NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Kristian Lindhartsen, Lilly Kathrin Relling and Tobias Kilde, Kvale Advokatfirma DA
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The ordinary courts in Norway have authority in all maritime disputes that are subject to Norwe - gian jurisdiction, unless the parties have agreed to arbitration. Norway does not have specialised courts (such as an Admiralty Court), so shipping and maritime-related disputes are submitted to and settled by the civil courts; this includes ship arrest, direct action claims, claims for salvage, cargo claims and charterparty claims, for exam - ple. There are three instances in the Norwegian court system: • the district courts; • the courts of appeal; and • the Supreme Court. The relevant legislation for the courts that have jurisdiction in maritime law matters is the Nor - wegian Dispute Act (NDA) and the Norwegian Court of Law Act. 1.2 Port State Control Norway is a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control signed on 26 January 1982 (the “Paris MOU”). By utilising a database, results from previous inspections can be made available, enabling member states of the Paris MOU to review a vessel’s risk category prior to entering a port. Port state control is regulated in domestic law under the Regulations of 24 November 2014 No 1458 on port state control. The controls are performed by the Norwegian Maritime Author -
ity, which holds jurisdiction over foreign ships arriving in Norwegian ports. A vessel may be detained if it is considered a hazard to the envi - ronment or safety, has breached the Maritime Labour Convention or has working conditions that pose an obvious threat to the crew’s safety. If a pollution incident occurs, the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) is responsible for the emergency response. The NCA is an agen - cy of the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and exercises authority pursuant to the Harbour and Fairways Act and the Pilotage Act, as well as parts of the Pollution Act. Section 17 of the Har - bour and Fairways Act provides legal grounds for the authorities to order wreck removal where a wreck poses a danger or disadvantage for navigation in port. 1.3 Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration Ship registration in Norway is divided into the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) and the Norwegian Ordinary Ship Register (NOR). Vessels owned by foreign entities can only reg - ister in NIS. The Norwegian Maritime Authority is in charge of registering vessels in both NIS and NOR, and holds jurisdiction over all vessels registered in Norway. It is also responsible for the registration of rights in ships in NIS. NOR is regulated by the Norwegian Maritime Code, while NIS is regulated by a special act called Lov om norsk internasjonalt skipsregister (the “NIS-law”). 1.4 Requirements for Ownership of Vessels For NOR, a vessel must be owned by a Norwe - gian or European Economic Area (EEA) person/ entity.
420 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook