Venice Commission - Report on Bicameralism

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Norway

1.Has the country ever had a bicameral parliamentary (or congressional) system in the past? If so, in which period? Why was it decided to change into a unicameral system? Is there a public debate about changing to a bicameral system? What are the terms of the debate?

Norway had formally a bicameral system until 2009. A constitutional amendment in 2007, in force following the election in 2009, abolished the two chambers. However, since the adoption of the constitution in 1814 until the abolishment of the two chambers in 2009, Norway did not have a true bicameral system. The reasons for this is that in case of disagreement between the two chambers, and the upper chamber rejected a bill for the second time, the parliament would assemble in unicameral composition and decide with 2/3 majority of all members. In the parliament, the division in two chambers was a purely formal thing, and the MPs were elected in the same election and served on the same committees. Therefore, we can call the bicameral system that existed in Norway between 1814 and 2009 as a quasi-bicameral system. A similar quasi-bicameral system existed in the Batavian constitution of 1798, but in that case, the upper chamber could reject bills from the lower chamber for the second time with a 2/3 majority. If you want to, I can provide a lot of historical information on the adoption of the quasi-bicameral system, but I suppose that is less interesting for the report.

The bicameral system was abolished by constitutional amendment with only 1 vote against, if I remember correctly. All parties in parliament agreed. There was little public discussion. This is probably due to the fact that since the 19th century, the upper chamber had lost much of its importance and was considered by MPs as less important than the lower chamber since it did not have a right to initiate legislation. In its reasoning, the standing committee of constitution and scrutiny argued that the traditional rationale for bicameralism in Norway was to ensure quality in legislation, and that this aim could be ensured by other means. The specific reason for its abolishment was a practical one, as the committee cited problems with MPs in the upper chamber that couldn’t be rapporteurs on legislative bills. This was due to the fact that the separation in two chambers was only formal, and that MPs from both chambers served in the standing committees. Thus committee members from the upper chamber would then be prevented from participating in parliamentary debates on legislative bills belonging to their committee.

2.What is the population of the country? What is its size?

The population as of 2023 is 5,4 million. The size of its land territory, including the islands of Svaldbard and Jan Mayen, is 385.207 square kilometers.

3.What form of state and form of government has the country? Please provide details with reference to relevant constitutional provisions. a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralization; b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed

Norway is a constitutional monarchy, see § 1 of the Constitution. The king has only a ceremonial function, and all political decisions are taken by the Government. Formally, this follows from the counter signature requirement in § 31 of the Constitution.

The system of government is parliamentarism. The Government or individual ministers must resign if parliament adopts a motion of no confidence, see § 15 of the Constitution. The parliamentary system is negative, meaning that a new government must not pass a vote of confidence. An unusual feature is that the Government has no right to dissolve parliament.

a) Unitarian or federal/regional/other form of decentralisation

Norway is a unitary state, although local self-government is a constiutional principle, see § 49 of the constitution. However, municipalities receive all legal powers from ordinary legislation and not the constitution.

b) Parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential or mixed

Parliamentary, see above.

4.How many members are in the lower house?

The unicameral parliament has 169 members.