Most civil disputes in Norway are resolved under the Dispute Act (tvisteloven). This article gives a short overview of the main steps: the conciliation board, the ordinary courts, costs, appeals, enforcement of foreign judgements and arbitration. It is written for businesses and individuals involved in a civil dispute.
Who can bring a case, and do you need a lawyer?
Parties may conduct their own case in court, but they may also use a representative, normally a lawyer (Section 3-1 of the Dispute Act). The court can order a party to use a lawyer if the party is unable to present the case in a satisfactory way (Section 3-2). In practice, most parties in larger disputes are represented by a lawyer.
The conciliation board (forliksrådet)
What the conciliation board is
There is a conciliation board in each municipality, although municipalities may share one. Each board has three members, who are elected by the municipal council for four years (Courts of Section 27 of the Justice Act and Section 57). The members are lay people, not judges. The board’s main task is to help the parties reach a settlement.
When the conciliation board is skipped
As a rule, a case must first be brought before the conciliation board. There are important exceptions (Section 6-2 of the Dispute Act). In particular, the conciliation board is not used where:
the value in dispute is at least NOK 200,000 and both parties are assisted by a lawyer;
the dispute has already been dealt with by an approved out-of-court dispute resolution board, or the parties have tried out-of-court mediation under chapter 7 of the Dispute Act;
the case concerns certain intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks and designs.
Judgement in the conciliation board
The board may give judgement if both parties consent. Where the value in dispute is below NOK 200,000, the board may also give judgement if one party asks for it. The board can also give judgement if a party fails to respond or appear, or if the objections are obviously untenable.
A judgement requires that all members agree (Section 6-10). If the board cannot decide the case, it can be referred to the district court.
The ordinary courts
The ordinary courts have three levels:
the district courts (tingrett), first instance;
the courts of appeal (lagmannsrett), second instance;
the Supreme Court (Høyesterett).
District court
A case starts with a writ of summons (stevning). The defendant is given a deadline to file a reply. The court then plans the case together with the parties.
The main hearing should be scheduled no later than six months after the writ was received, unless there are special reasons (Section 9-4). The judgement should normally be given within four weeks after the main hearing, or two weeks if the case was heard by a single judge. In heavy cases it may take longer (Section 19-4).
Court of appeal
The deadline for appealing a judgement is one month from service (Section 29-5). If the value of the subject matter of the appeal is below NOK 250,000, the appeal can only be heard with the consent of the court of appeal. Consent may also be refused in other cases if the appeal is clearly unlikely to succeed (Section 29-13).
Supreme Court
An appeal to the Supreme Court requires the consent of the Supreme Court’s Appeals Committee. Consent is given only where the appeal concerns issues that are important beyond the case itself, or where it is important for other reasons that the Supreme Court hears the case (Section 30-4).
Court fees and legal costs
Court fees are set by the Court Fees Act (rettsgebyrloven) as multiples of the court fee unit (rettsgebyret, R). The current amount of R is set each year in the Section 2-1 of the Court Fees Regulation.
For a civil case in the district court, the fee is 5R for the first day of the main hearing. Further days increase the fee. In the court of appeal, the fee for an appeal case is 24R. The fee is reduced if the case is withdrawn or settled in good time before the hearing (Section 8 of the Court Fees Act).
Lawyers’ fees are agreed between lawyer and client. As a starting point, the party who wins the case is entitled to full compensation for its necessary legal costs from the other party. The court may make exceptions (Section 20-2 of the Dispute Act and Section 20-5). Both court fees and the risk of paying the other side’s costs should be part of the assessment before a case is brought.
Interim measures
A party can apply to the court for interim measures (midlertidig sikring) to secure a monetary claim or another claim before the case is decided (Section 34-1 of the Dispute Act and Section 34-2).
Specialised courts and tribunals
Some disputes are dealt with outside the ordinary court system or follow special rules:
The Labour Court (Arbeidsretten) hears disputes about collective agreements.
The National Insurance Court (Trygderetten) hears appeals in national insurance and pension cases.
The Competition Appeals Board (Konkurranseklagenemnda) is an independent administrative appeals body, not a court. It hears appeals against certain decisions of the Norwegian Competition Authority.
The land consolidation courts (jordskifterettene) deal with land consolidation and certain property boundary cases. Their decisions are appealed to the court of appeal (Section 8-1 of the Land Consolidation Act).
Oslo District Court has exclusive jurisdiction at first instance in a number of intellectual property cases. These include civil actions about the validity and infringement of patents, registered trademarks and registered designs, and civil actions about copyright infringement (Section 63 of the Patents Act, Section 62 of the Trademarks Act, Section 46 of the Design Act, Section 85 of the Copyright Act).
Enforcement of foreign judgements
Foreign judgements are recognised in Norway when this follows from statute or a treaty, or when the foreign court had jurisdiction under a choice-of-court agreement (Section 19-16 of the Dispute Act).
Lugano Convention 2007. The convention has the force of law in Norway (Section 4-8). Judgements from the other states bound by the convention can be declared enforceable in Norway.
Choice-of-court agreements. If the parties have agreed that the courts of a particular country shall have jurisdiction in a dispute over a specific legal relationship, a judgement from that court may be recognised (Section 4-6 and Section 19-16). The agreement must meet the requirements of Section 4-6, and recognition can be refused if it would be manifestly contrary to Norwegian public policy (ordre public).
Collecting undisputed monetary claims
A creditor can, in some cases, apply to the enforcement officer (namsmannen) for enforcement on the basis of the creditor’s own written notice to the debtor, which shows the basis and the amount of the claim (Section 7-2 (f) of the Enforcement Act). The debtor is given at least three weeks to respond and is asked to state their position on the claim (Section 7-6).
If the debtor objects, the case is not enforced on this basis. It is sent to the conciliation board if the creditor has asked for this, or otherwise closed (Section 7-7). It is therefore important for a debtor who disagrees with a claim to respond in time.
Arbitration
Arbitration is governed by the Arbitration Act 2004 (voldgiftsloven) and requires an agreement between the parties. In consumer matters, an arbitration agreement entered into before the dispute arose is not binding on the consumer. An agreement made after the dispute has arisen must be set out in a separate document signed by the consumer (Section 11 of the Arbitration Act).
Arbitral awards are recognised and enforced in Norway regardless of the country in which they were made, subject to the grounds for refusal in the Act (Sections 45 and 46). Norway is also a party to the New York Convention of 1958. This makes arbitration relevant for international contracts, but the choice between arbitration and the courts depends on the contract, the parties and where enforcement may be needed.
How we can help
Advokatfirmaet Sterk AS (org. no. 931 556 584, St. Olavs plass 3, 0165 Oslo, advokats.no) advises businesses and individuals on civil disputes. If you would like us to look at your situation, you can contact us. Information about our fees is available at advokats.no/priser.
This article provides general information as of 29 October 2026 and is not legal advice for your specific situation.