Attending court proceedings

It is a fundamental principle that court proceedings are to be open to the public.

All court sittings, both criminal cases and civil cases, are therefore open to the public unless otherwise specified by law or by the court in accordance with the law. Cases involving families are always held in camera – that is, they are never open to the public. Certain other cases are also held in camera, usually because of privacy considerations.

You thus do not need any special permission to attend court proceedings.

Even if the case is open to the public, there may be a limit on how many people can attend because of space restrictions in the courtroom.

The list of cases to be heard by the Court of Appeal is available here (in Norwegian text only). The list is also displayed in the reception area of the Court of Appeal.

The court proceedings must take place in a quiet and respectful setting. The conduct of the public must be in line with this.