_The Constitution of Norway_
The following is the Constitution adopted at the Convention at Eidsvold
on the 17th day of May, 1814, and amended and ratified by the Storthing
on the 4th day of November, 1814, with all the subsequent amendments
incorporated:
A. RELIGION AND FORM OF GOVERNMENT:
Article 1. The Kingdom of Norway is a free, independent, indivisible
and inalienable state, united with Sweden under one king. Its form of
government is a limited, hereditary monarchy.
Article 2. The Evangelical Lutheran religion shall continue the
established religion of the state. Such inhabitants as profess the same
shall educate their children therein. Jesuits shall be excluded.
B. THE EXECUTIVE POWER, THE KING, AND THE ROYAL FAMILY:
Article 3. The executive power shall be vested in the King.
Article 4. The King shall constantly profess, maintain and defend the
Evangelical Lutheran religion.
Article 5. The King's person is sacred; he shall neither be censured
nor impeached. His Ministry shall, however, be accountable.
Article 6. The succession shall be lineal and agnatic as prescribed
in the ordinance of succession of September 26, 1810, adopted by the
Legislative Assembly of Sweden and accepted by the King, a translation
of which is attached to this Constitution. A posthumous child shall
be deemed in the line of succession, and shall take his appropriate
place therein as soon as born. When a prince, who is heir to the United
Crowns of Norway and Sweden, is born, his name and time of birth shall
be reported to the next Storthing in session and entered in its journal.
Article 7. If no Prince, heir to the Crowns, be living, the King may
propose a successor to the Storthing of Norway, at the same time as to
the Legislative Assembly of Sweden; and, as soon as the King has made
his nomination, the legislative bodies of both nations shall appoint
a committee from their midst, with power to choose a successor, in
case the nominee of the King is not confirmed by a majority in each
legislative body. The number of members of this Committee, which must
be equal from each kingdom, and the manner in which the choice shall be
made, shall be determined by a law, simultaneously proposed by the King
to the next Storthing and to the Legislative Assembly of Sweden. One
member shall withdraw, by lot, from the assembled committee.
Article 8. The age of majority of the King shall be prescribed by a
law, to be enacted pursuant to an agreement between the Storthing of
Norway and the Legislative Assembly of Sweden, or, in case they cannot
agree concerning the same, by a committee appointed by the legislative
bodies of both kingdoms, conformable to the provisions of the
preceding Article 7. The King shall publicly proclaim himself of age as
soon as he has attained his majority.
Article 9. As soon as the King, on coming of age, assumes the
government, he shall take the following oath before the Storthing: "I
promise and depose that I will govern the Kingdom of Norway conformable
to its Constitution and laws, so help me God and His Holy Writ." If no
Storthing is then in session, the oath shall be deposited in writing
with the Ministry, and shall solemnly be renewed by the King at the
next Storthing, either orally or in writing through his representative.
Article 10. The King shall be crowned and anointed, when he is of age,
in Throndhjem's Cathedral, at such time and with such ceremonies as he
himself may prescribe.
Article 11. The King shall reside in Norway a part of each year, if not
prevented by serious obstacles.
Article 12. The King shall appoint a Ministry of Norwegian citizens,
who shall not be less than thirty years of age. The Ministry shall
consist of two Ministers of State, and not less than seven Secretaries
of State. The King shall apportion the public business among the
members of the Ministry in such manner as he deems best. The King,
or, in his absence, the Minister of State, in conjunction with the
Secretaries of State, may, on extraordinary occasions, in addition to
the regular members of the Ministry, summon other Norwegian citizens,
not members of the Storthing, to a seat in the Ministry. Father and
son, or two brothers, shall not have a seat in the Ministry at the same
time.
Article 13. The King shall commit, during his absence, the
administration of the domestic affairs of the realm, in such cases as
he may prescribe, to one of the Ministers of State, and not less than
five of the Secretaries of State, who shall carry on the government
in the name, and on behalf, of the King. They shall sacredly conform
as well to the provisions of this Constitution as to the several
instructions in harmony therewith, prescribed to them by the King.
They shall present to the King a respectful application concerning the
affairs they resolve upon. Their transactions shall be determined by
vote, and in case of an equal division the Minister of State, or, in
his absence, the senior Secretary of State, shall have two votes.
Article 14. (Repealed.)
Article 15. One of the Ministers of State, and two of the Secretaries
of State, the latter to be changed yearly, shall constantly remain
with the King while he resides in Sweden. They shall be subject to the
same obligations and to the same constitutional accountability as the
governing Ministry, named in Article 13, existing in Norway, and only
in their presence shall Norwegian affairs be disposed of by the King.
All applications from Norwegian citizens to the King shall first be
presented to the governing Ministry in Norway, and supplemented with
their opinion, before passed upon. As a rule, except where serious
obstacles prevent, no Norwegian affairs shall be disposed of without
obtaining the advice of the governing Ministry in Norway. The Minister
of State shall move the consideration of public business, and shall be
responsible for the due expedition of all resolutions taken.
Article 16. The King shall prescribe rules for all public religious
and church service, and for all meetings and conventions relating to
religious affairs, and he shall take care that the public instructors
of religion adhere to the standards prescribed them.
Article 17. The King may enact and repeal ordinances relating to
commerce, customs, industrial pursuits and public order, not, however,
in conflict with the Constitution or the laws of the Storthing,
passed pursuant to the provisions of Article 77, 78 and 79 of this
Constitution. Such acts of the King shall remain provisionally in force
until the next Storthing.
Article 18. The King shall, ordinarily, cause the taxes and imposts,
levied by the Storthing, to be collected. The Norwegian Treasury shall
remain in Norway, and its revenue shall be devoted to the requirements
of Norway alone.
Article 19. The King shall take care that the estates and regalia
of the State be used and managed in the manner prescribed by the
Storthing, and for the greatest advantage of the public.
Article 20. The King shall have power, in council, to pardon offenders
after conviction. The offender shall, however, have the option to
accept the pardon of the King or to suffer the punishment adjudged.
No pardon or reprieve, except the remission of the death penalty,
shall be granted in cases prosecuted by the Odelsthing in the Court of
Impeachment.
Article 21. The King, after hearing his Ministry in Norway, shall
appoint and induct all civil, ecclesiastical and military officials,
who shall take an oath of obedience and fealty to the Constitution and
the King, or who, if relieved by law from such an oath, shall solemnly
declare their fealty to the same. Royal Princes shall hold no civil
office.
Article 22. The King may, after taking the advice of the Ministry,
without the warrant of judicial decree, remove from office the
Ministers and Secretaries of State, together with officials in the
bureaus of the Ministry, Ambassadors and Consuls, the chief civil and
ecclesiastical officials, and the chiefs of fortifications and ships of
war. Whether pensions shall be granted to officials thus removed shall
be determined by the next Storthing, but, in the meantime, they shall
continue to receive two-thirds of their former salary. Other officials
are only liable to suspension by the King, and, when suspended, shall
at once be proceeded against in the courts, and shall not, without
judgment, be removed, nor transferred without their consent.
Article 23. The King, at his pleasure, may confer orders of merit, in
recognition of distinguished services, to be publicly announced, but
no other rank or title than that conferred by an office occupied. Such
orders shall relieve no one from the duties and burdens common to all
citizens, nor shall they confer any preference in securing admission
to the public service. Officials, honorably discharged, shall retain
the title and rank of the office they occupied. No personal or mixed
hereditary prerogatives shall hereafter be conferred on any one.
Article 24. The King may, at pleasure, select and dismiss the employees
and officers of his royal household.
Article 25. The King shall be Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval
forces of the realm. These forces shall neither be increased nor
diminished without the consent of the Storthing. They shall not be
placed in the service of foreign powers, nor shall the military forces
of any foreign powers, except auxiliary troops to repel hostile attack,
be brought within the realm without the consent of the Storthing.
In times of peace, none but Norwegian troops shall be stationed in
Norway, and no Norwegian troops shall be stationed in Sweden. The King,
however, may retain in Sweden a Norwegian guard of volunteers, and he
may, for a short time not exceeding six weeks in any year, assemble
for manoeuvres, within the limits of either country, the nearest
troops of the armies of both realms; but in no case, in times of peace,
shall more than three thousand soldiers, of all arms combined, of the
military force of one country, be brought within the limits of the
other country. Norway's troops and coast flotilla shall not be employed
in offensive war without the consent of the Storthing. The Norwegian
fleet shall have its dock yards, and in times of peace its stations or
havens in Norway. The ships of war of one country shall not be manned
with sailors of the other country, except by voluntary enlistment. The
home guard and the other Norwegian troops, not classed as troops of the
line, shall never be employed outside of the boundaries of Norway.
Article 26. The King shall have power to call out the troops, to
commence war and make peace, to enter into treaties, and to abrogate
the same, and to send and receive diplomatic representatives. When the
King intends to commence war, he shall communicate his purpose to the
governing Ministry in Norway, and obtain their judgment concerning the
same, together with a full report upon the condition of the country
in respect to its finances, means of defence, and other matters. When
these steps have been taken, the King shall convene the Norwegian
Minister of State and the Norwegian Secretaries of State stationed
in Sweden, together with the members of the Swedish Ministry, in
an extraordinary cabinet council, and shall present to them the
grounds and circumstances which should in such cases be taken into
consideration, and shall also place before them the report of the
Norwegian Ministry concerning the condition of that country, and a like
report concerning the condition of Sweden. The King shall thereupon
demand their judgment in the premises, which each of them for himself
shall give and have entered in the journal of the proceedings, to be
accountable for as provided in the Constitution. When this has been
done, the King shall have the power to take and execute such resolution
as he deems for the best interest of the country.
Article 27. All members of the Ministry, without valid excuse, shall
attend the cabinet councils, and no action shall be taken when not
more than half of the members are present. No action shall be taken in
those Norwegian affairs, disposed of in Sweden, pursuant to Article
15, unless the Norwegian Minister of State and one of the Norwegian
Secretaries of State, or both of the Secretaries, be present.
Article 28. Communications concerning appointments to office and other
matters of importance, except diplomatic affairs and military commands,
shall be presented for consideration to the Ministry by the member
thereof in whose department the business belongs, and he shall dispose
of the same conformable to the resolve of the Ministry.
Article 29. In case a member of the Ministry is unable, for valid
cause, to attend and present for consideration the matters pertaining
to his department, the same shall be presented by another member of the
Ministry, appointed for that purpose by the King, if present, or, in
his absence, by the presiding member of the Ministry, in conjunction
with the other members of the Ministry. If, for valid cause, so many
are absent that not more than half of the regular members are in
attendance, then other officials shall be appointed, in the mode
aforesaid, to sit in the Ministry, in which case a report thereof shall
at once be made to the King, who shall determine whether the officials
thus appointed shall continue to serve.
Article 30. The Ministry shall keep a record of all business
transacted. It shall be the duty of every person who has a seat in
the Ministry to express his opinion fearlessly, to which the King
shall listen, but he may resolve according to his own judgment. In
case any member of the Ministry finds that the resolve of the King
is in conflict with the form of government or the laws of the realm,
or is manifestly detrimental to the country, then it is his duty to
vigorously protest against the same, and to enter his objections in the
record. He who does not thus protest, shall be deemed to have concurred
with the King, and shall be accountable therefor, as subsequently
determined, and may be impeached by the Odelsthing in the Court of
Impeachment.
Article 31. All decrees issued by the King himself, except military
commands, shall be countersigned by one of the Ministers of State.
Article 32. Resolutions taken by the Ministry in Norway, during the
absence of the King, shall be issued in his name, and attested by the
Ministry.
Article 33. All communications relative to Norwegian affairs, as well
as the expedition of the same, shall be in the Norwegian language.
Article 34. The heir apparent, if son of the reigning King, shall bear
the title of Crown Prince. The other royal heirs shall be known as
Princes, and the royal daughters as Princesses.
Article 35. As soon as the heir apparent has filled his eighteenth
year, he shall be entitled to take his seat in the Ministry, but
without vote or accountability.
Article 36. No Prince of the blood shall marry without the consent of
the King. If he violates this rule he shall forfeit his right to the
crown of Norway.
Article 37. The royal Princes and Princesses shall personally only be
answerable to the King, or to such judge as he may ordain for them.
Article 38. The Norwegian Minister of State, as well as the two
Norwegian Secretaries of State, remaining with the King, shall have
a seat and deliberative voice in the Swedish Ministry when matters
affecting both kingdoms are there considered. The views of the Ministry
in Norway shall also be obtained, in such cases, unless the urgency for
immediate action is so great that there is no time therefor.
Article 39. If the King dies and his successor is still under age,
the Norwegian and Swedish Ministries shall immediately assemble, and
jointly issue a call convening the Storthing in Norway and the Rigsdag
in Sweden.
Article 40. Until the legislative bodies of both realms are convened
and have provided for the government during the minority of the King,
the administration of the kingdoms, conformable to their respective
Constitutions, shall be conducted by a Ministry composed of an equal
number of Norwegian and Swedish members. The Norwegian and Swedish
Ministers of State, having a seat in this Ministry, shall determine, by
lot, who shall preside.
Article 41. The provisions of Articles 39 and 40, aforesaid, shall also
be complied with in all those cases in which, under the Constitution
of Sweden, the Swedish Ministry, as such, is entitled to conduct the
government. When, however, the King, by reason of travels abroad or
sickness, is unable to conduct the administration, the Prince, entitled
to the succession, if of age, shall conduct the administration as the
temporary representative of the King, with the same power as belongs to
an ad interim government.
Article 42. The King shall submit to the next Storthing in Norway and
the next Rigsdag in Sweden a bill, based on the principles of perfect
equality between both kingdoms, to carry out the provisions of Articles
39, 40 and 41, aforesaid.
Article 43. The election of a Regency, to conduct the administration
for the King during his minority, shall take place according to the
same rules and in the same manner prescribed in Article 7, aforesaid,
for the election of a successor to the Crown.
Article 44. The Norwegian members of the joint Ministry, to conduct
the administration in the cases provided for in Articles 40 and 41,
aforesaid, shall take the following oath before the Storthing:
"I promise and depose that I will conduct the administration of the
government conformable to the Constitution and the laws, so help me
God and His Holy Writ," and the Swedish members shall take an oath
before the Legislative Assembly of Sweden. If the Storthing or Rigsdag
is not at that time in session, the oath shall be deposited, with the
Ministry, in writing, and shall be renewed before the next Storthing or
Rigsdag.
Article 45. As soon as the administration of the joint Ministry shall
cease, they shall render an account of the same to the King and the
Storthing.
Article 46. If those, on whom it is incumbent, pursuant to Articles
39 and 41, fail to immediately convene the Storthing, it shall be the
peremptory duty of the Supreme Court, after a lapse of four weeks, to
convene the same.
Article 47. The management of the education of the King, under age,
shall, if his father has left no written directions concerning the
same, be provided for in the manner prescribed in Articles 7 and 43.
It shall be the invariable rule to give the King, during his minority,
ample instructions in the Norwegian language.
Article 48. If the royal male line be extinct, and no successor has
been selected, a new line of kings shall be chosen in the manner
prescribed in Article 7; and in the meantime provision shall be made
for the executive power as prescribed in Article 43 (40).
C. CITIZENSHIP AND THE LAW-MAKING POWER:
Article 49. The people shall exercise the legislative power through a
Storthing, composed of two bodies, a Lagthing and an Odelsthing.
Article 50. All Norwegian citizens, dwelling within the realm, who have
attained the age of twenty-five years, and have been residents of the
country for five years, shall be qualified voters.
Article 51. All qualified voters shall be registered, in every city
by the magistrate, and in every rural parish by the parson and
tax collector. Changes that in the course of time may occur shall
immediately be noted in the registry. Every voter shall, before he
is registered, publicly in court, take an oath of fealty to the
Constitution.
Article 52. The right of suffrage shall be suspended by:
(_a_) Indictment for an offence subject to the punishment described in
Article 53; by
(_b_) Being placed under guardianship; by
(_c_) Assignment or bankruptcy, not caused by loss of fire or other
evident misfortune, until the debtor, through full liquidation or
composition, shall again regain control over his estate; and by
(_d_) Being supported, or having during the year immediately preceding
the election been supported, as a public pauper.
Article 53. The right of suffrage shall be forfeited by:
(_a_) Having been sentenced to hard labor, removal from office, or
imprisonment for an offence described in any of the chapters of the
Criminal Code, relating to perjury, larceny, robbery or fraud; by
(_b_) Entering the service of a foreign power, without the consent of
the government; by
(_c_) Acquiring citizenship in a foreign country; and by
(_d_) Being convicted of buying votes, or selling one's own vote, or of
voting in more than one election precinct.
Article 54. Elections and electoral meetings shall be held every third
year. They shall be concluded before the end of the month of December.
Article 55. Elections shall be held, at the chief church of the parish,
in the rural districts, and at a church, the town hall, or other
suitable place, in the towns. The parish priest and his vestrymen shall
be the judges of election in the rural districts, the magistrate and
selectmen in the towns. The vote shall be taken in the order the names
appear on the registry. Controversies about the right to vote shall be
determined by the judges of election, whose decision may be appealed
from to the Storthing.
Article 56. The Constitution shall be audibly read, in the towns by the
chief magistrate, and in the rural districts by the priest, before the
polls are opened.
Article 57. In the towns, one elector shall be chosen for every fifty
inhabitants qualified to vote. Within eight days after their election,
the electors shall assemble at the place designated therefor by the
magistracy, and shall elect, either from their own number or from
the other qualified voters in their electoral district, thirty-eight
representatives, to meet and sit in the Storthing. Of this number,
unless otherwise constitutionally provided, one shall be elected from
Aalesund and Molde combined, one from Arendal and Grimstad combined,
four from Bergen, one from Brevig, four from Christiania, Hónefas and
Kongsvinger combined, two from Christianssand, one from Christianssund,
two from Drammen, one from Flekkefjord, one from Frederickshald, one
from Fredericksstad, one from Hammerfest, Vardó and Vadsó combined,
one from Holmestrand, one from Kongsberg, one from Krageró, one from
Laurvig and Sandefjord combined, one from Lillehammer, Hamer and Gjóvik
combined, one from Moss and Dróbak combined, one from Porsgrund, one
from Sarpsborg, one from Skien, two from Stavanger and Haugesund
combined, one from Tromsö, four from Throndhjem and Levanger combined,
one from Tunsberg, and one from Osterrisór. When a town, not herein
named, shall have fifty or more inhabitants, who are qualified voters,
it shall be attached to the nearest town-electoral district. The
same rule shall apply to towns that may hereafter be founded. A town
attached to a town-electoral district shall choose one elector, even
though the number of inhabitants qualified to vote shall become less
than fifty. In no case shall less than three electors be chosen in a
town which, by itself alone, constitutes one representative district.
Article 58. In every parish in the rural districts, the inhabitants
qualified to vote shall choose, in proportion to their numbers,
electors as follows: One hundred or less shall choose one; from one
hundred to two hundred, two; from two hundred to three hundred, three,
and so on in the same proportion. The electors shall, within a month
after their election, assemble at a place designated therefor by the
high sheriff of the county, and shall then elect, either from their own
number or from the other qualified voters in their county, seventy-six
Representatives, to meet and sit in the Storthing, of whom five shall
be chosen from the county of Agershus, five from the county of Nordre
Bergenhus, five from the county of Sóndre Bergenhus, five from the
county of Christians, two from the county of Finmarken, five from the
county of Hedemarken, five from the county of Nordland, five from the
county of Romsdalen, five from the county of Stavanger, two from the
county of Tromsö, and four from each of the other eight counties of
the kingdom. Ex-Ministers or ex-Secretaries of State shall be eligible
for Representatives in any electoral district, if, barring residence,
they are qualified voters and have not already been elected in some
other district. But no district shall elect more than one non-resident
Representative.
Article 59. (Repealed.)
Article 60. Qualified voters, being within the country, who, by reason
of sickness, military service, or other valid excuse, are unable to
attend the polls, may, in writing, transmit their votes to the judges
of election before the polls are closed.
Article 61. No one shall be elected Representative unless he is thirty
years of age and has resided ten years within the realm.
Article 62. Members of the Ministry, the officials employed in its
bureaus, and the officials and pensionaries of the Court, are all
ineligible for Representatives.
Article 63. Whoever is elected Representative, except ex-members of the
Ministry elected under the last clause in Article 58, shall be required
to accept the office, unless prevented by an excuse deemed valid by the
electors, whose decision may be reviewed by the Storthing. Whoever has
served as a Representative in three regular sessions of the Storthing
succeeding the same election, shall not be bound to accept election to
the next Storthing. If a Representative is prevented by valid excuse
from attending the Storthing, the person receiving the next highest
vote shall take his place, unless an alternate was elected at the
district electoral meeting, in which case he shall take the place of
the Representative.
Article 64. Immediately after their election, the Representatives shall
be furnished with certificates of election, subscribed in the rural
districts by the magistracy, in the towns by the chief magistrate, and
in both cases by several electors, as evidence that they have been
elected in the manner prescribed in the Constitution. The validity of
these credentials shall be passed upon by the Storthing.
Article 65. Each Representative shall be entitled to compensation, from
the State Treasury, for expenses of travel to and from the Storthing,
and for subsistence during attendance.
Article 66. Representatives shall, except when apprehended in public
offences, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the
Storthing, and in going to and returning from the same; and they shall
not be answerable, outside of the sessions of the Storthing, for the
expression of their views therein; but every Representative shall
conform to the established rules of procedure.
Article 67. The Representatives, elected in the manner aforesaid, shall
constitute the Storthing of the Kingdom of Norway.
Article 68. The Storthing shall, as a rule, convene on the first
week-day in the month of February in each year, at the capital of
the Kingdom, except when the King, on account of extraordinary
circumstances, such as hostile invasion or contagious disease, shall
designate another town in the realm therefor. Timely notice of such
designation shall, in such case, be published.
Article 89. The King may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the
Storthing at other than the usual time. In such case the King shall
issue a proclamation, which shall be read in all the churches of the
Episcopal towns at least fourteen days before the members of the
Storthing shall assemble at the place prescribed.
Article 70. Such special Storthing may be adjourned by the King at his
pleasure.
Article 71. The members of the Storthing shall serve as such for three
successive years, as well at all special, as at all regular, sessions
that may in the meantime be held.
Article 72. If a special Storthing be in session at the time a regular
Storthing convenes, the former shall adjourn before the latter
assembles.
Article 73. The Storthing shall select from its members one-fourth who
shall constitute the Lagthing; the other three-fourths shall constitute
the Odelsthing. The selection shall be made at the first regular
Storthing which convenes after an election, and thereafter the Lagthing
shall remain unchanged in all Storthings assembled after the same
election, except in cases of vacancy, which shall be filled by special
election. Each Thing shall hold its sessions separately, and appoint
its own President and Secretary. Neither Thing shall be in session
unless two-thirds of its members are present.
Article 74. As soon as the Storthing has organized, the King, or
whoever he may appoint therefor, shall open its proceedings with a
speech from the throne, wherein he shall give information touching
the condition of the kingdom and the matters to which he especially
desires to direct the Storthing's attention. No deliberation shall take
place in the presence of the King. After the session of the Storthing
has been opened, the Minister of State and the Secretaries of State
shall be entitled to sit in the Storthing and both branches thereof,
and to participate in its proceedings, without the right to vote, in
open session on a footing of equality with the members, and in secret
session only to the extent permitted by the Thing.
Article 75. The Storthing shall have power:
(_a_) To enact and repeal laws; to levy taxes, imposts, duties, and
other public assessments, but such levy shall not remain in force
beyond the first day of July in the year in which the next regular
Storthing convenes, unless expressly revived by the latter;
(_b_) To borrow money on the credit of the Kingdom;
(_c_) To regulate the currency of the Kingdom;
(_d_) To appropriate the money necessary for the expenditures of the
government;
(_e_) To determine the amount which shall yearly be paid the King for
the maintenance of his royal household, and to settle the appanage of
the royal family, which shall not, however, consist of landed estates;
(_f_) To cause to be laid before them the Journal of the Ministry
in Norway and all official reports and documents, not pertaining to
exclusive military commands, then on file, together with verified
copies and extracts of the Journals, on file with the King, kept by the
Norwegian Minister of State and the two Norwegian Secretaries of State
remaining in Sweden, as well as the public documents on file with them;
(_g_) To cause to be communicated to them the Alliances and Treaties,
which the King, on behalf of the state, has entered into with foreign
powers, except secret articles, which must not, however, conflict with
those that are public;
(_h_) To require any person to appear before them, in state affairs,
except the King and royal family; but this exception shall not apply to
royal princes holding office;
(_i_) To revise temporary salary and pension lists, and to make such
changes therein as they find necessary;
(_k_) To appoint five auditors who shall yearly audit the accounts
of the state and publish printed extracts of the same; and for this
purpose the accounts shall be submitted to the auditors within six
months from the expiration of the year for which the appropriations of
the Storthing has been made; and
(_l_) To naturalize foreigners.
Article 76. Every bill shall first be introduced in the Odelsthing,
either by a member thereof or by the Ministry, through one of its
members. If the bill is there passed, it shall be sent to the Lagthing,
which may concur in or reject it; in the latter case it shall be
returned with objections appended, and the same shall be considered
by the Odelsthing, which may either indefinitely postpone the bill or
return it to the Lagthing with or without amendment. When a bill, from
the Odelsthing, has been twice presented to the Lagthing and has been
returned a second time rejected, the entire Storthing shall assemble
in one body, and, by a two-thirds vote, dispose of the bill. At least
three days must intervene between every such distinct consideration of
the bill.
Article 77. When a measure, passed by the Odelsthing, has been
concurred in by the Lagthing or the united Storthing, it shall be sent
by a committee of both bodies of the Storthing to the King, if he is
present, or if not present, to the Norwegian Ministry, with the request
for the sanction of the King.
Article 78. If the King approve the measure, he shall affix his
signature thereto, whereby it becomes a law. If he disapprove the same,
he shall return it to the Odelsthing with the statement that, for the
time being, he does not find it expedient to sanction the same.
Article 79. If a measure has been passed without amendment, by three
regular Storthings, convened after three separate and successive
elections, and separated from each other by not less than two
intervening regular Storthings, and no measure in conflict therewith
having, in the meantime, from the first to the last passage, been
passed by any Storthing, and the measure is then presented to the King
with the request that his Majesty will not refuse his sanction to a
measure which the Storthing, after the most mature consideration, deem
beneficial, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the King fails to
sanction the same before the adjournment of the Storthing.
Article 80. The Storthing may remain in session so long as it deems
necessary, not, however, over two months, without the permission of
the King. When, after having finished its proceedings, or after having
been in session the time limited, it is adjourned by the King, he shall
communicate to it his action upon the measures passed, by approving or
rejecting the same. All measures not expressly approved by him shall be
deemed rejected.
Article 81. All laws shall be promulgated in the Norwegian language,
and, except those passed pursuant to Article 79, in the name of the
King, and under the seal of the Kingdom of Norway, in the following
words:
"We--N. N.--make known that there has been presented to us an Act of
the Storthing of the following tenor: (here follows the Act), which we
have accepted and approved and hereby accept and approve, as law, under
our hand and the seal of the realm."
Article 82. The sanction of the King shall not be required for those
resolutions of the Storthing whereby:
(_a_) It declares itself convened as Storthing pursuant to the
Constitution;
(_b_) It determines its own rules of procedure;
(_c_) It approves or rejects the credentials of the members present;
(_d_) It affirms or reverses decisions in election controversies;
(_e_) It naturalizes foreigners;
(_f_) And finally, not for the resolution whereby the Odelsthing shall
impeach members of the Ministry, or others.
Article 83. The Storthing shall have the right to procure the opinion
of the Supreme Court upon judicial subjects.
Article 84. The Storthing shall sit in open session and its proceedings
shall be printed and published, except in cases where otherwise
determined by a majority vote.
Article 85. Whoever shall obey a command, the purpose of which is to
interfere with the freedom and safety of the Storthing, is guilty of
treason against the Fatherland.
D. THE JUDICIAL POWER:
Article 86. The members of the Lagthing, together with the Supreme
Court, shall constitute the Court of Impeachment, which shall try,
without appeal, cases instituted by the Odelsthing, against members
of the Ministry and members of the Supreme Court for malfeasance in
office, and against members of the Storthing for offences committed by
them in their official capacity. The President of the Lagthing shall
preside in the Court of Impeachment.
Article 87. The accused may, without cause, challenge as many as
one-third of the members of the Court of Impeachment, but not so many,
however, as to leave the Court with less than fifteen members.
Article 88. The Supreme Court shall be the tribunal of last resort.
It shall consist of not less than one Chief-Justice and six associate
judges. This article shall not prohibit the final disposal of criminal
cases, pursuant to law, without appeal to the Supreme Court.
Article 89. In times of peace, the Supreme Court, together with two
high military officers to be appointed by the King, shall constitute
a court of appeal and of final resort in all court-martial cases,
involving life, honor, or loss of liberty for a longer period than
three months.
Article 90. The decisions of the Supreme Court shall in no case be
appealed or reviewed.
Article 91. No one shall be appointed a member of the Supreme Court
before he is thirty years of age.
E. GENERAL PROVISIONS:
Article 92. Public offices shall be filled only by Norwegian citizens
who speak the language of the country and:
(_a_) Who are born within the realm of parents who are citizens of the
country; or
(_b_) Who are born in foreign countries of Norwegian parents, not
citizens of another nation; or
(_c_) Who shall hereafter reside ten years within the realm; or
(_d_) Who shall be naturalized by the Storthing. But persons without
these qualifications may be appointed physicians, instructors in the
university and grammar schools, and consuls in foreign places. No one
shall be appointed a high magistrate before he is thirty years of
age, nor an inferior judge, magistrate, or tax collector before he is
twenty-five years of age. No one shall be a member of the Ministry
unless he professes the established religion of the state; and the same
rule shall apply to the other offices of the state, until otherwise
provided by law.
Article 93. Norway shall not be liable for any other than its own
national debt.
Article 94. Measures shall be taken to enact, at the next regular
Storthing, or, if this is not possible, at the following one, a new
general civil and criminal code. In the meantime the existing laws of
the state shall remain in force so far as they are not in conflict
with this Constitution or temporary ordinances meanwhile issued.
Permanent taxes now existing shall continue as laid until the next
Storthing.
Article 95. No dispensations, writs of protection, or letters of
respite or reparation, shall be granted after the new general code
takes effect.
Article 96. No one shall be tried except pursuant to law, nor punished
except pursuant to judgment. Examination, by means of torture, is
prohibited.
Article 97. No law shall be given retroactive effect.
Article 98. Fees paid to officials of Courts of Justice shall not be
subject to any state tax.
Article 99. No one shall be arrested except in the case and manner
prescribed by law. Whoever causes an unauthorized arrest, or unlawful
detention, shall be answerable therefor to the person confined. The
government shall have no right to employ military force against the
citizens otherwise than pursuant to law, except in the case of an
assembly disturbing the public peace and not immediately dispersing
after the civil magistrate has thrice audibly read to them the articles
in the public code relating to riot.
Article 100. The liberty of the press shall remain inviolate. No one
shall be punished for any writing, printed or published, irrespective
of its context, unless he has intentionally and clearly manifested,
or urged others to manifest, disobedience to the laws, contempt for
religion, morality, and the constitutional authorities, or resistance
to the commands of the same, or has made false and defamatory charges
against any person. Every person shall be permitted to express freely
his opinion upon the administration of public affairs, or on any other
subject whatsoever.
Article 101. New and permanent special privileges in industrial
pursuits shall not be granted to any one hereafter.
Article 102. Domiciliary visits shall not be permitted except in
criminal cases.
Article 103. No sanctuary shall be allowed to persons who hereafter
become insolvent.
Article 104. Estates of inheritance, or distributive shares, shall in
no case be subject to confiscation.
Article 105. If public necessity requires any person to relinquish
his real or personal property for public use, he shall receive full
compensation therefor from the State Treasury.
Article 106. The proceeds, as well as the income, of church estates,
shall be devoted exclusively to the benefit of the church and the
promotion of education. The property of charitable institutions shall
be devoted exclusively to their use.
Article 107. Allodial tenure and statutory entailment shall not be
abolished; but the conditions under which--for the good of the state
and the advantages of the people--the same shall continue, shall be
prescribed by the next or the following Storthing.
Article 108. No earldoms, baronies, or entailed manorial estates, shall
hereafter be established.
Article 109. Every citizen, without regard to birth or fortune, shall,
without exception, render military service to his country for a limited
time. The application of this rule, the limitations to be placed on it,
and whether it will be for the good of the country that liability to
such service shall terminate with the twenty-fifth year, shall be left
to the determination of the next regular Storthing, after a committee
has obtained full information on the subject; and in the meantime all
existing provisions in the premises shall remain in force.
Article 110. Norway shall have its own bank and its own currency and
coinage, to be established by law.
Article 111. Norway shall be entitled to have its own Merchant Flag.
Its naval ensign shall be a union flag.
Article 112. If experience demonstrates that any part of this
Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway requires amendment, the
proposition therefor shall be presented at a regular Storthing
first succeeding an election, and notice thereof shall be given by
publication; but no action shall be taken thereon until at one of
the regular Storthings succeeding the next election. Such amendment
shall not contravene the principles of this Constitution, and shall
only relate to such modifications in single provisions as will not
change the spirit of this Constitution, and shall be concurred in by
two-thirds of the Storthing.
THE END
Transcriber's Notes:
Minor changes have been made to correct printer's errors and to
regularize hyphenatation.
Names of some places and persons, where obvious, have been changed
to conform to a single, rather than multiple spellings.