Mandate for the government petroleum fund’s advisory council on ethics

The Ministry of Finance presented ethical guidelines for the Government Petroleum Fund in the Revised National Budget for 2004. The Storting endorsed the guidelines in Budget

Recommendation to the Storting No. 1 (2003-2004). The Ministry of Finance will establish such guidelines with effect from 1 December 2004.

The guidelines establish the following tasks for the Advisory Council on Ethics:

1

The Government Petroleum Fund’s Advisory Council on Ethics shall be composed of five members. The Council shall have its own secretariat. The Council shall submit an annual report on its activities to the Ministry of Finance.

2

The Council is to issue recommendations at the request of the Ministry of Finance on whether an investment may be in violation of Norway’s obligations under international law.

3

The Council is to issue recommendations on negative screening of one or several companies on the basis of the production of weapons whose normal use is in violation of fundamental humanitarian principles. The Council is to issue recommendations on the exclusion of one or more companies from the investment universe where there is deemed to exist a considerable risk of contributing to actions or omissions that involve:

- Gross or systematic violation of human rights, such as murder, torture, deprivation of liberty, forced labour, the worst forms of child labour and other forms of child exploitation

- Gross violations of individual rights in war or conflict situations

- Severe environmental degradation

- Gross corruption

- Other particularly serious violations of fundamental ethical norms

The Council is to raise matters under this section on its own initiative or at the request of the Ministry of Finance.

4

The Council is to gather the necessary information on an independent basis and ensure that the matter is elucidated as fully as possible before a recommendation concerning screening or exclusion from the investment universe is issued. The Council can request Norges Bank to provide information as to how specific companies are dealt with in the exercise of ownership rights. All enquiries to such companies shall be channelled through Norges Bank. If the Council is considering an exclusion recommendation, the draft recommendation, and the grounds for it, shall be submitted to the company for comment.

5

The Council shall review on a regular basis whether the grounds for exclusion still apply and can on receipt of new information recommend that the Ministry of Finance reverse the exclusion decision.

See the Revised National Budget for 2004 for an elaboration of the ethical guidelines and of the Council’s tasks.

According to the ethical guidelines, the recommendations of the Council on Ethics and the decisions of the Ministry of Finance are in the public domain. The Ministry may in special cases defer the date of publication if this is deemed necessary to assure due and proper disinvestment from a financial point of view. Against this background, and in regard to the Council’s recommendations, the Ministry of Finance is the appropriate body to approve or reject requests to examine documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Ministry of Finance determines the Council members’ and the secretaries’ remuneration as well as the Council’s budget. The Ministry of Finance shall be the contractual counterparty to any agreement the Council needs to enter into with other parties.

The Ministry of Finance may make additions to or changes in this mandate.