NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Reusch, Jenny Sandvig, Oda Lauksund Engamo and Therese Sætre Løfsgaard, Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig
party in the case. The third party cannot put forward any independent claim but can provide evidence and argue in favour of the party they support. Third-party intervention shall be permitted by a per- son who, by virtue of their own legal status, has a real interest in one of the parties succeeding with its actions, and by associations, foundations and public bodies charged with promoting specific interests in cases that fall within the purpose and normal scope of such organisations. Furthermore, third-party intervention shall be declared in pleadings or at a court hearing before the case as such is ruled on. The declaration shall state the grounds for the intervention and shall be notified to the parties together with a time limit for contesting the intervention. If the intervention is contested, the issue of the right to intervene shall be determined by interlocutory order. Interested parties that are not a plaintiff or defendant, or that can join the lawsuit through third-party inter- vention, can give written submissions. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs The defendant may demand that a claimant who is not habitually resident in Norway provide security for their potential liability for costs that may incur during the proceedings before the current court. There are several exceptions to this rule. If security is ordered by the court but not provided within the prescribed time limit set by the court, the case shall be rejected. 4.6 Costs of Interim Applications/Motions For cases of provisional security, the legal cost rules set out in Chapter 20 of the Dispute Act apply as a starting point for liability for legal costs (Section 32-2 of the Dispute Act, first sentence). However, there are some peculiarities for two more special situations. In Section 32-10 of the Dispute Act, first sentence, it is specified that the court can also impose liability for legal costs in cases that are decided without an oral hearing. Furthermore, if costs are imposed on the defendant in a case concerning arrest, such costs
shall be included in the amount in respect of which arrest is taken. In both cases, it is a prerequisite that legal costs have been claimed. 4.7 Application/Motion Timeframe The timeframe for a court to deal with an application varies depending on the judicial authority and the form of procedure the case will follow. For proceedings before a conciliation board, the con- ciliation board will serve the complaint to the defend- ant if it proceeds with the case, together with an order to file a reply within a time limit, which shall normally be fixed at two weeks. After the reply is submitted, the preparation of the case is finished, and the conciliation board shall summon the parties to a meeting to hear the case. The meeting should take place within three months after the complaint is submitted. For proceedings in the court of first instance, the court will set a time limit for the defendant to submit the reply to the writ of summons (both after the general procedure and after the small claim procedure), which is normally three weeks (Section 9-3 of the Dispute Act, first paragraph, second sentence), unless the court decides that the reply shall be submitted at a court hearing during the preparatory stage (Section 9-5 of the Dispute Act). Immediately after the reply has been submitted, the court continues the preparation of the case. 5. Discovery 5.1 Discovery and Civil Cases Discovery in the traditional Anglo-American sense is not available in civil cases in Norway. The general rule is that the parties are obliged to produce the evidence requested, provided that the demand is sufficiently specified. There are several exceptions to this rule, and there is also a general requirement of proportionality between the evidence requested and the importance of the dispute. The right to demand evidence is consequently somewhat differ- ent and more limited than “discovery” in the traditional sense.
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