The Constitution, as laid down on 17 May 1814 by the Constituent Assembly at
Eidsvoll (with subsequent amendments, the most recent being of 23 July 1995).
A. Form of government and religion
Article 1
The Kingdom of Norway is a free, independent, indivisible and inalienable Realm.
Its form of government is a limited and hereditary monarchy.
Article 2
All inhabitants of the Realm shall have the right to free exercise of their
religion.
The Evangelical-Lutheran religion shall remain the official religion of the
State. The inhabitants professing it are bound to bring up their children in the
same.
B. The Executive Power, the King and the Royal Family
Article 3
The Executive Power is vested in the King, or in the Queen if she has succeeded
to the Crown pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 or Article 7 or Article 48
of this Constitution. When the Executive Power is thus vested in the Queen, she
has all the rights and obligations which pursuant to this Constitution and the
Law of the Land are possessed by the King.
Article 4
The King shall at all times profess the Evangelical-Lutheran religion, and
uphold and protect the same.
Article 5
The King's person is sacred; he cannot be censured or accused. The
responsibility rests with his Council.
Article 6
The order of succession is lineal, so that only a child born in lawful wedlock
of the Queen or King, or of one who is herself or himself entitled to the
succession may succeed, and so that the nearest line shall take precedence over
the more remote and the elder in the line over the younger.
An unborn child shall also be included among those entitled to the succession
and shall immediately take her or his proper place in the line of succession as
soon as she or he is born into the world.
The right of succession shall not, however, belong to any person who is not
born in the direct line of descent from the last reigning Queen or King or a
sister or brother thereof, or is herself or himself a sister or brother thereof.
When a Princess or Prince entitled to succeed to the Crown of Norway is born,
her or his name and time of birth shall be notified to the first Storting in
session and be entered in the record of its proceedings.
For those born before the year 1971, Article 6 of the Constitution as it was
passed on 18 November 1905 shall, however, apply. For those born before the year
1990 it shall nevertheless be the case that a male shall take precedence over a
female.
Article 7
If there is no Princess or Prince entitled to the succession, the King may
propose his successor to the Storting, which has the right to make the choice if
the King's proposal is not accepted.
Article 8
The age of majority of the King shall be laid down by law.
As soon as the King has attained the age prescribed by law, he shall make a
public declaration that he is of age.
Article 9
As soon as the King, being of age, accedes to the government, he shall take the
following oath before the Storting: "I promise and swear that I will govern
the Kingdom of Norway in accordance with its Constitution and Laws;
so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient."
If the Storting is not in session at the time, the oath shall be made in
writing in the Council of State and be repeated solemnly by the King at the
first subsequent Storting.
Article 10
(Repealed)
Article 11
The King shall reside in the Realm and may not, without the consent of the
Storting, remain outside the Realm for more than six months at a time, otherwise
he shall have forfeited, for his person, the right to the Crown.
The King may not accept any other crown or government without the consent of
the Storting, for which two thirds of the votes are required.
Article 12
The King himself chooses a Council from among Norwegian citizens who are
entitled to vote. This Council shall consist of a Prime Minister and at least
seven other Members.
More than half the number of the Members of the Council of State shall profess
the official religion of the State.
The King apportions the business among the Members of the Council of State, as
he deems appropriate. Under extraordinary circumstances,besides the ordinary
Members of the Council of State, the King may summon other Norwegian citizens,
although no Members of the Storting, to take a seat in the Council of State.
Husband and wife, parent and child or two siblings may never sit at the same
time in the Council of State.
Article 13
During his travels within the Realm, the King may delegate the administration of
the Realm to the Council of State. The Council of State shall conduct the
government in the King's name and on his behalf. It shall scrupulously observe
the provisions of this Constitution, as well as such particular directives in
conformity therewith as the King may instruct.
The matters of business shall be decided by voting, where in the event of the
votes being equal, the Prime Minister, or in his absence the highest-ranking
Member of the Council of State who is present, shall have two votes.
The Council of State shall make a report to the King on matters of business
which it thus decides.
Article 14
The King may appoint State Secretaries to assist Members of the Council of State
with their duties outside the Council of State. Each State Secretary shall act
on behalf of the Member of the Council of State to whom he is attached to the
extent determined by that Member.
Article 15
(Repealed)
Article 16
The King ordains all public church services and public worship, all meetings and
assemblies dealing with religious matters, and ensures that public teachers of
religion follow the norms prescribed for them.
Article 17
The King may issue and repeal ordinances relating to commerce, customs tariffs,
all economic sectors and the police; although these must not conflict with the
Constitution or with the laws passed by the Storting (as hereinafter prescribed
in Articles 77, 78 and 79). They shall remain in force provisionally until the
next Storting.
Article 18
As a general rule the King shall provide for the collection of the taxes and
duties imposed by the Storting.
Article 19
The King shall ensure that the properties and prerogatives of the State are
utilized and administered in the manner determined by the Storting and in the
best interests of the general public.
Article 20
The King shall have the right in the Council of State to pardon criminals after
sentence has been passed. The criminal shall have the choice of accepting the
King's pardon or submitting to the penalty imposed.
In proceedings which the Odelsting causes to be brought before the Court of
Impeachment, no pardon other than deliverance from the death penalty may be
granted.
Article 21
The King shall choose and appoint, after consultation with his Council of State,
all senior civil, ecclesiastical and military officials. Before the appointment
is made, such officials shall swear or, if by law exempted from taking the oath,
solemnly declare obedience and allegiance to the Constitution and the King,
although senior officials who are not Norwegian nationals may by law be exempted
from this duty. The Royal Princes must not hold senior civil offices.
Article 22
The Prime Minister and the other Members of the Council of State, together with
the State Secretaries, may be dismissed by the King without any prior court
judgment, after he has heard the opinion of the Council of State on the subject.
The same applies to senior officials employed in government offices or in the
diplomatic or consular service, to the highest-ranking civil and ecclesiastical
officials, commanders of regiments and other military formations, commandants of
forts and officers commanding warships. Whether pensions should be granted to
senior officials thus dismissed shall be determined by the next Storting. In the
interval they shall receive two thirds of their previous pay.
Other senior officials may only be suspended by the King, and must then without
delay be charged before the Courts, but they may not, except by court judgment,
be dismissed nor, against their will, transferred.
All senior officials may, without a prior court judgment, be discharged from
office upon attaining the statutory age limit.
Article 23
The King may bestow orders upon whomever he pleases, as a reward for
distinguished services, and such orders must be publicly announced, but no rank
or title other than that attached to any office. The order exempts no one from
the common duties and burdens of citizens, nor does it carry with it any
preferential admission to senior official posts in the State. Senior officials
honourably discharged from office retain the title and rank of their office.
This does not apply, however, to Members of the Council of State or the State
Secretaries.
No personal, or mixed, hereditary privileges may henceforth be granted to
anyone.
Article 24
The King chooses and dismisses, at his own discretion, his Royal Household and
Court Officials.
Article 25
The King is Commander-in-Chief of the land and naval forces of the Realm. These
forces may not be increased or reduced without the consent of the Storting. They
may not be transferred to the service of foreign powers, nor may the military
forces of any foreign power, except auxiliary forces assisting against hostile
attack, be brought into the Realm without the consent of the Storting.
The territorial army and the other troops which cannot be classed as troops of
the line must never, without the consent of the Storting, be employed outside
the borders of the Realm.
Article 26
The King has the right to call up troops, to engage in hostilities in defence of
the Realm and to make peace, to conclude and denounce conventions, to send and
to receive diplomatic envoys.
Treaties on matters of special importance, and, in all cases, treaties whose
implementation, according to the Constitution, necessitates a new law or a
decision by the Storting, are not binding until the Storting has given its
consent thereto.
Article 27
All Members of the Council of State shall, unless lawfully absent, attend the
Council of State and no decision may be adopted there unless more than half the
number of members are present.
A Member of the Council of State who does not profess the official religion of
the State shall not take part in proceedings on matters which concern the State
Church.
Article 28
Proposals regarding appointments to senior official posts and other matters of
importance shall be presented in the Council of State by the Member under whose
department they come, and such matters shall be dealt with by him in accordance
with the decision adopted in the Council of State. However, matters strictly
relating to military command may, to the extent determined by the King, be
excepted from proceedings in the Council of State.
Article 29
If a Member of the Council of State is lawfully prevented from attending the
meeting and from presenting the matters coming under his department, these may
be presented by another member temporarily appointed by the King for the
purpose.
If so many Members are lawfully prevented from attending that not more than
half of the stipulated number are present, the requisite number of other men or
women shall be temporarily appointed to take a seat in the Council of State.
Article 30
All the proceedings of the Council of State shall be entered in its records.
Diplomatic matters which the Council of State decides to keep secret shall be
entered in a special record. The same applies to military command matters which
the Council of State decides to keep secret.
Everyone who has a seat in the Council of State has the duty frankly to express
his opinion, to which the King is bound to listen. But it rests with the King to
make a decision according to his own judgment.
If any Member of the Council of State is of the opinion that the King's
decision conflicts with the form of government or the laws of the Realm, or is
clearly prejudicial to the Realm, it is his duty to make strong remonstrances
against it, as well as to have his opinion entered in the records. A member who
has not thus protested is deemed to have been in agreement with the King, and
shall be answerable in such manner as may be subsequently decided, and may be
impeached by the Odelsting before the Court of Impeachment.
Article 31
All decisions drawn up by the King shall, in order to become valid, be
countersigned. The decisions relating to military command are countersigned by
the person who has presented the matter, while other decisions are countersigned
by the Prime Minister or, if he has not been present, by the highest-ranking
Member of the Council of State present.
Article 32
The decisions adopted by the Government during the King's absence shall be drawn
up in the King's name and be signed by the Council of State.
Article 33
(Repealed)
Article 34
The King shall make provisions concerning titles for those who are entitled to
succeed to the Crown.
Article 35
As soon as the heir to the Throne has completed her or his eighteenth year, she
or he is entitled to take a seat in the Council of State, although without a
vote or responsibility.
Article 36
A Princess or Prince entitled to succeed to the Crown of Norway may not marry
without the consent of the King. Nor may she or he accept any other crown or
government without the consent of the King and the Storting; for the consent of
the Storting two thirds of the votes are required.
If she or he acts contrary to this rule, they and their descendants forfeit
their right to the Throne of Norway.
Article 37
The Royal Princes and Princesses shall not personally be answerable to anyone
other than the King, or whomever he decrees to sit in judgment on them.
Article 38
(Repealed)
Article 39
If the King dies and the heir to the Throne is still under age, the Council of
State shall immediately summon the Storting.
Article 40
Until the Storting has assembled and made provisions for the government during
the minority of the King, the Council of State shall be responsible for the
administration of the Realm in accordance with the Constitution.
Article 41
If the King is absent from the Realm unless commanding in the field, or if he is
so ill that he cannot attend to the government, the person next entitled to
succeed to the Throne shall, provided that he has attained the age stipulated
for the King's majority, conduct the government as the temporary executor of the
Royal Powers. If this is not the case, the Council of State will conduct the
administration of the Realm.
Article 42
(Repealed)
Article 43
The choice of trustees to conduct the government on behalf of the King during
his minority shall be undertaken by the Storting.
Article 44
The Princess or Prince who, in the cases mentioned in Article 41, conducts the
government shall make the following oath in writing before the Storting: "I
promise and swear that I will conduct the government in accordance with the
Constitution and the Laws, so help me God, the Almighty and Omniscient".
If the Storting is not in session at the time, the oath shall be made in the
Council of State and later be presented to the next Storting.
The Princess or Prince who has once made the oath shall not repeat it later.
Article 45
As soon as their conduct of the government ceases, the trustees shall submit to
the King and the Storting an account of the same.
Article 46
If the persons concerned fail to summon the Storting immediately in accordance
with Article 39, it becomes the unconditional duty of the Supreme Court, as soon
as four weeks have elapsed, to arrange for the Storting to be summoned.
Article 47
The supervision of the education of the King during his minority should, if both
his parents are dead and neither of them has left any written directions
thereon, be determined by the Storting.
Article 48
If the Royal Line has died out, and no successor to the Throne has been
designated, then a new Queen or King shall be chosen by the Storting. Meanwhile,
the Executive Power shall be exercised in accordance with Article 40.