All activities carried out by PST must be in accordance with laws, regulations or other secondary statutory provisions.
The Police Act and PST Code of Practice
Apart from the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Act, principal provisions relating to PST are Chapter IIIA of the Police Act, which outlines PST's organisational structure and functions, and the Code of Practice concerning The Norwegian Police Security Service, which was laid down by Royal Decree on 19 August 2005 (the PST Code of Practice). The statutory authority for the PST Code of Practice is section 29 of the Police Act, which deals with the powers to direct etc. and which clarifies the provisions of the Police Act that deal with the organisation and functions of PST.
Other laws and regulations
Apart from the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Act, the Police Act and PST Code of Practice, there are a number of provisions that partly regulate how we carry out our activities, including which offences our Service will prevent and investigate.
Because we are part of the Norwegian police service, the Code of Practice for Prosecutors is an instrument of particular importance. The Code of Practice for Prosecutors expands on a number of rules contained in the Criminal Procedure Act concerning how the police and the prosecuting authority shall carry out their functions.
We have a broad responsibility to carry out preventive security work, i.e. to prevent threats against the nation’s independence and security and other critical national security interests, so the Security Act and related regulations are therefore a central source of staturory authority for PST.