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed against the Competition Authority, resulting in the Reykjavík District Court’s ruling. The court agreed with the view that the committee’s amendments effectively created a new bill, which underwent only two debates in Parliament last spring, not the three required by the Constitution. Consequently, the parliamentary process violated the Constitution, and the bill is not legally valid.
VR and the Consumer Association of Iceland supported the lawsuit. "This ruling is a severe indictment of Althingi‘s procedures and clearly demonstrates that interest groups cannot bypass proper legislative processes," said Halla Gunnarsdóttir, Vice-Chair of VR and Acting Chair. "It is crucial that the Competition Authority immediately examines the mergers of meat processing facilities to protect consumers, and that Althingi learns from this," added Breki Karlsson, Chair of the Consumer Association of Iceland.
