Gulating Court Closes Doors in Price-Hunter Trial
The Norwegian Competition Authority’s antitrust trial against Norway’s three dominant grocery chains entered its third week at Gulating Appellate Court, where judges ordered the courtroom closed to the press and public during the presentation of key evidence. The trial examines allegations of illegal market coordination among Rema 1000, Coop, and Norgesgruppen, nrk.no reported.
Commercial Secrets Behind Closed Doors
The appellate court cleared the gallery after determining that upcoming evidentiary documents contain sensitive commercial secrets. While journalists and independent observers remain locked out, representatives from the competing supermarket chains are permitted to stay inside the courtroom to monitor the proceedings. Those corporate representatives have signed non-disclosure agreements regarding the material presented.
Sindre Granly Meldalen, a lawyer with the Norsk Presseforbund, criticized the arrangement. He argued that the court should have allowed media representatives inside under similar confidentiality rules to maintain public oversight of the judicial process. Magne Strandberg, a law professor at the University of Bergen, noted that closing proceedings for trade secrets represents standard legal practice, though he acknowledged the unusual nature of an antitrust conspiracy trial involving sensitive competitor data.
Court Establishes Clean Teams to Protect Trade Secrets
To process the confidential documents without exposing trade secrets directly to rivals, the court established a specialized “clean team” consisting of external attorneys and selected corporate delegates. Professor Strandberg explained that excluding corporate representatives entirely while keeping only their lawyers inside would require specific statutory authority that does not currently exist under Norwegian procedural law.
The Norsk Presseforbund maintains that the court possesses the legal authority under the Courts of Justice Act to bar the general public while still granting access to journalists. Meldalen stated that media presence would allow independent evaluation of whether the contested documents genuinely constitute protected commercial secrets or whether the closures suppress legitimate public scrutiny.
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