§ 1-10. Choice of law: when Norwegian law applies to consumer agreements with foreign service providers
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
In brief
- Norwegian law applies to consumers (forbruker) resident in Norway who enter into an agreement with a foreign service provider (tjenesteyter) that has marketed the service here, if one of three alternative conditions is met.
- The parties cannot choose the rules of a state outside the EEA (EØS) for a credit agreement (kredittavtale) with a close connection to the EEA if this gives the consumer weaker protection.
- The rule applies only to consumers.
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
§ 1-10. Choice of law
- the service provider has made the consumer an offer or marketed the service here in the realm, and the consumer has here done what is necessary for the agreement to be concluded,
- the service provider or a commission agent, agent or other representative of the service provider, or a broker here in the realm has received the consumer's offer, acceptance or order, or
- the agreement was entered into by the consumer after travelling abroad in connection with the acquisition of real property or movable property or the financing of the acquisition, and the trip was arranged by the service provider, or by the seller in agreement with the service provider.
What does this mean?
This section concerns which country's rules apply when a consumer in Norway enters into an agreement with a service provider in another country. The first subsection says that Norwegian law applies when the service provider has offered or marketed the service in Norway and at least one of three conditions is met. The first is that the consumer has done what is needed to conclude the agreement here in Norway. The second is that the service provider, a representative or a broker here has received the consumer's offer, acceptance or order. The third is that the agreement was entered into after a trip abroad to buy property or movable goods, or to finance the purchase, and the trip was arranged by the service provider or by the seller in cooperation with the service provider.
The rule applies only to consumers who live in Norway, and to a service provider established in another state. Who counts as a consumer follows from § 1-4. A service provider that has neither offered nor marketed the service here falls outside the first subsection.
The second subsection sets a limit on choice-of-law agreements. The parties cannot agree that the rules of a state outside the EEA shall apply to a credit agreement that has a close connection to the EEA states, if the consumer then gets weaker protection than under the Financial Contracts Act. Example: a lender (kredittyter) outside the EEA writes into its terms that the law of its home country shall apply. If the agreement is closely connected to the EEA and the consumer would get weaker protection, the choice cannot be used.
This section is naturally linked to § 1-9, which says that the Act cannot be departed from to the detriment of the consumer. The next section, § 1-11, makes two EEA regulations on payments part of Norwegian law.