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EmailJUDICIAL ASSISTANCE IN NORWAY
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS CIRCULAR RELATING TO THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN COUNTRIES IS PROVIDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TOTALLY ACCURATE IN A PARTICULAR CASE. QUESTIONS INVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF SPECIFIC FOREIGN LAWS SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE APPROPRIATE FOREIGN AUTHORITIES OR FOREIGN LEGAL COUNSEL.
The information relating to Norwegian law was obtained from sources available to the American Embassy in Oslo.
A. SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. Civil Cases:
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a) Personal Service: Norway and the United States are parties to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters (the Service Convention), 28 USCA (Appendix following Rule 4 FRCVP); VII Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory , Part VII, (Selected International Conventions) at 1-8.; 20 UST 361, TIAS No. 6638. The exclusive method available for obtaining personal service in Norway in civil cases is a "Request and Summary" pursuant to the Service Convention (See Martindale-Hubbell , above at pages 6-8 for models of the appropriate forms), with the documents to be served, directly to the Norwegian Central Authority:
Actual forms may be obtained from any U.S. Marshal''s office. Documents to be served should be translated into Norwegian and both originals and translations should be sent in duplicate. b) Service by Mail: Norway has declared, pursuant to its right under the Service Convention, that it objects to service of process by mail from abroad in civil and commercial cases. |
2. Criminal Cases:
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a) Personal Service: American consular officers can serve only federal criminal subpoenas on American citizens in Norway. See 22 CFR 92.86. In all other cases where personal service is desired, the documents should be sent under cover of a letter rogatory through diplomatic channels. The letter rogatory procedure is explained in 4 Moore''s Federal Practice 28.05. In order to initiate the procedure, send the letter rogatory, documents to be served and Norwegian translations to:
This office will forward the documents through diplomatic channels and ultimately a Norwegian court will effect service. Unavoidably, the entire process, including return of proof of service, may take several months. b) Service by Mail: Other than the cases referred to in subsection (a) above, letters rogatory is the only sure method which complies with Norwegian law for obtaining service in Norway in criminal cases. |
B. OBTAINING EVIDENCE
1. Civil Cases:
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a) Voluntary Depositions: Norway and the United States are parties to the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Evidence Convention), 28 USCA 1781 (1977 Supp.); VII Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory , Part VII (1983) at 11-20. Pursuant to the Evidence Convention and the Norwegian declaration thereto, American consular officers may take depositions in Norway if they obtain permission in each case from the Norwegian Central Authority. American attorneys may participate in such depositions or may send the questions to be posed (and translations thereof, if necessary), with instructions for a consular deposition, to the American Embassy in Oslo (See section D for address). Prior to doing so, however, it is advisable to ask the embassy to request permission of the Norwegian Central Authority three or four weeks prior to the desired deposition date. Simultaneously, arrangements for a stenographer and translator, if necessary, can be made by a consular officer at the embassy. b) Involuntary Depositions: When the witness(es) must be compelled to testify, an Evidence Convention request, with questions to be posed attached (and translations thereof, if necessary), should be sent directly to the Norwegian Central Authority, The Royal Ministry of Justice and Police. See section A.1.a for the address. The request must be copied from the model request form following the text of the Evidence Convention in Martindale-Hubbell . Norwegian policy regarding compelling pre-trial production of documents is contained in the Norwegian comments regarding Article 23 contained in footnote 3 following the text of the Evidence Convention in Martindale-Hubbell . |
2. Criminal Cases:
Whether witnesses are American or non-American, voluntary or involuntary depositions in criminal cases may be taken by Norwegian authorities only. This is because the Evidence Convention does not apply to criminal cases.
In order to obtain evidence in Norway in criminal cases, send a letter rogatory and the questions to be posed in duplicate to American Citizens Services. See section A.2.a for the address. An explanation of the letter rogatory procedure and a model letter can be found in 4 Moore''s Federal Practice . American Citizens Services will send the letter rogatory through the appropriate diplomatic channel. However, a delay of at least three or four months should be expected before the letters rogatory executed by a Norwegian court are returned.
C. ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS
There is no treaty, convention, or other international agreement in force between Norway and the United States regarding enforcement of judgments. Expedited enforcement of American judgments, therefore, is not available and each case must be retried on its merits.
D. AMERICAN POST IN NORWAY
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Consular Section |
E. OTHER TREATIES, CONVENTIONS & AGREEMENTS
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Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Consular Rights , |
11/2000
