Dr. Prof. M. Elvira Mendez-Pinedo

Maria Elvira Mendez Pinedo is a full tenured professor of European law at the University of Iceland, institution she joined in 2007. She holds a Doctorate in Law (Universidad Alcalá de Henares, 1997), a diploma in international law (Mc George School of Law, Sacramento, California, 1991), a postgraduate Masters in European law (Université Paris II Sorbonne-Assas, 1991) and a 5 year degree in law (Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain, 1989). She has been a research fellow of several leading universities (European University Institute. Fiesole. Italy, Harvard University and Tufts University, Cambridge and Medford, Massachusetts. USA with a grant given by Rotary International Foundation).

She has experience working as an officer/civil servant for the European Union (European Commission. Luxembourg. Publications Office. Head of Sector Consolidation, Official Journal and DG Health and Consumers (SANCO). European Parliament. Luxembourg. DG Research.

At the Faculty of Law of the University of Iceland she is responsible of teaching and research in the field of European Union law, European Economic Area law and Economic International law.

• Diversity, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination in European Law: General principles in European Union and European Economic Area Law

  
  

  Article 19 of the Treaty of Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) was born in 1997, empowering the Council (of the Union) to take action to deal with discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability or sexual orientation. In 2003, this article was amended to allow the adoption of incentive measures. In 2009, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU entered into force, including several articles on equality and non-discrimination. In 2011, for the first time in history, the EU became a party to an international human rights treaty, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The official proclamation in 2017 of the European Pillar of Social Rights reaffirmed the principles of non-discrimination, gender equality and equal opportunities in the EU.

  The EU has adopted several directives in this area that are also in force in the European Economic Area. In this session we revise the main principles set by this legislation (1 h theory) and see a couple of cases from the Court of Justice of the European Union where the principle of non-discrimination affects lawyers and legal firms working in Europe (1 h practice).

• Legal Ethics in Europe: The Voice and Experience of European Lawyers

  
  

  The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) proposed in 2021 a new Code of Conduct for European Lawyers (initially adopted on 1988). It is a set of common rules which apply to all lawyers from the European Union, the European Economic Area, the Swiss Confederation and the United Kingdom, no matter the Bar or Law Society they belong to… when they engage in cross- border practice in Europe. The code is a coherent set of deontological and legal ethics rules dictated by the interests of the client, and which comply with European law.

  We first learn about the articles of the Model Code of Conduct (theory and territorial scope of application) and we then do some practice (case-study). The aim is to clarify their meaning to facilitate their application in concrete cases when lawyers work beyond their jurisdiction in other European countries.

• Iceland and Europe. Thirty years of cooperation through the European Economic Agreement instead of supranational integration in the EU.

  
  

  Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein participate in the European legal order thanks to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. This international treaty is based on a two-pillar structure (the European Union (EU) on the one hand, and three States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)-EEA on the other. The cooperation and participation in the European internal market (and other policies) has transformed the legal, political and economic environment of Iceland and Norway over the last 30 years. In this sesión we review the experience of this successful European experiment while, at the same time, learning on the most important general principles of this legal system. (quasi primacy of European law over national law in case of conflict and State liability for breach of EEA Agreement).

  We will also discuss how the challenge of this agreement for Iceland and Norway remains the same after 30 years: to reconcile two very different models: supranational integration (EU) vs. intergovernmental cooperation (EEA). In fact, the EEA framework is a pragmatic compromise to preserve their sovereignty but ensuring reciprocity and the legislative and judicial homogeneity of the system as well as the rights of citizens and economic operators.