On July 1, 2024, a new and robust law on military police authority came into effect – the Military Police Act. Military police authority is about the right and duty that all officers, non-commissioned officers, and military guards have to intervene to safeguard the security of the Armed Forces, military discipline, peace, and order, and to prevent and stop criminal activities. The law encompasses much more than just the power and authority of the military police.
The Military Police Act is crucial and reflects the current challenging security political situation with an increased risk of espionage, sabotage, and the use of complex threats and hybrid methods. The defense and military capabilities of Norway need to be secured.
Replacing the Law on Police Authority in the Armed Forces of 1988, which was partly deficient and outdated, the Military Police Act was long-awaited and addresses several legal challenges and debates related to the Armed Forces‘ legal scope of action, especially in peacetime.
The law must be viewed in conjunction with other provisions in the Constitution, the Coast Guard Act, and international law, emphasizing that the central task of the Armed Forces is to uphold Norwegian sovereignty and protect the country’s defense in peacetime, crisis, and war.
The previous law primarily focused on maintaining discipline and peace and order within the Armed Forces. The current law also addresses threats and attacks from third parties against military vessels and areas in peacetime, crisis, and war.
All officers and non-commissioned officers on duty have military police authority at all times. Additionally, corporals and enlisted military guards and personnel in the military police have military police authority when performing guard duty. The law, therefore, concerns the entire Armed Forces, not just the military police.
The Military Police Act does not limit the authority of the police. It also does not alter the traditional division of tasks between the police and the defense. Although military and civilian police authority share many similarities, they are two different types of authority.
If military police authority is exercised outside a military area against civilians, the civilian police in the police district should be notified as far as possible so that the police can take over the handling. The general rule is that military police authority is subordinate to civilian police authority when the agencies collaborate.
Exceptions to the main rule about the priority of civilian police authority can be considered during security crises where hostile foreign actors or other military threats need to be addressed, and it is most effective for the Armed Forces to do so. The decision is made by the political leadership (the government). This can be complex and sensitive in terms of security policy. The law, therefore, mandates police and defense cooperation to resolve incidents in the best possible way.
Having military police authority entails the right and duty to act in certain situations. The duty to act means that military personnel must intervene and stop criminal activities, such as sabotage attempts or break-ins, in some cases. Military police authority, including the use of military force, can be exercised against anyone, civilians and military personnel, Norwegian citizens as well as foreigners. Everyone, both civilians and military personnel, is obligated to comply with orders from personnel exercising military police authority.
The Military Police Act enshrines the right of the Armed Forces and military personnel to self-defense. Previously, this was unclearly regulated and had to be anchored in the general emergency law and the right to self-defense. The security of the Armed Forces and the right to self-defense are inseparably linked to the security of the state and Norway’s right to self-defense. The Military Police Act means that threats and attacks against military areas can and should be stopped in peacetime, crisis, and war. The Armed Forces must not wait for an „armed attack.“
Military personnel with military police authority can also maintain discipline and peace and order within the Armed Forces. This can involve troublemakers, drug use, accidental shots, harassment, and other offenses and/or violations of disciplinary rules, military customs, and order. Military police authority can also be exercised to protect others, such as civilian residents.
The Military Police Act has specific rules on various measures that may be relevant, such as orders, pick-ups, apprehensions, searches, interventions with intoxicated persons, assistance to the sick, temporary detention, military inspections, and the use of weapons, among others. The use of force and coercion must be considerate, necessary, and proportionate, and the principle of minimum use of force applies. A provision specifically addresses the use of force against objects (such as drones), including the use of firearms.
Now, the Armed Forces have a clear mandate to handle drones and similar devices. Targeted shots at individuals (potentially lethal use of force) should be a last resort and absolutely necessary. The rules on the use of force and coercion are similar to those in the Police Act, meaning that the Armed Forces should use police methods and means in peacetime and crises. It is only when the situation escalates to armed conflict that military personnel (combatants) can use military (war) methods in accordance with the laws of war.
The exercise of military police authority is geographically limited to military areas and the immediate vicinity of military areas. Outside military areas, civilian police are primarily responsible for exercising police authority. „Military area“ can include military bases, bivouacs, vessels, or temporarily established military areas. Military areas also encompass „an area or object secured by military forces when the realm is at war or threatened by war, or the realm’s independence or security is at risk,“ according to section 5, paragraph 1. Military areas can thus be fixed, mobile, and temporary, and can be established quickly as needed.
„A temporary military area“ can be declared „when necessary and proportionate for the sake of the realm’s security, preparedness, defense considerations, or to facilitate security during military operations and exercises,“ according to section 5, paragraph 2.
In assessing what constitutes immediate proximity to a military area, section 5, paragraph 4 of the Military Police Act states that „consideration should be given, among other things, to the general threat level, the nature and degree of possible threats, population density, topography, control considerations, and the possibility of intervention by civilian police.“ In some parts of the country, there may be long distances to local police. This may warrant a relatively broad interpretation of the concept of immediate proximity, especially in time-critical situations involving suspected military threats or attacks.
Civilian populations should be notified as far as practically possible about the establishment of temporary military areas. However, the law also allows for the conduct of covert military operations in peacetime in Norway. Caution should be exercised, and special consideration should be given to the civilian population when exercising military police authority outside fixed military areas.
Chapter 5 of the Military Police Act contains special rules on what military investigators in the military police’s specialized investigation units can investigate. During investigations, military investigators are subject to civilian prosecution authorities.
Chapter 6 of the Military Police Act establishes rules on criminal liability for those who do not comply with orders from personnel with military police authority or resist.
Chapter 7 of the Military Police Act regulates important aspects of foreign military forces staying in Norway and their right to take necessary and proportionate measures to maintain order and security within assigned areas.
The Military Police Act is a good and important law that concerns everyone in the Armed Forces. The law provides the Armed Forces with necessary, flexible, and adaptable legal frameworks within reasonable limits, ensuring that the Armed Forces are well-equipped – legally as well – to carry out their tasks in a proper and legally sound manner in peacetime, crisis, and war, at sea, in the air, and on land.
Sigmund Simonsen is a professor of law at the University of the West and NTNU, specializing in military law and maritime law. He is the author of the book „In Defense of the Country,“ which analyzes the tasks and legal scope of action of the Armed Forces. Simonsen has military training and worked at the Air Force Academy from 2012 to 2018. He is still affiliated with the Armed Forces.