News and current topics from various practice areas and industries

Today, the Supreme Court ruled on the so-called ACER case, where the central question was whether the Constitution was violated when the Norwegian Parliament, in 2018, consented by a simple majority to include the EU’s third energy market package in the EEA Agreement. The conclusion of the Supreme Court is that the transfer of authority that took place was of little interference, and therefore, the Parliament did not violate the Constitution’s rules.

Safety representative arrangements are a crucial part of companies’ efforts to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of employees. Chapter 6 of the Working Environment Act contains a duty to appoint safety representatives, and currently, exceptions to this duty are only permitted in busi-nesses with fewer than ten employees. From January 1, 2024, the scope of the safety representa-tive arrangement will be expanded.

AP, SP, and SV have agreed to investigate differentiated valuation of unlisted shares in wealth tax based on the characteristics of each individual share. What will this mean for the valuation of shares in different share classes?

Partner Christopher Hansteen, Senior Associate Johannes Teigland, and Associate Maria Mirijanyan assisted the Union of Education Norway in its complaint to the Committee on Freedom of Association (CFA) at the International Labour Organization (ILO) for violations of ILO conventions concerning the protection of freedom of association, conventions to which Norway is bound.

On October 12, 2023, the government appointed Electricity Price Committee presented their report. The expert committee’s mandate was to investigate and discuss models that could con-tribute to more stable, predictable, and competitive electricity prices.

The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) has imposed a violation penalty of NOK 2 million on the British management company, Cazadores Investments Limited for breaching the prohibition against uncovered short sales. This is in addition to the confiscation of profits for violations of the prohibition on uncovered short selling with regards to selling shares in connection with the new issuance of Flyr shares last year.

The Norwegian Privacy Appeals Board has upheld the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s record fine of NOK 65 million (Euro 6.2 million) for the failure to obtain valid consent to share personal data to AdTech companies for marketing purposes. This is the highest GDPR violation fine imposed thus far in Norway. The decision is the result of a complaint from the Norwegian Consumer Council, which has been assisted by Hjort’s GDPR team.

There have been several predictions that the construction industry is on the verge of a wave of bankruptcies. As legal advisors, we encounter entities worried about their contracting parties being on the brink of bankruptcy in ongoing projects. The concern is understandable, due to the current challeng-es of the industry, and the potentially significant consequences of a bankruptcy. This raises the ques-tion of what can be done to effectively protect one’s own interest in the event of a potential bankruptcy.

Hjort assisted in the expansion of UtsiraVIND Consortium