Political Risk:
Very Low
Score:
85/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
100/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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Article 25 of the Norwegian Constitution establishes the King as Commander-in-Chief of “the land and naval forces of the Realm” but, as Norway is…
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Parliament exercises budgetary power through allocating funds at the disposal of Government, both permitting money to be spent for specific purposes and ordering such…
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There is no evidence that the Parliament is unduly influenced by the executive or the military [1].
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Q2
100/100
Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?
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The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence is responsible for matters relating to defence policy planning, the defence budget, arms acquisitions, personnel management…
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The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence has 16 members (as of March 2020) [1]. The committee’s area of responsibility necessitates that its…
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Every 4-5 years the Ministry of Defence presents a white paper to Parliament which describes a new long-term plan for the Norwegian Armed Forces.…
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A review of the list of recommendations from the Norwegian Parliament and the hearings schedule shows that the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and…
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As a rule, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence cannot act on its own initiative when dealing with supervisory matters. It may…
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It is a question of political character since opinions may vary according to political party affiliation and across the government and the opposition [1].…
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Q3
75/100
Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?
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There is a broad public debate on defence policy and security strategy in addition to the formal consultation process. There is also evidence of…
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Public debate addresses a broad scope of issues, including clear articulation of security threats the country is facing; procurement decisions and the level of…
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When the Government prepares a major item of legislation or an extensive revision of existing law, it usually appoints an expert committee or commission…
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Information on Norway’s defence policy is available and easily accessible via the Ministry of Defence’s website and publications. The website is regularly updated (for…
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Q4
100/100
Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?
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Norway has been part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) since 2011. OGP members are not required to take any action but may use…
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Both freedom of expression and freedom of association are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway in Articles 100 and 101 respectively…
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One of the measures adopted by the Norwegian Ministry in order to facilitate greater openness towards CSOs when dealing with issues of corruption was…
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Q5
100/100
Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?
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Norway ratified the OECD Convention in 1998 and the UNCAC in 2006 [1, 2]. The country is also among the largest exporters of major…
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Norway’s monitoring reports to the OECD on the implementation of the convention are published online [1], with the latest report published in June 2018.…
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Q6
88/100
Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?
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There is regular public debate on issues of defence outside of the Government. Research institutes, think tanks and CSOs actively participate and organise seminars…
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Government officials are made available for comment [1, 2] and the Ministry of Defence regularly releases news on its website. The same concerns the…
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Q7
88/100
Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?
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The long-term anti-corruption policy was outlined in the Action Plan on Attitudes, Ethics and Leadership for the Defence Sector published by the Ministry of…
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The Action Plan on Attitudes, Ethics and Leadership for the Defence Sector for the period 2009-2012 recommended a range of measures to address the…
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Q8
83/100
Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?
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The Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector (CIDS) was established in 2012 on the initiative of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. The CIDS’s…
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The CIDS was established in 2012 as an independent unit under the administrative authority of the Ministry of Defence. In 2019 the centre was…
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The Advisory Board for Integrity in the Defence Sector has been established to provide a forum for professional discussions in the field of integrity…
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Q9
NS/100
Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?
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This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. There are no in-country polls or surveys exploring the issue of corruption and bribery…
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Q10
67/100
Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?
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The Centre for Integrity in the Defence Sector (CIDS) is a unit responsible for promoting and enhancing professional integrity and good governance in the…
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On it website the CIDS states that it conducts a biannual quality assessment of a chosen area of the defence sector (for example HRM,…
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Risk assessment findings are generally used to develop and update anti-corruption policy [1]. For instance, the CIDS recommendations contributed to updated procedures on revolving…
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Defence Budgets
Q11
100/100
Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?
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All material investments in the Defence Sector need the approval of the Ministry of Defence. The subordinate agencies execute the planning and procurements according…
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The document describing the entire acquisition process, as used by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, is available online [1]. The PRINSIX project model, ensuring…
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There is an external quality control of the conceptual study for projects exceeding 750 million NOK (approximately USD 66 million on 23 March 2020).…
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Q12
100/100
Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?
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The approved defence budget with comprehensive and disaggregated information is publicly available on the Norwegian Government’s website [1]. It includes a detailed breakdown of…
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When the Norwegian Parliament convenes in autumn (usually at the beginning of October), the Fiscal Budget is always the first item of business for…
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Q13
100/100
Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?
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The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence discusses the defence budget proposal submitted by the Ministry of the Defence and may recommend amendments,…
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The Government is legally required to seek approval from Parliament prior to shifting funds between administrative units that receive explicit funding in the approved…
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Q14
100/100
Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?
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The approved state budget is published on Parliament’s website [1]. The Government website provides details on defence budget, including a comprehensive explanation for experts…
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The vast majority of the approved defence budget is fully disclosed to the public [1]. The only exception is related to intelligence expenditure (the…
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Norway has been part of the Open Government Partnership since its creation in 2010 and is considered to have one of the most open…
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Q15
75/100
Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?
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All sources of defence income are published in the defence budget [1]. The information is disaggregated for the Ministry and subordinate agencies. All income…
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Audit over government income is provided by the Office of the Auditor General on an annual basis [1]. The Internal Auditor Unit at the…
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Online searches of the media indicate that there is no considerable and consistent scrutiny of sources of defence income either by the media or…
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Q16
100/100
Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?
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The Internal Auditor Unit of the Ministry of Defence conducts internal audits for the whole defence sector except for the Intelligence Service [1]. Its…
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The Internal Auditor Unit does not submit its reports to the Parliament on a regular basis, but the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional…
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The reports of the Internal Auditor Unit of the Ministry of Defence are proactively released to and regularly reviewed by the Office of the…
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The Internal Auditor Unit of the Ministry of Defence works under the instruction of the Secretary General (Departementsråd) of the Ministry of Defence and…
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Q17
94/100
Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?
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External audit is undertaken by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). The OAG is responsible for auditing central government accounts; carrying out systematic…
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The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) is an audit agency directly subordinate to the Norwegian Parliament (the Storting) and is formally independent of…
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The OAG reports on the annual audits of military defence spending are made available to the public within 10-11 months of the end of…
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In its audits, the OAG evaluates whether earlier findings have been taken into account. The previous GDI noted that the OAG saw no evidence…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets
Q18
100/100
Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?
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There are no specific statutory or constitutional restrictions in Norway on the defence sector’s involvement in natural resource exploitation [1]. However, defence institutions are…
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All Norwegian private and public limited liability companies and savings banks with equity certificates must submit an annual shareholder register statement [1]. This information…
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The Ethical Guidelines for the Public Service specify that public officials may not hold securities in a company if these may lead to a…
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This indicator has been scored Not Applicable. There is no evidence of Norwegian defence institutions involvement in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource…
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This indicator is marked Not Applicable, as there is no evidence of the Norwegian defence institutions being involved in business relating to the country’s…
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Organised Crime
Q19
75/100
Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?
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There is a very low likelihood of a penetration of organised crime into the core of the defence and security sector [1]. The most…
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Following mass media revelations in 2014 on the use of subcontractors linked to criminal networks, the director of the Norwegian Defence Estates Agency urged…
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Q20
83/100
Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?
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There is no specialised police unit that deals exclusively with organised crime and corruption in the defence services. The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation…
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ØKOKRIM is administratively governed by the National Police Directorate. Concerning prosecution of criminal offences ØKOKRIM is under authority of the Director of public prosecution…
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ØKOKRIM is both a police unit and a prosecution authority. According to Section 55 of the Criminal Procedure Act prosecution authorities shall act objectively…
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Control of Intelligence Services
Q21
75/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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The Norwegian Intelligence Service is administered by the Ministry of Defence, which is overseen by the Parliament’s Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defence.…
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Members of the Parliament’s Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defence are given access to classified information at meetings which take place behind closed…
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Q22
92/100
Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?
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Selection criteria for senior positions within the intelligence services are regulated by the Civil Service Act, the Act on Military Service in the Armed…
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Online searches of media outlets show that there are no indications of undue influence in the selection of candidates for senior positions within the…
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Vetting of candidates for senior positions within the Norwegian Intelligence Service is regulated by the Regulation on security clearance [1]. Investigation of the candidates…
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Export Controls
Q23
67/100
Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?
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Norway ratified the Arms Trade Treaty in February 2014 [1, 2]. ATT subsequently came into force in December of that year [3].
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As stated in the Initial Report submitted 23 December 2015, Norway has complied with each of the 3 articles [1].
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Upcoming arms exports are processed by the Foreign Ministry and the Norwegian Parliament may only debate general policy, based on an annually released white…
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Lobbying in Defence
Norway does not have any framework for regulating lobbying activity. This applies also to the defence sector [1]. A reference to lobbying activity may…
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Given that there is no regulation of lobbying in the defence sector [1], this indicator has been marked as Not Applicable.
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Given that there is no regulation of lobbying in the defence sector [1], this indicator has been marked as Not Applicable.
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Given that there is no regulation of lobbying in the defence sector (1), this indicator has been marked as Not Applicable.
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