Editing Norway (section)

=== Judicial system and law enforcement ===
{{Main|Judiciary of Norway}}
Norway uses a [[civil law (legal system)|civil law system]] where laws are created and amended in Parliament and the system regulated through the [[Courts of justice of Norway]]. It consists of the [[Supreme Court of Norway|Supreme Court]] of 20 permanent judges and a [[Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway|Chief Justice]], [[appellate court]]s, city and [[Courts of justice of Norway#District courts|district courts]], and [[conciliation councils]].<ref name="norway">{{cite web|url=http://www.norway.org/aboutnorway/society/political/judiciary/ |title=The Judiciary |publisher=Norway.org |date=10 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126212439/http://www.norway.org/aboutnorway/society/political/judiciary/ |archive-date=26 January 2012}}</ref> The judiciary is independent of executive and legislative branches. While the Prime Minister nominates Supreme Court Justices for office, their nomination must be approved by Parliament and formally confirmed by the Monarch. Usually, judges attached to regular courts are formally appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Courts' formal mission is to regulate the Norwegian judicial system, interpret the Constitution, and implement the legislation adopted by Parliament. In its judicial reviews, it monitors the legislative and executive branches to ensure that they comply with provisions of enacted legislation.<ref name="norway"/>

The [[Law enforcement in Norway|law is enforced in Norway]] by the [[Norwegian Police Service]]. It is a Unified National Police Service made up of 27 Police Districts and several specialist agencies, such as [[Norwegian National Authority for the Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime]], known as ''Økokrim''; and the [[National Criminal Investigation Service (Norway)|National Criminal Investigation Service]], known as ''Kripos'', each headed by a chief of police. The Police Service is headed by the [[National Police Directorate]], which reports to the Ministry of Justice and the Police. The Police Directorate is headed by a National Police Commissioner. The only exception is the [[Norwegian Police Security Service|Norwegian Police Security Agency]], whose head answers directly to the Ministry of Justice and the Police.

Norway abolished the death penalty for regular criminal acts in 1902 and for high treason in war and war-crimes in 1979. Norwegian prisons are humane, rather than tough, with emphasis on rehabilitation. At 20%, Norway's re-conviction rate is among the lowest in the world.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35813470 Anders Breivik: Just how cushy are Norwegian prisons?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922223917/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35813470 |date=22 September 2018 }} ''[[BBC]]''</ref>

[[Reporters Without Borders]], in its 2024 [[World Press Freedom Index]], ranked Norway in first place out of 180 countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Index 2023 – Global score |url=https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510151133/https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2023 |archive-date=10 May 2023 |access-date=22 March 2025 |website=[[Reporters Without Borders]]}}</ref> In general, the legal and institutional framework in Norway is characterised by a high degree of transparency, accountability and integrity, and the perception and the occurrence of corruption are very low.<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Corruption Barometer 2013-Norway|url=http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/country/?country=norway|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021022145/http://www.transparency.org/gcb2013/country/?country=norway|archive-date=21 October 2014|publisher=Transparency International|access-date=17 November 2013}}</ref>