Counsellor Dr. Matthías G. Pálsson

Military Representative – Iceland
2009

Personal information:

Employment History:

January 2009 : Representative to the Military Committee at the Icelandic Delegation to NATO in Brussels, Belgium
September 2005 to January 2009: Counsellor and Legal Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Iceland to the United Nations in New York. Delegate of Iceland to the Sixth Committee (International Law) September 2005 to January 2009, Delegate of Iceland to the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) June 2007 to January 2009, Delegate of Iceland to the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary matters) September 2005 to July 2007
August 2001 to August 2005: First Secretary in the Defense Departement of the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Reykjavík
January 2003 until present: Adjunct and part-time teacher of Contract Law and European Contract Law at the University of Reykjavik
March to July 2001: Temporary position as a lawyer at EFTA Secretariat in Brussels
March 1994 to August 1996: Lawyer and Attorney at Faktor Patentbureau in Reykjavik
January 1995 to June 1996: Part-time lecturer in Contract Law at the University of Iceland
November 1993 to March 1994: Lawyer at the Magistrate of Kópavogur District in Iceland
January and February 1993: Legal trainee at the State Criminal Investigation Police in Iceland
July and August 1992: Trainee in the Law Departments (domestic and international) of Strabag Bau AG, Köln, Germany

Education:

January to May 2008: UNITAR Fellow in international law at Columbia University Law School
September 1996 to January 2001: PhD researcher in Law at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. Research Topic: “Unfairness in European Contract Law and International Trade Law.” Successfully defended the thesis and obtained the doctorate in May 2001
January to May 1999: Research at the Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht in Hamburg
March to July 1998: Study at the London School of Economics and Political Science
August 1994: Became Member of the National Bar Association in Iceland
September 1987 to October 1993: The Law Faculty of the University of Iceland in Reykjavík. Graduated as a lawyer (cand. jur.) on October 23, 1993. Title of Final Thesis: “Law and Rules concerning Invitation to Tender and Tendering, in a Comparative Context with EU Law and Scandinavian Law”
February to June 1993: Exchange law student under the ERASMUS Program at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. Studied Substantial EC Law, Traditional Chinese Law and Legal Thought, and Commercial Organisations and Intellectual Property
September to December 1992: Exchange law student under the NORDPLUS Program at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Studied Comparative Commercial Law, Negotiation and Dispute Resolution, and attended the third course; Nordic Marine Law

Work related courses:

March 2008: A joint seminar by the International Red Cross and York University on International Humanitarian Law
April 2007: Diploma from the Protocol School of Washington as a corporate Etiquette and International Protocol Consultant
July 2004: Three week course on Oceans and the Law of the Sea at the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy in Rhodos, Greece
March 2003: Course for NATO Legal Advisers at the Nato School in Oberammergau in Germany

Languages