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– If the FRP turns around and demolishes the district courts in Norway to get a few fewer refugees or a toll less, it will confirm the impression many sadly have that politicians are unreliable, thundered Jenny Klinge of the Center Party.
– Before the summer, there was no question that Amundsen would save the district courts. Now he is trying to get away from the whole deal by talking about merging the courts, as if there is no problem, he continues.
The case deals with the new judicial structure that the government will establish. The red-green majority on the justice committee decided that the case should only be considered in the new year, but the presidency intervened and decided that it should be completed now.
Red Greens fear that several of the country’s smaller district courts will be closed as a result of the reform, which the FRP can still support.
The judge sounds the alarm
Will negotiate
Per-Willy Amundsen of the Progress Party defends what the Red Greens describe as a regrettable and urgent treatment of judicial reform in the Storting. All the way inside, he says.
– It was the red-greens who, with the help of the double vote of the committee leader, decided that the case should be considered in the new year. We believe that it is natural to view this issue in the context of the state budget. That it was the result is natural when the Storting is composed as it is, Amundsen tells Dagbladet.
The profile of the FRP, which has been the minister responsible for the matter, highlights that the party’s parliamentary group has not yet ruled on the judicial reform.
– But we have said that we are willing to negotiate with the government parties. So of course we hope to get something in return.
– Do you think you can agree with what the government proposes in exchange for other areas in the budget negotiations?
– It is the whole who decides. It is then up to the government to assess the importance of this case, by comparing it with other cases in the justice field, says Amundsen.
The background to the case is a proposal by the Courts Commission, which last year called for a drastic cut in the number of district courts in Norway.
The Commission’s proposal was to reduce the number of courts from the current 60 to just 22 and, at the same time, halve the number of courts. But this meant that the ruling Conservative parties, KrF and Venstre went too far. Instead, all three parties have proposed retaining all courtrooms, but reducing the number of courts to 22.
Refuses to close district courts
– Sneak out
Lene Vågslid of the Labor Party, who heads the Storting’s justice committee, believes there is now plenty of cause for unrest among the country’s district courts.
– This is clearly a preview of our district courts. Today’s independent district courts, which are spread across the country, will be emptied of skilled jobs, while 22 more central district courts will be fortified with individuals. The same applies to land subdivision courts, says Vågslid.
– This was Amundsen and I in our agreement that was very troublesome. You have to wonder what happened to him during the summer, he continues.
The Labor Party representative says the Labor Party, the Socialist People’s Party, the Socialist People’s Party and the Green Party celebrated locally with cake when the deal was presented this spring.
– That Frp now opens to break the agreement is to shed tears in the eyes of all those who celebrated this spring, he says.
Right-wing riots over the “mass massacre” of the district courts
– It wont happen
Per-Willy Amundsen recently opened an interview with Helgelands Blad to discuss the changes in the so-called courts. But that this in practice will mean the closure of the district courts, he flatly rejects it.
– District courts will not be closed. It is not relevant for Frp. That will not happen. And it’s not something that is being discussed now either, Amundsen tells Dagbladet.
He believes that it is conspiratorial to draw such a conclusion.
– Jenny Klinge extracts obvious and demonstrably clear misconceptions when she believes that merging courts is the same as closing district courts.
He believes that the government could have merged the district courts without involving the Storting and claims that they are now more secure, with the help of the FRP.
– The government could have done this on its own. But when the Storting is now involved, it will be clearly stated that all district courts will approve, say, and continue:
– Sp is more concerned with the administrative limits as they are than guaranteeing good services close to people. Today, there are several district courts that have almost no right to life because very few cases are heard there. The new jurisdictions will be able to give these district courts more cases to prosecute, increasing their justification.
The minister keeps the ax
I do not understand
Jenny Klinge at the Center Party believes Amundsen’s statements show that he does not understand the stakes, which she believes documents that the FRP had spent more time on the case.
– What Amundsen says now is terribly similar to how the Conservatives and Justice Minister Mæland try to present reality, turning it around. If you merge courts, you merge district courts. It is so easy and so difficult. There may be several places in a court of law, but only one district court. District courts that lose registrar and district court status become subdivisions under the single district court consisting of a merged judicial district, Klinge says.
She says she hopes Amundsen and Frp will stick with what they said before the summer and are helping to save the district courts.
– The best way to ensure a good treatment of the case at the Storting is for the justice committee to have a better time than what the government parties now plan, with an end date already on November 24, says Klinge, who is the spokesperson for the case.
She believes the chair is forcing the majority of the committee to push an important issue in an unreasonably short time. The red greens would set the deadline for submitting a recommendation at the end of February.
Not surprised
When Klinge raised concerns with NTB last week about what she perceives as an urgent treatment of judicial reform, Conservative Party justice policy spokesman Peter Frølich stated that he was not surprised.
– It is a completely natural argument for a party that has never wanted judicial reform, and that wants to postpone it at every step. They have tried to stop all reforms in recent years. This is no exception, he told NTB.
He explains that the governing parties and the FRP wanted a November deadline to consider judicial reform along with the state budget.
– The government has presented a state budget proposal that presupposes changes in the judicial structure. So it’s completely natural to treat judicial reform and the justice budget together, he says.
