From the legislator, it is relevant to draw attention to the new rules on remote court sessions and remote examination. The rules are based on the principle that court proceedings in Norway shall take place in a meeting where the participants are physically present. However, the preparatory works maintains that it’s time to make these regulations more flexible, to ensure appropriate, modern and efficient court proceedings.

Section 13-1 third paragraph letter a and b in the Civil Procedure Act will from 1 July state that court hearings may be held in whole or in part as remote sessions when «it is specifically decided » or if «it is appropriate and justifiable «. Section 21-10 in the Civil Procedure Act will state that parties, witnesses and experts may be questioned by remote examination «when it is appropriate and justifiable».

From the Norwegian Supreme Court, HR-2022-1119-A is worth noting. Our partner Marianne Abeler argued the case on behalf of Troms Turlag, and won in all three instances. The judgment contains statements about the rights to buildings that have been built on another’s land. The Supreme Court also clarified the right to demand reimbursement of costs for work that the legal counsel has performed pro bono.

From the EFTA Court, we would like to highlight E-3/21. The question in this case was whether restrictions on the right to deduct debt interest according to section 6-41 of the Tax Act (former law) was compatible with the EEA Agreement Article 31, cf.  Article 34. Our partner Anette Fjeld argued the case on behalf of PRA Group AS together with a former colleague Daniel Herde, and with assistance from Lene Bergersen.

Oslo District Court has also launched new guidelines on large claim proceedings. The guidelines have been prepared in collaboration between the court and the Bar Association. The guidelines provide advice for dealing with cases with large claims, complicated legal issues or cases with a large amount of documents. As part of this project, some of the district court judges have visited law firms in Oslo to discuss the guidelines. Simonsen Vogt Wiig’s dispute resolution team received a visit from judge Anette Barth and judge Bård Skeie Hagen in the end of April.

The guidelines are available here  (in Norwegian).