Part I. General Provisions

Chapter 1. Applicability of Norwegian criminal law

Section 12 a. When a legally enforceable judgment has been passed on a person pursuant to

1. Act of 20 July 1991 No. 67 relating to the transfer of convicted persons,

2. Act of 25 March 1977 No. 22 relating to transfer of a prosecution from or to another European country or

3. an international agreement within the Schengen area of co-operation,

4. no criminal proceedings may be instituted or sentence passed in Norway for the same criminal offence if

a) he has been acquitted ;
b) he has been found guilty but no sanction has been imposed ;
c) the sanction imposed has been fully executed or is in the process of execution ; or
d) the sanction imposed has ceased to apply according to the rules of the adjudicating country.

Unless the prosecution in the adjudicating country was instituted on the application of the Norwegian authorities, the first paragraph shall not apply to such cases as are referred to in No. 1 and No. 2 of the first paragraph

a) when the act is committed in this realm, cf. section 12, first paragraph, No. 1, and second paragraph ;
b) when the perpetrator at the time of committing the act was resident in Norway or was a Norwegian national, and the prosecution is required in the public interest ;
c) when the act was directed against a person holding a Norwegian public office or a public institution or something else of a public character in this realm, or the perpetrator himself held a Norwegian public office ;
d) when the act was hijacking of an aircraft or some other international crime under international law; or
e) in so far as otherwise follows from an extradition treaty or a multilateral international agreement.

Unless the prosecution in the adjudicating country was instituted on the application of the Norwegian authorities, the first paragraph shall not apply to such cases as are referred to in No. 3 of the first paragraph, when

a) the act on which the foreign judgment was based was wholly or partly committed in Norway. If the act was only partly committed in Norway, the exception shall not, however, apply if the act was partly committed on the territory of the party to the convention where the judgment was pronounced ;
b) the act on which the foreign judgment was based is punishable in Norway pursuant to chapter 8, 9 or 14 of this code or the Act of 18 August 1914 No. 3 relating to defence secrets ; or
c) the act on which the foreign judgment was based was committed by a Norwegian official and was a breach of his official duties.

Section 13. In the cases dealt with in section 12, No. 4 (a) and (b), a prosecution can only be instituted when the King so decides.

In the cases dealt with in section 12, No. 4 (b), a prosecution may not take place unless there is also power to impose a penalty according to the law of the country in which the act was committed. Nor may a more severe penalty be imposed than is authorized by the law of the said country.

The first and second paragraphs shall not apply when a criminal prosecution in this country takes place in accordance with an agreement with a foreign State concerning the transfer of criminal proceedings.

In every case in which a person who has been punished abroad is convicted of the same offence in this country, the penalty already served shall as far as possible be deducted from the sentence imposed here.

Article 20
Ne bis in idem
1. Except as provided in this Statute, no person shall be tried before the Court with respect to conduct which formed the basis of crimes for which the person has been convicted or acquitted by the Court.
2. No person shall be tried by another court for a crime referred to in article 5 for which that person has already been convicted or acquitted by the Court.
3. No person who has been tried by another court for conduct also proscribed under article 6, 7 or 8 shall be tried by the Court with respect to the same conduct unless the proceedings in the other court:
(a) Were for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court; or
(b) Otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially in accordance with the norms of due process recognized by international law and were conducted in a manner which, in the circumstances, was inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice.