Reforming judicial system for better performance: a case of Norway
What really determines the judicial performance for which the judicial system is reformed? This study assesses the success of the 2021 judicial reform in Norway, which aimed to improve the efficiency, productivity, and quality of the district court system. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index, it covers the period 2019–2022 and offers a comparative perspective with similar reforms in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. The findings reveal that while technological advancements, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a 6.9% shift in the efficiency frontier, average court efficiency declined by 10.1%, resulting in a 4% drop in overall productivity. Moreover, the reform led to increased inefficiency among courts and widespread decreasing returns to scale, undermining its core aim of consolidation. Although some gains were observed in reducing the share of overdue complex cases, the reform had minimal impact on other quality indicators. Only one district court showed a clear efficiency improvement linked to the reform. Compared with successful Scandinavian counterparts, Norway’s geographical challenges and long distances may have limited the reform’s benefits. Despite the short-term inefficiencies, the growing potential for efficiency improvements through benchmarking offers hope for long-term gains. The study concludes that the reform requires adjustment and proposes targeted structural modifications to improve the performance of the Norwegian judicial system.
Publisert i Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2026
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