NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Trond Hatland, Per Ole Svor, Henrik Fabian Torgrimsby and Anders Eide Røyneberg, Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS
ments for legal representatives in arbitration proceed - ings. A party can decide not to appoint legal counsel – although in general this is not recommended. However, there are legal requirements for representa - tives acting on behalf of a client and before the regular courts in Norway, as set out in the Norwegian Act relating to mediation and procedure in civil disputes (the “Dispute Act”) – see Section 3-3. The main rule is that the legal representative must be a qualified lawyer to appear in the national courts. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence The general rule on evidence is set out in Section 28 of the Arbitration Act, which states that the parties are responsible for substantiating the case and are entitled to present such evidence as they wish. Usually, the witnesses meet directly before the arbi - tral tribunal and are available for cross-examination. If requested by a party or the arbitral tribunal, an expert who has submitted a written report is obliged to attend the oral hearing, where the parties have the opportunity to ask questions and to present expert witnesses to testify on the points at issue; see Section 29 of the Arbitration Act. The arbitral tribunal – or a party with the consent of the arbitral tribunal – may also ask the domestic courts to take testimony from the parties or witnesses and to record other evidence. The arbitrators are entitled to be present and to ask questions during the taking of evidence. In such instances, the relevant party or witness is obliged to meet before the court, subject to the provisions in the Dispute Act. The Arbitration Act does not contain any rules on dis - covery, disclosure or privilege. 8.2 Rules of Evidence See 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence . The rules of evidence in the Arbitration Act are less detailed than the rules of evidence in the Dispute Act, which apply in domestic matters. However, the parties
are free to agree on more specific rules of evidence in the specific matter. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion As mentioned in 7.2 Procedural Steps , the Arbitration Act does not contain any provisions that authorise the arbitral tribunal to force a party to disclose docu - ments, and the same will apply relating to the attend - ance of witnesses. However, as mentioned in 8.1 Collection and Submis- sion of Evidence , the arbitrators may ask the ordinary courts for assistance to hear statements from the par - ties or witnesses, or to record other evidence. In such instances, the more detailed rules in the Dispute Act will apply to the hearing of the evidence, including the rules that oblige everyone (ie, both the parties and third parties) to provide any relevant information and documentation available to them. As mentioned in 2.1 Governing Law , Section 5 of the Arbitration Act sets out that the arbitration proceed - ings and any resulting awards are not confidential, unless the parties agree otherwise for the specific dispute. Consequently, an agreement regarding con - fidentiality must be entered into after the dispute has arisen. In such instances, the parties may agree that the whole or parts of the proceedings will be subject to confidentiality. If the parties have agreed on confidentiality, the main rule is that the information cannot be disclosed in sub - sequent proceedings. However, there is an important exemption where a party is obliged by law to present the relevant documentation or information. This will, as a main rule, be the case in proceedings before the regular courts if the information is considered to con - stitute evidence in the proceedings; see Section 21-5 of the Dispute Act, which sets out that “[a]ll persons have a duty to testify about factual circumstances and to grant access to objects etc. that may constitute evi - dence in legal proceedings, subject to the limitations in the rules on prohibited and exempted evidence in 9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
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