NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Knud Jacob Knudsen, Jenny Sandvig, Oda Lauksund Engamo and Nicholas Foss Barbantonis, Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig
based on the complexity and specific demands of the case. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings As a main rule, civil court proceedings in Nor- way are open to the public. Cases under the Children’s Act and the Marriage Act and cases between spouses, cohabitants and divorced persons regarding the distribution of property are not open to the public, unless the court decides they should be, for special reasons. The same applies to matters concerning the review of coercive decisions in the health and social care sector. In addition to these excep- tions, the court may decide that a hearing shall not be open to the public if this is required for the sake of privacy or proper case information, for example. Court decisions in civil cases are available to the public. With a few exceptions, this is also true for final written submissions (the parties’ summary of the arguments), court hearing records, court mediation protocols and cost reports. Writs of summons, notices of defence and other written pleadings are not available to the public, but the parties may give access to the documents. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court Only lawyers or authorised assistant lawyers may appear as legal representatives in Norwe- gian courts. A master’s degree in law is required in order to obtain a lawyer’s licence in Norway, in addition to having passed a mandatory course and having at least two years of relevant work experience involving civil court proceedings. A foreign lawyer may act as counsel if the court finds no objections to this in view of the nature of the case and other circumstances.
Only lawyers who are entitled to appear before the Supreme Court can be engaged as counsel in cases that involve an oral hearing before the Supreme Court. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding Litigation funding by a third party is not regulated by the Norwegian Dispute Act or other civil acts. It is permitted insofar as it does not violate any civil procedural provisions or principles. Third- party litigation funding is still in its infancy in Nor- way, but in recent years the concept has started moving towards becoming a more established dispute resolution tool. In June 2023, the Norwegian Supreme Court issued a ruling that implies a limitation on third- party litigation funding (HR-2023-1034-A). The question was whether the provisions of the Dis- pute Act allow for third-party litigation funding in an opt-out class action lawsuit when the third party would have its costs and return covered through a reduction of the compensation award- ed to the group members, if any. The Supreme Court concluded that the provisions of the Dis- pute Act do not allow for this and stated that it is a task for the legislature to assess whether changes should be made to the Dispute Act’s rules on class action lawsuits. The lawsuit was thus rejected. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits In principle, all types of lawsuits are available for third-party funding. However, as described in 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding , the Norwegian Supreme Court’s decision in June 2023 (HR- 2023-1034-A) implies a limitation on third-party funding in opt-out class action lawsuits.
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