Commission proposes abolition of impeachment (Dagens Næringsliv)

A parliamentary commission led by Ranveig Frøiland (Lab) has proposed that the Storting should abolish the procedure for impeaching government ministers. The last time anyone was impeached in Norway was in 1927. A clear majority of the commission’s members want criminal proceedings against government ministers to be handled in the normal way by the public prosecution service and the courts. The parliamentary commission was set up by the Storting to evaluate its control functions. The commission will publish its recommendations before the summer.

Norwegian state sued for NOK 55 million (Dagbladet)

The insurance company, Vesta, is suing the Norwegian state and the National Rail Administration for NOK 55 million following the Åsta train crash in January 2000. It now seems likely that the courts will rule on who was responsible for the accident before the end of the year. Vesta was the insurer for NSB, the national railway company, and has paid out a total of NOK 55 million following the accident at Åsta on the Røros line, in which 19 people died. A government-appointed commission of inquiry blamed the accident on the National Rail Administration’s failure to ensure adequate safety measures. It is on this basis that Vesta is now suing the National Rail Administration to recover its costs.

Norway’s first professional soldiers (Verdens Gang)

The Norwegian army has decided to establish the country’s first ever detachment of professional soldiers who can quickly be deployed in war situations or other areas of conflict. The full-time soldiers will earn well over NOK 300,000 per year, and must be prepared to be sent on active duty at ten-days’ notice. This is the first time a Norwegian military unit has been composed solely of professional officers and enlisted men.

More ESA intervention in sight (Aftenposten)

Critics are mistaken when they claim that the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), whose job is to supervise the workings of the EEA Agreement, are too meddlesome when it comes to domestic Norwegian matters, according to a group of researchers. On the contrary, the ESA is more soft-hearted than the EU and we must expect more intervention in the future. The Nordic countries, including Norway, are better at finding solutions to disputes concerning EEA regulations than EU countries further south. And the ESA initiates far fewer legal actions against the EFTA countries Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein than the EU does against its own member states.

Battle for top slot in the Supreme Court (Dagsavisen)

The names of the applicants for one of the country’s top jobs will be announced today. The Storting’s Ombudsman for Public Administration, Arne Fliflet (55) and Supreme Court Judge Tore Schei (56) are two of the hottest names among the applicants to replace Carsten Smith as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Only the King, the President of the Storting and the Prime Minister rank higher in Norway than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

USA full of praise for Norway’s anti-terror efforts (Aftenposten)

Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold received the fulsome praise of her US counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, at the Pentagon yesterday for Norway’s contribution to the war against terrorism. The US Defence Minister’s tribute to Norway went a long way to raising the American people’s awareness of the fact that allies other than the UK have armed forces on the ground in Afghanistan. There is every reason to suppose that the majority of people in the USA are largely unaware of the contribution to the war effort made by many small countries.

Worth Noting

• Aker Kværner has won the contract to build the deck of the new White Rose platform off the coast of Newfoundland, together with its partner Peter Kiewit & Sons. The contract is worth NOK 3.5 billion. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Sales of Norwegian farmed salmon to the EU fell in both value and volume last year, for the first time ever. The industry believes that the interests of Norwegian farmers must be sacrificed in order to maintain or improve access to the market for fish. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• "Norway must break its economic and cultural ties with Israel," said Eva Kristin Hansen, leader of the Labour Party’s youth movement (AUF), who is demanding a Norwegian boycott of the country. She is currently in Jerusalem visiting the AUF’s sister organization, Fatah Youth. (Klassekampen)
• Statoil’s share price hit a record high yesterday. The conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil prices over USD 26, which boosted the stock market price of both Statoil and Norsk Hydro. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The number of visits and newly registered candidates in the Women’s Database on the internet has skyrocketed since the Government’s proposals for a mandatory minimum female representation on company boards of directors. Children and Family Affairs Minister Laila Dåvøy is pleased with the result. (Aftenposten)
• Labour mayors in Rana and Vefsn in Nordland County have demanded that the Labour Party calls an extraordinary party conference. They say that the party’s entire current leadership should be replaced. (Dagbladet)
• Norwegians face stiff competition in the cooperative housing market. The number of people who have joined a housing cooperative in the hope of getting a foot on the property ladder has increased by 100,000 in the past five years. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

The Government will soon make the most important appointment of its term in office – a new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, leader of the highest judicial authority in the land. The deadline for applications to replace the current incumbent, Carsten Smith, expired on 30 April. In terms of legal policy, it is an important choice Justice Minister Odd Einar Dørum and the Government are about to make. Under Carsten Smith’s leadership the Supreme Court has slowly changed course on several key issues, in a positive direction which is in keeping with the spirit of the age. The rights of the individual against the state and its bureaucratic machinery have been strengthened. The international human rights and conventions to which Norway is a signatory have been established as key sources of law for Norwegian courts. And the Supreme Court has become more open to public scrutiny, we know more than before about what the highest court in the land is thinking. Odd Einar Dørum should choose a Chief Justice who can shoulder Carsten Smith’s liberal mantle. This consideration is more important than issues of gender or seniority on the Supreme Court bench.