NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Harald Sætermo, LexOslo
1. Legal System 1.1 Legal System and Judicial Order
In addition, there are administrative appeals boards, such as the Immigration Appeals Board and the Tax Appeals Board, as well as private, industry-based dis - pute resolution bodies, such as the Norwegian Finan - cial Services Complaints Board. Although Norway is not a member of the EU, EU law has a substantial practical impact through the Agree - ment on the European Economic Area (the “EEA Agreement”). The EEA Agreement extends the EU internal market to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and covers areas such as the four freedoms, establish - ment rights, competition law and a substantial body of EU secondary legislation. EEA-relevant EU acts are incorporated into the EEA Agreement and implement - ed in Norwegian law, typically through legislation or regulations. Norwegian provisions implementing EEA obligations prevail over conflicting Norwegian provi - sions regulating the same matter. Norwegian courts place considerable weight on relevant case law from both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court. A distinctive feature of the EEA system is its two-pillar structure: Norway remains outside the EU institutions but is subject to parallel EEA supervision through the EFTA Surveillance Authority and judicial oversight by the EFTA Court. 2. Restrictions on Foreign Investments 2.1 Approval of Foreign Investments Norway does not currently have a general foreign investment approval regime applying to all acquisi - tions of Norwegian businesses. Foreign investors may generally establish companies, acquire shares and operate in Norway on the same basis as Norwegian investors, subject to ordinary corporate, tax, employ - ment, competition and sector-specific rules. The Norwegian Security Act The main investment screening rules are found in the Norwegian Security Act. These rules are directed at national security risks and apply to acquisitions of qualified ownership interests in undertakings that are subject to ownership control under Chapter 10 of the Act, typically because their activities, information, infrastructure or systems are important to fundamen -
Norway is a civil law jurisdiction. Legislation, including Acts of Parliament and secondary regulations, is the primary source of law, but preparatory works, case law and treaty obligations are also important legal sources. Although Norway is not a common law juris - diction, Supreme Court judgments carry significant precedential weight and are generally followed by lower courts. The ordinary courts are organised in three tiers. The Supreme Court is Norway’s highest court and serves as the final court of appeal in civil and criminal mat - ters. It consists of 20 justices and is headed by the Chief Justice. Together with the Norwegian Parliament (the Storting ) and the government, the Supreme Court is one of Norway’s highest constitutional bodies. The courts of appeal hear appeals in civil and criminal cases from the district courts and land consolidation courts within their respective geographical jurisdic - tions. There are six courts of appeal in Norway. The district courts are the ordinary courts of first instance. Norway has 28 district courts, operating across a total of 59 court locations. They hear both civil and criminal cases. In 2025, the average case processing time for civil disputes before the district courts was 5.3 months. For many civil disputes, Norway’s Conciliation Boards serve as the first step and primarily function as media - tion bodies. Norway also has certain specialised courts and court- like bodies, such as the Labour Court, which handles disputes between parties to collective agreements concerning such agreements, and the land consoli - dation courts, which deal with matters relating to property boundaries and rights in real property. Nor - wegian courts are independent, and judges cannot be instructed on how to decide individual cases. The courts may also review the constitutionality of legis - lation and the legality of administrative decisions in cases brought before them.
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