Redundant court leaders can be ordered to serve as judges in merged courts

As a consequence of the merger of courts in the court reform in 2021, a number of court leaders became redundant in their managerial functions. These offices were continued as judicial offices in the merged courts. The holders retained their title and salary. A District Court judge and a leader of the Land Consolidation Court brough an action against the State, claiming that the prohibition of transfer of senior officials in Article 22 subsection 2 of the Constitution was an obstacle to imposing work obligations on them in the merged courts. Like the previous instances, the Supreme Court found after an overall assessment that the changes in the relevant offices – including the loss of managerial functions – did not conflict with the prohibition of transfer. Being deprived of managerial functions had to be considered less radical than being imposed with new duties of a different kind. The two courts were among the smallest in the country, so that the judicial activity was already clearly the dominant part of the offices. Supplementary agreements had also been entered into, which meant that the official duties were changed to a lesser extent than they would otherwise have been.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Area of law: Administrative law, Article 22 of the Constitution

Key paragraph: 39-40, 46, 73-74, 87-92

Judges: Indreberg, Bergh, Thyness, Sæther og Hellerslia