Rules on the operation of the Court of Restitution
Article 1
The original of the written request for reinstatement, together with the documents on which the request is based, shall be delivered to the Court on Reopening of Cases in one copy, while the request and the supporting documents shall be returned electronically through a broker on the Court's website.
Once the request and documents have been received in the above manner, the case is considered to be admissible before the Court of Resolution and will be assigned to a judge.
After assigning the case to a judge, the court sends the applicant for rehearing information on the composition of the court in a verifiable manner and gives him a two-week period to make written comments in accordance with the judge's competence. If comments are made, they shall be delivered to the Court of Rehearing electronically through a mediator on the Court's website, and the original of them will be delivered to the Court of Rehearing without undue delay. If a response from the applicant for rehearing is not received within the period, he shall be considered not to make comments on the composition of the court.
The appointment of a defence counsel in the Court of Restitution is governed by the provisions of Article 230(1) of Act No. 88/2008.
Article 2
The request for reinstatement shall identify:
a. Names of the applicant for readmission and his/her counterparty, his/her ID number and address or place of residence, as well as the names of their representatives, if they are divided, their status and address or place of residence. Furthermore, the address of the Internet address where the applicant for readmission intends for the counterparty to receive communications and documents from the Court of Restitution.
b. Who is representing the applicant for readmission and, in the case of criminal proceedings, whether the applicant for readmission wishes to be appointed as a defence counsel. At the same time, provide an email address where communications and documents from the Court of Restitution are received.
c. The judgment to which the request for rehearing is addressed, whether the judgment has previously been reheared and, if applicable, whether the appeal period for the judgment has passed or whether the Supreme Court has refused to grant an appeal. At the same time, it must be stated whether the judgment has been enforced and how it has been done.
The applicant shall specify whether, if the applicant agrees to reinstatement, the Court of Restitution shall provide that the effects of the previous judgment shall be suspended in whole or in part during the proceedings. In the case of a criminal case, it shall also be specified whether the applicant for reinstatement wishes to have the legal effects of the judgment suspended while the application for reinstatement is being processed before the Court of Restitution.
e. Grounds for the request for reinstatement. Their description shall be comprehensive but concise and so clear that it is not clear why the request is made. If the court order for reinstatement has been requested before, the new evidence or information that has been submitted after the earlier request is resolved shall be explained.
f. Documents submitted by the applicant for readmission to support his request. In the case of a criminal case, it shall be stated whether the applicant for readmission wishes to obtain documents before the Court of Restitution. It shall be stated why it considers that such a collection is necessary in the case and what should be revealed by it.
g. Whether the applicant for reinstatement requests oral procedure before the Court of Re-Instatement. If requested oral evidence, the reasoning for why the applicant for reinstatement considers it necessary and what should be revealed with it shall be stated.
Article 3
After the expiry of the period of time under Article 1, paragraph 3 of these rules, the Court of Restitution considers whether a request for re-enlistment will be taken for further examination before the court. Further examination is not conducted if a request is rejected immediately on the grounds that it is clearly not considered to be justified, cf. Article 192, paragraph 2 of Act No. 91/1991 or Article 229, paragraph 3 of Act No. 88/2008.
If a request for reinstatement is not immediately rejected, the Court of Re-Instatement will send the request and the documents accompanying it to the counterparty in a verifiable manner and will give the counterparty a certain period to submit a written submission.
If the Court of Resolution does not receive the statement of the party in the time period given to it in that regard, it shall be considered that the party demands that the request for rehearing be rejected. In cases where the State Prosecutor requests the rehearing of a case in favour of a court order pursuant to Article 228(4) of Act No. 88/2008, the party shall be considered to demand that the request be accepted. The case shall then be considered for a ruling, but first the requester for rehearing shall be granted a short period to submit further evidence to support his request.
Article 4
The counterparty submission shall identify:
a. Who is representing the defendant and, if he/she has been charged or convicted in criminal proceedings, whether he/she wishes to be appointed as a defence counsel. Furthermore, provide an email address where communications and documents from the Court of Resolution are received.
b. Comments by the parties on the composition of the court, if any.
c. Claims by the parties, including whether the parties will agree to the recovery request, that the Court of Resolution provides that the previous judgment will retain its full or partial legal effect during the proceedings. If appropriate, the parties' position on the request of the recovery requester for the legal effect of the judgment to be suspended during the recovery request is also disclosed.
d. The counterparty's attitude towards the request for reinstatement, which shall be expressed in a non-verbal and in such a clear manner that it is not clear on what grounds it is based.
e. Data provided by the counterparty. If the counterparty has been charged or convicted in a criminal case, it shall be stated whether it requires the collection of data before a Court of Resolution. It shall be stated why it considers that such collection is necessary in the case and what should be revealed by it.
g. Whether the party requests oral procedures before the Court of Restitution. If requested oral evidence, the reasoning for why the party considers it necessary and what should be revealed with it shall be stated.
The statement of the counterparty, together with the evidence submitted, shall be submitted to the Court of Resolution in the manner specified in Article 1(3) of these rules.
Article 5
Procedures before the Court of Reexamination are generally in writing. In such cases, the Court of Reexamination gives the applicant for reexamination a verifiable option to submit to the Court of Reexamination, within a specified period of time, written comments, including a brief reply to the statement of the counterparty, and further evidence as necessary. In the event that such comments and evidence are submitted by the applicant for reexamination, the Court of Reexamination gives the counterparty the same option to respond to them in writing, with a brief reply and further evidence as necessary. Responses and further evidence shall be submitted to the Court of Reexamination in the manner specified in Article 1(3) of these rules.
After the deadlines in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, the Court of Resolution may rule on the case.
If the Court of Restitution decides, after the statement of the parties, that proceedings should be oral, it shall proceed according to the provisions of Chapter XXV of Act No. 91/1991 or Chapter XXXI of Act No. 88/2008, as appropriate.
Article 6
The court shall keep a parliamentary record and a court order book in accordance with the provisions of Articles 11 and 12 of Act No. 91/1991 and Articles 13 and 14 of Act No. 88/2008.
If a request for one or more judges to stand down is made, the Court of Re-Inclusion shall consider it in a ruling. After such a request, the applicant or the counterparty shall be afforded the opportunity to submit to the Court of Re-Inclusion, within a specified period of time, his or her comments on the matter in the manner specified in Article 1(3) of these rules. After that, the matter will be considered in a ruling.
If there is a requirement that the private re-instatement claimant put in place a guarantee for the payment of legal costs, such a requirement shall be treated according to paragraph 2 of this Article.
If the Court of Resolution decides that the legal effect of a criminal judgment is postponed during the processing of a request for re-extradition, it shall normally be made first after the date of the date of submission of the statement by the counterparty pursuant to Article 4 of these rules.
As far as other matters need to be considered before the Court of Resolution, such as regarding the operation of the case, they are decided by decision. Minor decisions may be taken by the presiding judge alone. Decisions of the Court of Resolution will not be specifically justified but their contents shall be mentioned in the Parliamentary Record as necessary. They shall be notified to the parties in a verifiable manner.
Article 7
A rehearing judgement shall give a ruling on whether a case will be reheared or whether a rehearing request will be rejected. If a case is dismissed from a rehearing judgement, it shall also be done by a ruling.
The provisions of Article 114 of Act No. 91/1991 and Article 183 of Act No. 88/2008 shall apply as appropriate to the decision of the Court of Restitution. If the court decides that a criminal case should be reopened but that the legal effect of the judgment should notwithstanding remain until a new judgment has been made, cf. Article 231 (1) of Act No. 88/2008, it shall be stated in a ruling. If the court agrees to a request for reopening in a civil case, it shall be stated in a ruling whether and to what extent the legal effect of the previous judgment shall be suspended until a new judgment has been made, cf. Article 192 (5) of Act No. 91/1991.
Article 8
The right to take legal action in the Court of Restitution is governed by Articles 2 and 31 of the Law on Legal Practitioners No. 77/1998.
Article 9
The Resolution of the Court of Resolution shall be published on the Court's website. The publication of the Resolution of the Court of Resolution shall be governed by the rules of the Administrative Board of the Court of Justice, established on the basis of provisions in the Law on Courts of Justice.
Article 10
These rules are established according to the authority in Article 192, paragraph 7 of Act No. 91/1991 on the Procedure of Civil Cases and Article 231, paragraph 7 of Act No. 88/2008 on the Procedure of Criminal Cases and come into force as of now.
Re-enlistment sentence, 24 March 2022
Karl Axelsson. Oddný M. Arnardóttir Eyvindur G. Gunnarsson Hólmfríður Grímsdóttir. Jóhannes K. Sveinsson