The National Court ( ) is a special
high court in
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
established in 1905 to handle cases where members of the
Cabinet are suspected of criminal behaviour.
Composition
The National Court has 15 members: five
Supreme Court justices, the Reykjavík District Court President, a professor of
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
at the
University of Iceland and eight people chosen by the
Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
every six years.
Assembly
The court assembled for the first time in 2011, to prosecute former
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Geir Haarde for alleged
gross misconduct in the events leading up to the
2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis. On September 28, 2010, the Parliament decided, by 33 votes to 30, to charge Haarde.
Originally faced with six charges, he was convicted only on one that was considered to be a minor one.
See also
*
Labour Court
*
Cour de Justice de la République
References
1905 establishments in Iceland
Courts in Iceland
Organizations established in 1905
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