§ 2-16. Right of recourse: claiming back what you have paid on someone else's behalf

Right of recourse (regress) means claiming back what you have paid out on behalf of someone else. The first subsection gives a person who has had to, or has had the right to, fulfil another person's monetary obligation a right to have their outlay covered by the debtor. The claim can be made immediately, without waiting.

The second subsection concerns several debtors who are jointly and severally liable, meaning that each of them can be required to pay the full amount. If one of them has paid, that person can immediately claim the outlay back from the others. If the person who paid does not obtain payment from one of them, they can claim that share from the other co-debtors. The division follows what applies between them. Example: two debtors are jointly and severally liable for the same obligation, and one of them pays everything. The one who has paid can claim the other debtor's share back. If the other debtor has no means, that portion can be divided among the others.

The third subsection states that the rules can be departed from by agreement, unless otherwise specifically provided. The right of recourse is therefore a default rule that the parties can change themselves.

This section concludes Chapter 2. Closely related are § 2-8, which makes terms invalid that cut off the consumer's (forbrukerens) objections as a guarantor (kausjonist) or co-debtor, and § 2-9 on repayment of credit. This section is referred to from § 4-33 (the service provider's (tjenesteyterens) right to compensation (erstatning) for outlays etc.) and § 5-17 (liability for debt and credit assessment (kredittvurdering)).