Jonte is right about forvaring, but it is so foreign to us media overlooking it is hardly surprising - Edit 1
Before modification by Joel at 26/08/2012 01:55:49 AM
So he really got life with the possibility of parole? They forgot to mention that in the article I read about it. They they made it sound he would be released after 20 years max.
As I noted in my response to him, my wife works in Norwegian law (though not criminal law,) and we still have not found an English translation after a year of trying. Looking it up on Wikipedia is not much help unless you know Norwegian; Norwegian Wikipedia gives what seems a good summary, but clicking "English" goes to an only tangentially related article on "Preventive Detention." A few months ago it went to an article on involuntary commitment, which is completely different.
Best I can give you is a Google assisted translation of the Norwegian Wikipedia article:
Containment is one of the so-called criminal sanctions introduced in the Norwegian courts in 2001. Offenders that a court considered accountable can be sentenced to containment if there is a real risk that the offender might repeat the crime or is considered a danger to society. Containment is currently the only remedy the Norwegian courts have at their disposal to impose a real life sentence on offenders, because there is no upper limit for such judgment duration.
Penalties
Containment is regarded as punishment and replaced the usual terms of imprisonment for persons who have committed serious crimes and where the risk of recurrence is perceived as great.
Legal
Punishment by containment is pursuant to "Regulations on the implementation of sanctions custody" ยง 2, which states:
"Containment is implemented to meet society's needs for security against new serious crime from the detention subjects side. Ensuring safe limits, the detention subject is given the opportunity to change their behavior and adapt to a life of freedom."
Containment can only be imposed if the person has committed or attempted to commit a crime that violated society's fundamental rights or others' lives, health or freedom. Examples of such crimes can be murder, violence, sexual offenses and arson. In addition, there must be a real risk that the person will repeat the action he or she is convicted.
Containment cannot be imposed on people perceived to have acted in the heat of passion, but compulsory mental health care may be imposed instead.
Containment replaced the legal term "securing," by amendment on 1 January 2002.
Time frames
In a containment judgement the court shall fix a time frame that generally should not exceed 15 years and may not exceed 21 years. Following a request from the prosecution, the court judgement may nonetheless extend the fixed frame by up to 5 years. Requests for extension instituted by the court must be submitted no later than three months before the expiration of custody. There should also be a minimum period of detention which must not exceed 10 years. Containment is currently the only remedy the Norwegian courts have at their disposal to impose a real life sentence on offenders, because there is no upper limit for such judgment duration.
Penalties
Containment is regarded as punishment and replaced the usual terms of imprisonment for persons who have committed serious crimes and where the risk of recurrence is perceived as great.
Legal
Punishment by containment is pursuant to "Regulations on the implementation of sanctions custody" ยง 2, which states:
"Containment is implemented to meet society's needs for security against new serious crime from the detention subjects side. Ensuring safe limits, the detention subject is given the opportunity to change their behavior and adapt to a life of freedom."
Containment can only be imposed if the person has committed or attempted to commit a crime that violated society's fundamental rights or others' lives, health or freedom. Examples of such crimes can be murder, violence, sexual offenses and arson. In addition, there must be a real risk that the person will repeat the action he or she is convicted.
Containment cannot be imposed on people perceived to have acted in the heat of passion, but compulsory mental health care may be imposed instead.
Containment replaced the legal term "securing," by amendment on 1 January 2002.
Time frames
In a containment judgement the court shall fix a time frame that generally should not exceed 15 years and may not exceed 21 years. Following a request from the prosecution, the court judgement may nonetheless extend the fixed frame by up to 5 years. Requests for extension instituted by the court must be submitted no later than three months before the expiration of custody. There should also be a minimum period of detention which must not exceed 10 years. Containment is currently the only remedy the Norwegian courts have at their disposal to impose a real life sentence on offenders, because there is no upper limit for such judgment duration.
I can see why switching to English Wikipedia used to re-direct the article to involuntary commitment, because it does sound very similar functionally, with the critical distinction of being a criminal sentence rather than medical confinement. In the above article Google translated "forvaring" as "containment," "detention" and at one point simply "custody," which I altered to simply "containment" in all cases to make clear when the judgement itself was meant. It is just outside our reference frame, but from all I have heard the safe bet is Breivik will end up like Manson: After about a decade prison officials will begin periodic hearings to perfunctorily hear arguments for his release, automatically deny them and leave him to rot in prison for the rest of his life.