NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Knud Jacob Knudsen, Jenny Sandvig, Oda Lauksund Engamo and Nicholas Foss Barbantonis, Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig
reduce the liability if it considers it to be unrea- sonably burdensome for the liable party. 9.3 Pre-judgment and Post-judgment Interest Interest can be claimed under the Default Inter- est Act from the date payment was due, or within 30 days after the creditor has sent a claim for payment if no due date was agreed. The default interest rate is set biannually to a fixed percent- age annual interest rate. Default interest cannot be claimed if the delay is caused by circum- stances on the part of the creditor. 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment Enforcement can be initiated by filing a request for enforcement with the Norwegian enforcement authorities. The most common form of enforce- ment is the collection of monetary claims. For claims that are secured by a lien, collection nor- mally takes place through forced sale. For mon- etary claims that are not secured by a lien, the creditor must request a distraint procedure for the distraint of an asset belonging to the debtor. The lien obtained through this procedure then provides a basis for a forced sale. Other mech- anisms for enforcement include attachment of earnings and bankruptcy proceedings. The enforcement of claims other than monetary claims can take place through the direct exer- cise of power by the enforcement authorities. The enforcement authorities can also impose a current fine until the defendant fulfils their obli- gation. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country The enforcement of foreign judgments in Norway is primarily governed by two legislative provi- sions: the Enforcement Act and the Dispute Act.
Under these laws, foreign judgments do not have automatic legal effect in Norway and cannot be enforced until they have been declared enforce- able. The enforcement of foreign judgments in Norway requires legal authority either by statute or by treaty. The specifics are provided under Section 19-16 of the Dispute Act for legal effect and under Section 4-1 (2) (f) of the Enforcement Act for enforceability. For judgments from a country within the Euro- pean Economic Area (EEA) or European Union (EU), the Lugano Convention 2007 is applica- ble. Norway is a party to this convention, which authorises the recognition and enforcement of judgments made by a court in a Lugano country. The convention mandates that judgments ren- dered by courts in a convention country should be recognised without any special procedure (Article 33 (1)). A judgment that is enforceable in a convention state should also be enforced in another convention state when it has been declared enforceable in that state upon request from a party with a legal interest (Article 38). There are a number of exceptions and grounds on which a foreign decision may not be recog- nised or enforced, such as: • public policy reasons; • if the decision was given in default of appear- ance; or • if the decision is incompatible with a judg- ment given in a dispute between the same parties in Norway.
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