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Norway and Article 9
 A Triangle of Partnership and Solidarity


Article 9 implies that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

This is not a problem in Norwegian law. The Norwegian Penal Code states when the police can arrest someone. They can only if they catch someone in the act or if they have good enough evidence against the person concerned.
There are, however, examples which show that this human rights article is violated. In 1996 Amnesty International wrote a letter to the Norwegian Minister of Justice in which they stated their worry about the isolation of mentally ill persons. They found that these people should be moved into a mental institution to get treatment. It was then decided that it was not legal to have mentally ill persons in prison for more than 5 consecutive days.
I do not think 'exile' is a problem in Norway as it is rather unusual, or rather non-existing.

Arrest, detention or exile of a human being involves the freedom of the person concerned. Therefore, this cannot take place before the case has been tried in court, and the penalty should be in accordance with the crime. The person that is charged has the right to know the reason for the arrest.

§ 99 in the Norwegian Constitution describes rules concerning imprisonment and penalty: No one shall be arrested unless it is legal and it shall take place according to the law.

The government has no right to use the military against the members of the state, unless someone is disturbing the public peace and this is not immediately called off.




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