Reforms of Civil Procedure in Germany and Norway

Norwegian civil procedure used to be heavily influenced by German and Austrian law. Even the new Civil Procedure Act of 2005 does not represent a full break with the German roots of Norwegian civil procedure. Further, although not a member of the European Union, the Norwegian participation in the European Economic Area leaves the approximation of the laws of civil procedure in the EU relevant also in the Norwegian context. Considering the common heritage and acknowledging the common challenges on the national and European level, the stage should be set for a fruitful comparison of German and Norwegian civil procedure. A major obstacle for genuine interaction of German and Norwegian law on civil procedure has always been the language barrier. Thus, a very first German translation of the 2005 Act has been prepared and annexed to this book together with an English translation. With contributions by: Christoph Althammer, Inge Lorange Backer, Halvard H. Fredriksen, Ulrich Haas, Wolfgang Hau, Burkhard Hess, Volker Lipp, Henry J. Mæland, Anna Nylund, Jørn Ø. Sunde