NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Elisabeth Roscher, Geir Sviggum, Tine Vigmostad and Kristin Nordland Brattli, Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS
Act). This obligation also applies personally to board members, management representatives, employees and others acting on behalf of the company.
Particularly serious violations of economic crimes are handled by ØKOKRIM itself. In this regard, it should be noted that ØKOKRIM (unlike the police districts) has discretionary power to decide which cases to investigate. Its decision in this regard shall, in particular, be based on: • the scope and complexity of the investiga - tion/its economic size; • whether the case is international/cross-bor - der; and • whether the nature of the case is such that an investigation should be opened as a matter of principle. In respect of court proceedings, there are no specialised courts or judges for criminal cases in the Norwegian courts system. All courts and judges competent to handle criminal cases may handle cases involving violations of the Anti- corruption Provisions. 7.3 Jurisdictional Reach of Enforcement Bodies Norwegian law enforcement has the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes that fall within Norwegian jurisdiction (see 3.2 Geographical Reach of Applicable Legislation ). As mentioned in 7.2 Enforcement Bodies , ØKOKRIM has primary responsibility for the
7. Enforcement Trends 7.1 Enforcement
Under Norwegian law, enforcement of violations of the Anti-corruption Provisions of the Penal Code is a criminal matter, governed by the Nor - wegian Criminal Procedure Act (1981). 7.2 Enforcement Bodies ØKOKRIM is the Norwegian national authority for the investigation and prosecution of econom - ic and environmental crimes, including violations of the Anti-corruption Provisions. ØKOKRIM is simultaneously a public prosecutors’ office reporting to the Director of Public Prosecutions, as well as a centralised specialist police agency, organised under the National Police Directorate. In practice, cases involving corruption offences may also be handled by the specialist teams for economic crimes in the local police districts. In such cases, the police districts may – if nec - essary – request investigatory support from ØKOKRIM’s designated Assistance Team. The nature and extent of the support is determined on a case-by-case basis. By way of its support and guidance, ØKOKRIM contributes to building and maintaining competency in the police dis - tricts as well as to solving the cases. ØKOKRIM may also support the various special police agencies, such as the Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs, which investigates criminal offences committed by police officers.
enforcement of international cases. 7.4 Discretion for Mitigation and Aggravation Discretion for Mitigation
Norwegian criminal procedure does not cur - rently contain any formal system for non-trial resolutions such as plea agreements, deferred prosecution agreements and non-prosecution agreements. However, criminal cases may be resolved through penalty notices; ie, resolution
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