Skip to main content
Menu Menu Close
Asia and the Pacific
Western Asia
Flag

Norway

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

May 2024

Parliament approves constitutional amendments to protect judicial independence

On 21 May, Parliament unanimously approved constitutional amendments to improve constitutional protection for the functioning and independence of courts and judges, with 168 votes in favour out of a total 169 seats (one abstention). The amendments are based on recommendations from the Courts Commission, appointed in 2017 under the Ministry of Justice to identify areas where the courts could be vulnerable to abuses of power. The Constitution previously guaranteed the principle of independence of the courts, but the government argues that the judiciary requires further protection against ‘rapid legislative changes from a narrow political majority.’ The amendments enshrine in the Constitution the court hierarchy, particularly to fill a gap in constitutional protections for lower courts; protect the appointment process for judges, particularly the government’s duty, set out in the Courts Act, to obtain a recommendation from an independent council (the Judicial Appointments Board) when appointing judges to guard against political influence; and improve protections for judges from arbitrary transfer or termination.

Sources: Stortinget (1), Stortinget (2), Regjeringen, Stortinget (3), NRK

March 2024

Parties to windfarm dispute reach agreement

On 7 March, Fosen Vind, a joint venture led by state-owned enterprise Statkraft, reached an agreement with the Nord-Fosen siida, a local community of Indigenous Sámi people, over the construction of a windfarm on lands used by Sámi people for centuries for reindeer husbandry. The agreement establishes that the Roan Vind farm can continue its operations and includes provisions for the sustainable continuation of reindeer herding in the region. The agreement allocates wind energy for local purposes, establishes a government grant geared towards supporting Sámi culture, and foresees the designation of area for reindeer grazing in the winter (to be available starting from 2026-2027). In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that the windfarm’s construction violated Indigenous rights, and ruled the project illegal unless remedies could be agreed. The Ministry of Energy has mediated the dispute among other stakeholders since April 2023. In December 2023, Fosen Vind reached a partial agreement with the Sør-Fosen sijte for the continued operations of the other site concerned by the court’s ruling, the Storheia windfarm.

Sources: Sametinget, Jurist, Regjeringen (1), Regjeringen (2), Aneo Group, NRK, Constitutional Court

September 2023

Labour party suffers first-time loss in local elections in 99 years
Watch flag

The results of the local elections show a shift towards more conservative local government. After more than a century, conservative opposition parties, including the right-wing anti-immigration Progress Party (FrP), came out ahead. The 11 September polls asked voters to elect representatives for local councils in 356 municipalities and 11 counties. The ruling centre-left Labour party lost ground, marking the first time the party did not place first in local elections since 1924. Labour placed second, declining from 24.9 per cent of the vote in 2019 to 21.7 per cent. The opposition centre-right Høyre won 25.9 per cent of the vote, up from 20.1 per cent in the 2019 local elections, even outperforming Labour in Oslo. FrP came in third on an anti-immigration platform, boosting its vote share from 8.3 per cent to 11.4 per cent. The turnout was 62.4 per cent, down from 64.7 per cent in 2019. A total of 42 per cent of candidates who stood in the election are women, according to Statistics Norway (a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the 2019 election).

Sources: Euractiv, AP, Election Directorate, NRK, Science Norway, Statistics Norway (1), Statistics Norway (2)

August 2023

Data protection watchdog fines Meta over behavioural advertising

In August, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s temporary ban on Meta’s behavioural advertising went into effect, and the watchdog began fining Meta NOK 1,000,000 per day for non-compliance. The decision, taken in July, instituted a three-month ban on Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, from targeting users with behavioural advertising on its social media platforms, which track users’ online activity for marketing purposes. According to the Data Protection Authority, the decision seeks to safeguard the data protection rights of Norwegian users, where Meta fails to secure consent to process users’ behavioural data. Earlier in July, the European Court of Justice ruled that users visiting a platform cannot be construed to mean that the user manifestly makes sensitive data public, as grounds for permitting such data to be processed. Meta has filed a case with the Oslo District Court to grant a temporary injunction to halt the ban, and a decision is expected in September.

Sources: Datatilsynet (1), Datatilsynet (2), NRK, Wired, European Court of Justice, Euractiv, Meta

See all event reports for this country

Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

Chevron
Representation
4/173
Rights
23/173
Rule of Law
11/173
Participation
3/173
Tooltip text

Basic Information

Chevron
Population Tooltip
5 408 320
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (since 2021)
Head of government party
Labour Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
44.4%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
6.43
Head of state
King Harald V
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
06/05/2019
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
73.03%
Tooltip text

Human Rights Treaties

Chevron
State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Signatory
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
in
Tooltip text

Create your monthly alerts

and receive a customized selection of reports directly in your inbox

Sign up

Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Apr 2024
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Apr 2024
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Apr 2024
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Apr 2024
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

0 10