Study trip to Norway - 6-11 June 2022

Within the project "Reinforcing the system of court-annexed mediation", which is co-financed by the NFM (Norwegian Financial Mechanism), a group consisting of four civil servants of Croatia's Ministry of Justice and Public Administration, four judges, professors from the Zagreb Faculty of Law, a representative of the Croatian Mediation Association and a lawyer participated in a study trip to the Kingdom of Norway from 6 to 11 June 2022.

The purpose of the visit was to gain insight into the system of alternative dispute resolution in Norway. The study trip included a visit to institutions responsible for designing and implementing the system of court-annexed and out-of-court mediation and institutions conducting training on court-annexed mediation.

The time spent in Oslo was filled with an intensive programme that included a visit to the Oslo District Court, lectures by experts from the Court and the Faculty of Law, as well as an interactive presentation of the mediation system in Norway, including role-playing of a concrete example from practice at the Oslo District Court.

According to the presentation, judges in Norway have several options for resolving a dispute. Under the Disputes Act (Tvisteloven), in force since 1 January 2008, after receiving the file, the judge may consider whether to refer the parties to: 

• direct negotiations 
• judicial conciliation
• mediation in or out of court
• adjudication (binding or non-binding arbitration)
• ordinary court proceedings under the provisions on civil procedure.

All this was presented in detail to the participants in the study trip, which included role-play and active participation in discussions on Norwegian mediation experience.
The participants deemed the visit highly beneficial from in terms of lessons learned and solutions observed that can be either directly applied or appropriately transposed into the Croatian dispute resolution system. 
Upon the end of the study trip, the participants reached the following conclusions: The Norwegian system of "multi-door courthouse" has proved successful in practice. Cases in which mediation is reportedly most applicable include primarily civil status cases (matrimonial disputes and paternity or maternity) - at the Oslo District Court, 80% of disputes involving decisions about children are resolved through mediation. 

It should be emphasized that the participants of the study trip were welcomed and hosted by extremely conscientious, studious and friendly hosts who made sure that the study trip was not only professional, but that the whole group takes home very fond memories of Norway and Norwegian people.