News and current topics from various practice areas and industries

On 24 February 2026, the Borgarting Court of Appeal, Norway’s second-highest level of courts, delivered its ruling in the widely followed Wolt case. By a majority of four to one, the court found that the bicycle couriers engaged through the digital platform Wolt are independent contractors, not employees, within the meaning of Section 1-8, first paragraph of the Norwegian Working Environment Act.

From January 1st, 2026, amendments to the Working Environment Act’s regulations on psychosocial working environments will come into force. The amendments clarify the employer’s obligation to ensure a fully acceptable psychosocial working environment in line with the physical working environment. Although the purpose is not to change current law, the clarifications will entail increased expectations for systematic prevention, documentation, and management practices.

Developers often face significant costs when they are required to finance municipal infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, footpaths and cycle paths, roundabouts, and green areas. One of the biggest challenges is how to handle value added tax (VAT) so that it does not become a final cost in the development project. Proper handling of VAT can make a big difference to the profitability of the project.

In one year, a new mineral law will come into force. At present, it remains unclear whether the new law will be beneficial or detrimental to the development and upgrading of renewable energy production.

The EU Data Regulation, also known as the Data Act, will soon come into force in the EU. The regulation governs access to data from products and services connected to the internet, including cloud services. Operators offering services covered by the regulations, or who wish to access data covered by them, should familiarize themselves with what the regulation entails.

On July 1, 2025, several amendments to the Planning and Building Act and the Cadastre Act came into force. Many of the amendments concern new instruments to be used in planning densification and transformation under the Planning and Building Act. Among other things, the new system for landowner financing of infrastructure (often referred to as the “area model”) has come into force. The process leading up to the establishment of regulations for this has been long and subject to much discussion along the way.

In a ruling handed down on 20 June 2025, the Supreme Court considered whether A – the chair and managing director of a construction company – could be held liable for damages for transactions carried out while a legal dispute was pending.

Hjort has been acting as legal representative in a case before the Supreme Court concerning the interpretation of the transitional provisions in the 2019 Inheritance Act. The main question was whether a testator who, prior to the entry into force of the current Inheritance Act, had given gifts to several of his heirs, could validly decide that the gifts should be deducted from future inheritance even after the current Inheritance Act came into force.

The Supreme Court recently handed down a ruling in HR-2025-1115-A (Rambøll), which provides further clarification on the conditions that must be met in order for so-called tort-based claims to be brought in contractual relationships, and how these claims relate to contractual liability. This article reviews case law and summarises the legal situation.