NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Andreas Stang Lund, Per Conradi Andersen, Alexander Daae and Emilie Wilberg, Kvale Advokatfirma DA
4.2 Requirements to Engage in ADR There is no general obligation for parties to engage in ADR. However, the court may decide that judicial court-led mediation shall take place if it finds that the matter is suitable for that. If a party fails to participate or does not engage in good faith, this may have con- sequences for the court’s allocation of costs, but no ADR in general has no material impact on court pro- ceedings. Formal ADR (such as judicial mediation) presupposes that a writ has already been filed, mean- ing that the case is already pending before the courts when ADR takes place. 4.4 Timing of ADR ADR may take place before, during and after court proceedings; as such, ADR in itself does not suspend limitation periods. However, the filing of a writ – which enables formal ADR under the Dispute Act – interrupts the running of limitation periods. 4.5 Confidentiality further sanctions apply. 4.3 Impact of ADR During court-led mediation, the negotiations are confi- dential. The mediating judge may not play a future role in the case nor report from the negotiations, including to other judges, if a settlement is not reached. If the settlement is made through an in-court settlement, that in-court settlement is public, as it has the same effect as a judgment. For that reason, it is not uncom- mon to enter into an out-of-court settlement even if the settlement has been reached through court-ed media- tion. With regard to both out-of-court negotiations and out-of-court settlements, parties are advised to enter into a non-disclosure agreement if they want to keep the outcome confidential. 4.6 Costs The parties typically bear their own legal costs when a case is settled amicably. Court fees are usually borne by the claimant. Any additional costs, such as fees for extra mediators, are generally shared equally between the parties, unless otherwise agreed. 4.7 Courts and ADR Over the past 20 years, the courts have been a key driving force behind the development and use of ADR
In addition, the arbitration tribunal may request that Norwegian courts refer questions concerning the interpretation of the EEA Agreement to the EFTA Court, insofar as this will be relevant for the tribunal when deciding the matter. 3.9 Court Intervention The courts may intervene in arbitration in limited cir- cumstances, including: • deciding on challenges to arbitrators; • granting interim relief even where the dispute is to be resolved by arbitration; and • reviewing the validity of an arbitral award, including in set-aside proceedings. 3.10 Relief Arbitration tribunals may grant the same types of relief as the ordinary courts, including declaratory relief, damages and other civil remedies. The tribunal may: • rule on its own jurisdiction, including the validity of the arbitration agreement; • decide on challenges to arbitrators; • grant interim measures, unless otherwise agreed by the parties; and • render the final award. In Norway, ADR refers to methods of resolving dis- putes outside the ordinary courts. It is not a single legal regime, but a collective term for several mecha- nisms, including out-of-court mediation, formal ADR, arbitration and complaint boards. Referring to formal ADR specifically, under the Dispute Act, ADR procedures include both court-led mediation ( rettsmekling ) and non-judicial mediation ( utenrettslig mekling ). In addition, the courts have a duty to actively consider and facilitate amicable settlement between the parties. 4. Other ADR Methods 4.1 ADR Procedures More generally, parties are free to negotiate a settle- ment at any stage – prior to, during and after litigation or arbitration.
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