Press Release 08/17 - Case E-11/16 - Mobil Betriebskrankenkasse v Tryg Forsikring
Judgment in Case E-11/16 - Mobil Betriebskrankenkasse v Tryg Forsikring
Judgment in English and Norwegian in Case E-11/16 - Mobil Betriebskrankenkasse v Tryg Forsikring, delivered in open Court on 20 July 2017.
Press Release 07/17 - Case E-9/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v the Kingdom of Norway
Judgment in Case E-9/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v the Kingdom of Norway
Judgment in Case E-9/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v the Kingdom of Norway, delivered in open Court on 14 July 2017.
Official Visit of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court
From 5 to 7 July 2017, a delegation of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court led by President Ulrich Meyer paid an official visit to the Court. The full delegation, comprised of President Meyer, Vice-President Martha Niquille, Federal Judge Yves Donzallaz, and Secretary-General Paul Tschümperlin were formally welcomed to the Court by President Carl Baudenbacher. During the first roundtable, on 5 July, the distinguished guests participated in a round table with the judges and legal secretaries of the Court where Presidents Meyer and Baudenbacher gave initial speeches on the structure and tasks of their respective courts.
On 6 July 2017, the delegation attended the oral hearing in Case E-21/16 Pascal Nobile v DAS Rechtsschutz-Versicherungs AG, a request for an Advisory Opinion by the Princely Court of Appeal of the Principality of Liechtenstein (Fürstliches Obergericht) following a briefing on the Court’s procedures. In the afternoon, the group was joined by EFTA Assistant Secretary General Georges Baur, and a further roundtable was held on ‘The future of European integration: EU, EEA, Switzerland and the UK after Brexit.’ Lectures were given by Judge Per Christiansen, EFTA Assistant Secretary General Georges Baur, and President Carl Baudenbacher. On 7 July, the Swiss guests visited the Belval campus of the University of Luxembourg and the village of Schengen where the Agreement between the contracting parties on the gradual abolition of checks at their common borders was signed in 1985. All four EFTA States, the three EFTA/EEA Member States Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and Switzerland, have signed agreements in association with the Schengen Treaty.
The Official Visit of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court provided an excellent opportunity for the exchange of views and experiences between colleagues, furthering the judicial dialogue, in both formal and convivial surroundings.
For the speech of the President at the event please click here
For the gallery of photographs from the event please click here
Press Release (PR 06/17) - Official Visit of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court
From 5 to 7 July 2017, a delegation of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court led by President Ulrich Meyer will pay an official visit to the Court. The distinguished guests will participate in several roundtables and attend the oral hearing in Case E-21/16 Pascal Nobile v DAS Rechtsschutz-Versicherungs AG. DAS is a Swiss corporation domiciled in Lucerne.
EFTA Ministerial Meeting 2017 in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway
For the Oral Statement of President Carl Baudenbacher please click here
Thoughts on the Future of Europe - EFTA Court Spring Conference 2017
On Friday 16 June 2017, the EFTA Court held its annual Spring Conference on the topic “Thoughts on the Future of Europe”.
The conference was attended by more than 170 participants including members of EFTA State supreme courts, the EFTA Surveillance Authority, and of EU institutions including the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Commission, representatives from governments, business associations and trades unions, practitioners and academics. Following President Baudenbacher’s introductory speech, there were six high level presentations. During the opening session, Justice Wilhelm Matheson of the Supreme Court of Norway discussed ‘Fundamental Freedoms and Fundamental Rights; Challenges in Deciding the Holship Case (E-14/15) on the National Level,’ putting a spotlight on the challenges the case posed. Dr iur. HSG Magnus Schmauch from the Finansinspektionen, Sweden’s financial supervisory authority, elaborated on the innovative architecture of financial regulation in the EEA, focusing on the new role of the EFTA Surveillance Authority and enhanced role of the EFTA Court under the European Securities and Markets Authority Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010).
Peter Freeman CBE QC (Hon), Chairman of the United Kingdom’s Competition Appeal Tribunal, opened the afternoon session by analysing in-depth recent EFTA Court competition law jurisprudence, focusing in particular on Cases E-15/10 Norway Post, E-14/15 Holship and E-3/16 Ski Taxi. The day’s next two sessions addressed Brexit. Kassie Smith QC of Monckton Chambers, London, examined ‘Brexit and the EEA,’ considering that the EEA is a workable framework for the UK post-Brexit. Professor Dr Heribert Hirte, a member of the Deutscher Bundestag, approached the topic of Brexit, giving a view from the Bundestag, and considered political and legal aspects of a withdrawal agreement and an ambitious future free trade agreement as well as matters of security and defence policy. The final session of the day was a speech by the fifth President of Iceland, H. E. Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, now Chairman of the Arctic Circle, who spoke on ‘The Future of Europe – A View from the North,’ giving extraordinary insight into the increased cognisance of the strategic importance of the Arctic from across the world. Given the nature of the day’s sessions, very many questions and thought-provoking reflections were posed by the audience. The sessions were moderated by the EFTA Court’s legal secretaries Theresa Haas, Marthe Dystland, Michael-James Clifton, Arnaldur Hjartarson, Dr. Luísa Lourenço and Gudlaug Jónasdóttir.
President Baudenbacher closed the conference by thanking the speakers for their sharing their perceptive insights and the audience for their engaging questions. The conference was followed by a reception.
For the gallery of photographs from the event please click here
Judgment in Case E-18/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v Iceland
Judgment in Case E-18/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v Iceland, delivered in open Court on 7 June 2017.
Judgment in Case E-17/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v Iceland
Judgment in Case E-17/16 - EFTA Surveillance Authority v Iceland, delivered in open Court on 7 June 2017.