“All are equal before the law,” reads Article 98 of the Norwegian Constitution. It could hardly be stated more clearly. The law applies to everyone equally. But perhaps it is the wording in the rest of the article that impoverished public agencies find comfort in: “No person must be subject to unjust or disproportionate differential treatment.” Because, after all, a public agency is not a person. So they are not to be treated equally under the law with people—nor the individuals working within the public administration.
Such was likely the case when the Norwegian Coastal Administration, admittedly about ten years ago, violated the Pollution Control Act. According to NRK, the agency had been blasting reefs and shoals as far back as 2015. The information came from another public agency—specifically the Norwegian Environment Agency—in a statement to the police. The agency believed that the Coastal Administration had likely broken the law knowingly and deliberately.
The public’s sense and experience of justice tends to follow a simple principle: if you break the law, you may receive a reprimand with the threat of punishment if the offense is repeated, a fine, or face a court hearing that could result in penalties such as fines, confiscation of property, orders to repair damage, or imprisonment. If the offense was committed due to lack of knowledge, the court may regard it as an “excusable legal mistake,” which can lead to no punishment—or at least a milder one—especially if it wasn’t done intentionally. But when something is done deliberately—with intent—even the perpetrator understands that some form of punishment is fair.
Also read: The Oagal Model for Strengthening Norwegian Democracy
Apparently, if you’re human. Which the Norwegian Coastal Administration is not. Equality before the law may have already faltered when the agency was granted controversial permits for a certain degree of pollution—permits that perhaps no individual would have received. When faced with a fellow non-human colleague, the Norwegian Environment Agency showed generosity and didn’t believe the Coastal Administration should be punished for the violations committed in the Oslofjord—which, as we know, is in desperate need of care, as it is dying, like several other fjords in the country. A fine was issued, however—200,000 kroner. It was the police who imposed it.
For observatører da og i ettertid virker den modige politiboten som en latterlig straff. Først og fremst fordi skaden var stor. NRK siterer miljørettsekspert og professor Ole Kristian Fauchald ved Universitetet i Oslo: “Det direktoratet i realiteten sier i denne saken, er at det ikke betyr så mye om man overholder krav i tillatelser. Det er spesielt problematisk i saker som denne hvor det er snakk om undervannsarbeid, hvor det er veldig vanskelig for både menigmann og eksperter å påvise skader”.
Men, Oagals kilder langsmed fjorden reagerer mer enn som så. Rystelsene satte seg innover fastlandet med rystelser og påståtte sprekker i grunnmurer som resultat og sprengningen skjedde i den truende torskebestandens gyteperiode.
It’s hard to spot any real equality before the law when compared to the average citizen. If you had managed to secure a questionable agreement and then knowingly broke the law, most people would probably count themselves lucky to walk away with nothing more than a 200,000-kroner fine—rather than facing a trial, legal fees, even larger fines, and possibly time behind bars.
One could very well have expected that those responsible within the Norwegian Coastal Administration would lose their jobs and spend some time behind bars. Since that didn’t happen, there’s little reason for other public agencies to restrain themselves—no slap on the wrist, no lesson to be learned, just full speed ahead!
Yes—unless you’re a human being, that is.
Read more: Constitutional Court as an Element in Strengthening Norway’s Judicial Power
De fleste av artiklene på Oagal er utarbeidet av redaksjonen. Innholdet fra redaksjonen er det fortløpende redaksjonelle arbeidet i Oagal. Redaksjonen driver undersøkende journalistikk, utvikler ideer til saker og utarbeider artikler ved hjelp av ulike tilgjengelige kilder og verktøy. Meningsbærende innhold og også reportasjer bærer skribentens navn.
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