CMS Expert Guide to Digital Litigation in Norway

The Norwegian civil justice system has come quite far in terms of digitalisation. Over the last decade, different aspects of the litigation process have become more effective through digital solutions. 

The most important digital aspect is a specially designed communication platform called “Aktorportalen”, which is used for all communication between the judicial system and the legal counsels. It is mandatory for lawyers to use this platform when filing documents such as writs, defence pleadings, etc. to the courts. All these documents are expediated electronically. If a lawyer represents the opposing party, the lawyer's legal counsel will receive the document through this platform. The courts also use this digital platform to serve depositions to parties through their lawyers. However, the electronic communication platform “Aktorportalen” is not available for parties who make claims before the courts without a legal counsel. If a party is not represented by a lawyer, but represent themselves, they cannot file or receive submissions, etc. electronically.

Another digital aspect in the civil litigation process is the use of digital depositions during court procedures. This option has existed for some time, but the use of digital depositions became much more common during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The courts also produce and use electronical case documents, which are made available to the parties and their legal counsels during the court proceedings. It is less common for judges to use paper briefs during court proceedings.

Furthermore, under the Norwegian Civil Procedures Act, it is intended for courts to record their proceedings, both with audio and video equipment. The main intention behind this regulation is to document the case and to ease the proceedings before the Court of Appeal. However, although this regulation came in place in 2005, there is still a severe lack of funding to provide all the courts with necessary equipment. A limited number of courts have been given funding through a pilot project, but most courts, both district courts and courts of appeal, still lack necessary video and audio equipment. This means that the use of digital recording for the most part is non existing.

When it comes to digital solutions used during the court proceedings, it should also be said that the Norwegian Supreme Court has increased the use of a streaming options for its court hearings. This solution came in place during the pandemic. Today the use of streaming is primarily used in the most important cases processed by the Supreme Court. 

There are a variety of different digital and technical measures available in civil litigation before the courts, as described under Question 1. In addition to the measures already mentioned, the courts have an electronic file management system that they use when processing electronic submissions. This system is linked to the electronic communication platform that attorneys must use when communicating with the courts.

The courts use existing tools and technical capabilities frequently. The digital case handling systems described under Question 1 are mandatory for the courts and lawyers.

For the most part, the answer is yes. The electronic case handling and communications systems in place are mandatory. As mentioned under Question 1, attorneys are obligated to communicate electronically with the courts. The courts are also obliged to use their electronic case handling system when dealing with civil disputes.

As described above, a large part of the Norwegian litigation process is digitalised. However, for some parts of the process there is still a way to go, especially in terms of recordings during the court procedures (see Question 1).

Yes, there are specific rules in place that address the use of technology in litigation. Most rules can be found in different regulations deviated from the Norwegian Civil Procedures Act.

Not to our knowledge.

Not to our knowledge.

We assume that there are different technical measures in place to prevent unwanted access/IT-security breaches. However, for the most part, the content of these measures is not publicly available information. One example of a security measure that we are familiar with is that attorneys must use a personal and simple electronic ID for secure identification to access the digital communication platform used to submit court documents. Furthermore, the Norwegian Regulation on electronic communication with the courts requires the Norwegian National Courts Administration to implement technical and organisational measures to secure confidentiality, integrity, and availability in relation to electronic communication between the courts and the users of the digital communication platform.

Regarding rules applying to the use of data, the Norwegian legislator has explicitly exempted the processing of personal data in connection with court proceedings from the requirements in the GDPR and the Norwegian Personal Data Act. Instead, the legal framework for such processing is Norwegian civil and criminal procedural rules. The procedural legislation regulates the extent to which the courts can share data and case files with third parties.

So far, we have not seen an increase in Norway of legal tech companies collecting consumer claims, or an increase in class actions due to the use of digital tools. However, in our opinion, it is not unlikely that this will be more common in the future given the fact that digital tools have made the handling of large-scale claims easier. The use of digital and automated processes can give legal tech companies the opportunity to scale up operations, potentially resulting in a higher volume of legal claims being filed against businesses. For the affected businesses, this will mean a higher risk of increased economic and human resources used to process and handle the claims.

Not to our knowledge.