De-identification of legal rulings before publication

Rulings handed down before 1 November 2021

The rulings on the Supreme Court's website are published in accordance with section 11 of Regulations of 6 July 2001 No. 757 on public disclosure in the administration of Justice (Norwegian only). These rules imply that, in criminal cases, the courts may only publish rulings where names and other directly identifiable personal data have been removed. In civil cases, the courts may publish rulings without such de-identification if the case does not involve matters of a particularly sensitive nature. Rulings handed down before 1 November 2021 are published in line with this distinction. Any names or other directly identifiable personal data found in these rulings may be reported to info@hoyesterett.no.

Rulings handed down after 1 November 2021

As from 1 November 2021, the Supreme Court de-identifies all rulings before publication on our website, i.e. to a wider extent than the requirements in the Regulations. The change of practice has been made on the basis of privacy considerations.  

However, personal data are not de-identified with regard to:

1. justices;

2. defence and prosecution counsel in criminal cases;

3. counsel in civil cases;

4. court-appointed experts and expert witnesses;

5. references to sources of law;

6. references to legal literature; and

7. persons other than the defendant and the aggrieved party in criminal cases, when necessary for the understanding of the ruling and when privacy considerations do not suggest otherwise.

For information purposes, the Supreme Court sometimes also publishes names appearing in connection with the ruling. This is only done if the case does not involve matters of a particularly sensitive nature in a civil case, and if the indictment is publicly known in a criminal case. The name of the aggrieved party may only be published if this is considered clearly unproblematic. Such information is deleted or de-identified within three months.