The State uses legal advice in a number of cases, for instance in connection with legal proceedings or the privatisation of large state-owned enterprises. The Ministry of Finance and the Attorney to the Government have made a framework agreement, according to which the Attorney to the Government has the preferential right to handle the State’s legal proceedings. The agreement includes a discount system, stipulating that the State is charged two thirds of the price of a comparable legal fee.
NOAD’s examination concerns two aspects: Firstly, the Ministry of Finance’s contract liability, control and administration of the agreement with the Attorney to the Government and secondly, selected state institutions’ use of legal advice, including both the use of the Attorney to the Government’s assistance but also legal assistance provided by other sources. The second half of the report focuses in particular on the legal assistance used by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Business Affairs and the Ministry of Transport and Energy, as these three ministries are among those with the greatest expenses for legal advice.