NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Knud Jacob Knudsen, Jenny Sandvig, Oda Lauksund Engamo and Nicholas Foss Barbantonis, Advokatfirmaet Simonsen Vogt Wiig
12.3 ADR Institutions ADR offered through the judicial system is well organised. There are also several well-organ- ised private organisations that offer ADR, such as mediation and arbitration, including the Bar Association, the Oslo Chamber of Commerce and the Nordic Offshore and Maritime Arbitra- tion Association. 13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration Arbitration that takes place in Norway is gov- erned by the Arbitration Act, which is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Com- mercial Arbitration. The enforcement of arbitral awards is regulated in the Arbitration Act and the Enforcement Act. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration Disputes in legal matters over which the parties do not have an unrestricted right of disposition cannot be determined by arbitration. The point of departure for assessing whether a claim is subject to unrestricted disposal by the parties is whether the parties can enter into an agree- ment regarding the claim outside of court pro- ceedings. Divorce is an example of a legal matter over which the parties have restricted disposal – the parties cannot agree extrajudicially to be divorced, which must be determined by a court. Consequently, divorce cannot be referred to and decided through arbitration. Furthermore, an arbitration agreement will not be binding on a consumer if it was entered into before the dispute arose.
13.3 Circumstances to Challenge an Arbitral Award Arbitral awards are binding on the parties and can only be set aside under exceptional circum- stances. An arbitral award can be set aside if: • the dispute is not capable of settlement by arbitration under Norwegian law; • the award is contrary to public policy (ordre public); • one of the parties to the arbitration agreement lacked legal capacity; • the arbitration agreement is invalid under the law to which the parties have agreed to subject it; • the party bringing the action to set aside was not given proper notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings, or was not given an opportunity to present their views on the case; • the award falls outside the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal; • the composition of the arbitral tribunal was incorrect; or • the arbitral procedure was contrary to law or the agreement of the parties, and it is likely that this has had an impact on the decision. 13.4 Procedure for Enforcing Domestic and Foreign Arbitration An arbitral award can be enforced in Norway, irrespective of the country in which it was made. The enforcement process can be initiated by submitting a request for enforcement to the Norwegian enforcement authorities. Recognition and enforcement of an award is dependent on a party providing the original award or a certified copy thereof. If the award is not made in Nor- wegian, Swedish, Danish or English, the party must also provide a certified translation thereof. Documentation may be required to show the
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