Lund Report
Encyclopedia
The Lund Report was presented to the Norwegian Parliament on 28 March 1996. It was produced by the so-called Lund Commission, which had been appointed on 1 February 1994 and consisted of Supreme Court Justice Ketil Lund
(chairman), lawyer Regine Ramm Bjerke
, professor and former politician Berge Furre
, Major General Torkel Hovland and Gender Equality Ombud Ingse Stabel
. Reidar T. Larsen
and Vegard Holm were also proposed as member of the commission, but a majority of the Norwegian Parliament rejected this.
The report reveals extensive surveillance of Norwegian
communists
, socialists
and individuals and groups which the Norwegian Police Security Agency regarded to represent a threat to national security
. It also criticizes several issues in relation to the secret services:
Even though an addendum to the report discusses the relationship between the work of the surveillance service and human rights
, the framework as such is not a theme for the report.
The report shows that the illegal surveillance first and foremost has focused on the Communist Party
, the Socialist People's Party
, the Workers' Communist Party
, and the Socialist Left Party
, as well as organizations which were assumed to be in close contact with these parties, such as Nei til Atomvåpen (No to Nuclear Weapons), Sambandet Norge-Sovjetunionen (Norway-Soviet Union Association), the Norwegian Palestine Committee, the Women's Front of Norway and the Norwegian Solidarity Committee for Vietnam. Right-wing extremist groups are also mentioned in relation to the threat image, but nothing in the report indicates that illegal surveillance against these milieus took place.
An open hearing took place in the Storting following the report. Here former Prime Minister Kåre Willoch
among others defended the surveillance of the Workers' Communist Party with the assertion that this was an illegal organization, a view which was gainsayed by experts. The hearing and the conditions surrounding it led to the departure from the cabinet by among others minister for oil and energy, former minister of justice, Grete Faremo
. Noone has been held legally responsible for the illegalities, however, the Storting voted to establish a law about right to look into the files. Even though the Innsynsutvalget, which is the authority which decides who shall be allowed to look into the material, proposed to make the law permanent, the time limit for applying for permissions to look into the files expired on December 31, 2002.
Individuals who have suffered serious damage because of registration in violation with official guidelines or surveillance, have been able to apply for damages up to 100,000 NOK
.
Also in other countries the ways of the surveillance services have been subject of scrutiny, but outside of the former Soviet bloc few countries have taken this as far as Norway has.
Ketil Lund
Ketil Lund is a Norwegian judge.He was born in Oslo as a son of barrister and director Bernt Bjelke Lund and Irlin Sommerfelt . He is a paternal grandson of Jens Michael Lund. From 1963 to 1967 he was married to curator Inger Marie Grue; he then married artist Liv Bussoli...
(chairman), lawyer Regine Ramm Bjerke
Regine Ramm Bjerke
Regine Ramm Bjerke is a Norwegian judge.In 2000 she became a presiding judge in Borgarting Court of Appeal. She was a member of the Lund Commission from 1994 to 1996, together with Ketil Lund, Berge Furre, Torkel Hovland and Ingse Stabel. She is also a board member of Lovdata.She resides in...
, professor and former politician Berge Furre
Berge Furre
Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...
, Major General Torkel Hovland and Gender Equality Ombud Ingse Stabel
Ingse Stabel
Inger-Else "Ingse" Stabel is a Norwegian judge.She was born in Oslo as a daughter of Supreme Court Justice Carl Ludovico Stabel and Karen Andrea Elisabeth Eide . She is a niece of Fredrik Stabel. She family moved from Tøyen to Bygdøy when Stabel was 8 years old, and she finished her secondary...
. Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen is a Norwegian politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Norway from 1965 to 1975, when he resigned from his position, left the party and joined the Socialist Left Party . He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1973 to 1977, representing Hedmark.-References:...
and Vegard Holm were also proposed as member of the commission, but a majority of the Norwegian Parliament rejected this.
The report reveals extensive surveillance of Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, socialists
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and individuals and groups which the Norwegian Police Security Agency regarded to represent a threat to national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
. It also criticizes several issues in relation to the secret services:
- The intimate collaboration between the security agency and the Norwegian Labour PartyNorwegian Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
- Registrations contrary to binding guidelines
- Registrations on the basis of old attitudes
- Unclear responsibilities
Even though an addendum to the report discusses the relationship between the work of the surveillance service and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, the framework as such is not a theme for the report.
The report shows that the illegal surveillance first and foremost has focused on the Communist Party
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
, the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
, the Workers' Communist Party
Workers' Communist Party (Norway)
The Workers' Communist Party was a Norwegian communist party . AKP was a maoist party and one of two communist parties in Norway; the other was the older Communist Party of Norway which has remained pro-Soviet. The relationship between the two parties was characterized by strong hostility.AKP was...
, and the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
, as well as organizations which were assumed to be in close contact with these parties, such as Nei til Atomvåpen (No to Nuclear Weapons), Sambandet Norge-Sovjetunionen (Norway-Soviet Union Association), the Norwegian Palestine Committee, the Women's Front of Norway and the Norwegian Solidarity Committee for Vietnam. Right-wing extremist groups are also mentioned in relation to the threat image, but nothing in the report indicates that illegal surveillance against these milieus took place.
An open hearing took place in the Storting following the report. Here former Prime Minister Kåre Willoch
Kåre Willoch
Kåre Isaachsen Willoch is a Norwegian politician from the Conservative Party. He served as Minister of Trade and Shipping in 1963 and 1965–1970, and as Prime Minister of Norway from 1981 to 1986...
among others defended the surveillance of the Workers' Communist Party with the assertion that this was an illegal organization, a view which was gainsayed by experts. The hearing and the conditions surrounding it led to the departure from the cabinet by among others minister for oil and energy, former minister of justice, Grete Faremo
Grete Faremo
Grete Faremo , is a Norwegian politician who serves as the Norwegian Minister of Justice and the Police in Norway....
. Noone has been held legally responsible for the illegalities, however, the Storting voted to establish a law about right to look into the files. Even though the Innsynsutvalget, which is the authority which decides who shall be allowed to look into the material, proposed to make the law permanent, the time limit for applying for permissions to look into the files expired on December 31, 2002.
Individuals who have suffered serious damage because of registration in violation with official guidelines or surveillance, have been able to apply for damages up to 100,000 NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
.
Also in other countries the ways of the surveillance services have been subject of scrutiny, but outside of the former Soviet bloc few countries have taken this as far as Norway has.
External links
- Lund-rapporten
- Fire år etter Lund-rapporten by Arne Jørgensen
- Sperrer du vegen, Anne Holt? by Erling FolkvordErling FolkvordErling Folkvord is a Norwegian politician for the Red party, and a former member of the Parliament of Norway. A far-left revolutionary socialist, he was one of the leading members of the Workers' Communist Party and the Red Electoral Alliance before they merged to form Red...
- Rett, makt og overvåkning by Erik Oddvar Eriksen
- Mappeinnsyn til besvær by Ronald ByeRonald ByeRonald Joseph Bye is a former Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He was Minister of Transport and Communications 1978-1981.-References:...
- Organisasjonen mot politisk overvåkning
- Antikommunisme - lecture notes by Torstein Hjellum
- Hysj! - editorial in Dag og TidDag og TidDag og Tid is a national weekly newspaper in Norway that uses the Nynorsk standard of the Norwegian language. The newspaper was founded in 1962, is politically independent but editorially radical and focuses on culture and politics. The current editor is Svein Gjerdåker. Its circulation is...