Garðar Víðir Appointed New Chairman of the Arbitration Court of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce

Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson has been appointed the new chairman of the Arbitration Court of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce (GVÍ). He succeeds Marta Guðrún Blöndal, who is also stepping down from the board.

Garðar is a lawyer and owner at LEX Law Offices. His areas of expertise include tax and corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, and foreign investments. He is also a specialist in arbitration law, having completed an LL.M. in international arbitration at Stockholm University in 2008. Garðar has experience litigating cases before international arbitration tribunals and previously held a long-standing position on the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

Finnur Magnússon has also joined the board and serves as vice-chairman. He is a Supreme Court attorney and partner at Juris Law Offices. Finnur completed his doctorate at the University of Vienna in 2013. He has extensive experience advising Icelandic and foreign clients on financial regulation, corporate law, EEA law, and international investment agreements. He has also been involved in arbitration proceedings and advised financial institutions and governments.

The board of the Arbitration Court of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce now consists of the following members:

• Garðar Víðir Gunnarsson, Chairman – lawyer and owner at Lex Law Offices
• Agla Eir Vilhjálmsdóttir – lawyer at BBA//Fjeldco
• Finnur Magnússon – lawyer and partner at Juris Law Offices
• Halla Björgvinsdóttir – Chief Legal Officer at Embla Medical
• Haraldur I. Birgisson – lawyer and partner at Deloitte Legal

Lísbet Sigurðardóttir has been appointed the new Managing Director of the Arbitration Court, taking over from María Guðjónsdóttir.

The Arbitration Court of the Iceland Chamber of Commerce is an independent arbitration institution that offers parties a faster and more reliable method for resolving disputes than the general court system. The court is a neutral body that delivers objective decisions on matters in dispute, and in recent years, the number of cases it handles has been on the rise. The Arbitration Court has been operated, intermittently, by the Iceland Chamber of Commerce since 1921.