NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Trond Hatland, Per Ole Svor, Henrik Fabian Torgrimsby and Anders Eide Røyneberg, Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS
Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS Ruseløkkveien 38 0251 Oslo Norway Tel: +47 23 11 11 11
Email: tha@thommessen.no Web: www.thommessen.no
1. General 1.1 Prevalence of Arbitration
In matters where either of the parties is located out - side Norway, there is a tendency for parties to resort to the use of international arbitration through one of the recognised arbitration institutes in Europe – for exam - ple, the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce/Swedish Arbitration Association (SCC/SAA) in Stockholm or the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. 1.2 Key Industries The reinsurance industry is seeing an increase in the number of disputes referred to arbitration. As rein - surance is an international industry, this is leading to an increase in the number of international arbitration proceedings. A possible explanation for this trend is the tightening up of the insurance market, which has raised new and previously unresolved legal questions. Furthermore, there has been a notable rise in the num- ber of post-M&A disputes being referred to arbitration. What these reinsurance and post-M&A disputes have in common is the frequent involvement of international elements. The general impression is that international disputes are on the rise in Europe due to, among other things, market disturbances and the war in Ukraine leading to disturbed supply chains and sanctions, affecting a number of industries. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions The Arbitration Act is based on ad hoc arbitration, and many international arbitrations are therefore not resolved under the auspices of a Norwegian arbitra - tion institution.
Arbitration is frequently used among professional parties in Norway, and is often the preferred dispute resolution method. For example, it is the prevailing dispute resolution method in the reinsurance market and within the M&A sector in Norway, and is also gen - erally preferred by parties in other large commercial agreements. The three main reasons parties choose to have dis - putes resolved by arbitration in Norway are: • the potential for a quicker dispute resolution process compared to the process offered by the ordinary Norwegian courts; • the possibility to influence the composition of the arbitral tribunal; and • the potential for a confidential process. Domestic parties most frequently rely on ad hoc arbi - tration as prescribed by the Norwegian Arbitration Act of 14 May 2004 No 25 (the “Arbitration Act”) and less so on institutional arbitration proceedings, which in Norway are offered by the Oslo Chamber of Com - merce (OCC) and the Nordic Offshore & Maritime Arbi - tration Association (NOMA), for example. International arbitration through foreign arbitration institutes is not that commonly agreed between purely domestic parties. However, Swedish or Danish arbi - trators are occasionally involved in Norwegian matters and vice versa, due to the similarities between the legal systems in the Scandinavian countries.
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