– This should not happen. This is what sports lawyer Gunnar-Martin Kjenner says about the fact that the Norwegian Sports Confederation (NIF) let its own employee solve tasks related to a notification case to which the person concerned is a party. – It is highly objectionable, says Kjenner. Last week, TV 2 mentioned that there is an ongoing notification case against a member of the sports board. It is an employee of NIF who has notified, and it is this person who has worked on tasks related to the case. NOT IMPRESSED: Gunnar-Martin Kjenner. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – The person concerned is a party to the case, and he has obvious party interests. This violates a completely general requirement of decency, says the sports lawyer. The employee’s involvement does not include the processing of the notice itself, and the person’s tasks have no bearing on the outcome of the processing. Changed plans news has repeatedly been in contact with the communications department of the Norwegian Sports Confederation, but without getting an answer as to why the NIF management did not appoint anyone other than the whistleblower to solve tasks related to the case in question. They have been given two days to respond, but after persistent attempts by news, NIF has not responded. The notification was submitted in December, but there is still no conclusion in the matter. NIF has hired an external law firm, and the report from there was completed at the beginning of March. According to the plan, the content of the report was to be discussed in the sports board on Wednesday, but changes were made at the last minute. New rules In January last year, receipt and follow-up of notification cases were on the agenda during a sports board meeting. According to the minutes of the meeting, it was general secretary Nils Einar Aas who initiated the matter, and who wanted changes. A decision was made which states, among other things, “NIF’s HR department is responsible for receiving notifications about NIF employees, and NIF’s legal department is responsible for receiving other notifications. The departments are given the authority to do what is necessary for proper handling of the cases”. Board decision on handling whistle-blowing cases: The Sports Board decides the following for handling whistle-blowing cases: 1. Notifications relating to NIF: NIF’s HR department is responsible for receiving notifications about NIF employees, and NIF’s legal department is responsible for receiving other notifications. The departments are given the authority to do what is necessary for proper handling of the cases. 2. Notifications concerning NIF’s organizational level: The individual organizational level is responsible for processing notifications about matters in its own organisation. NIF’s secretary-general is nevertheless given the authority to initiate the necessary investigations and measures if it is considered necessary to safeguard the Sports Board’s responsibilities according to NIF’s Act ยง 4-4 letter l. Source: Idrettsforbundet.no news has contacted the legal department of the Norwegian Sports Confederation, but without getting response. It has also not been possible to get in touch with Secretary General Aas. Anne Irene Myhr, chair of the control committee, states that in their meeting on 27 March they will ask for a briefing on the implementation of the aforementioned board resolution on a general basis. news has been in contact with the person who has been notified. The person concerned does not wish to make a statement until the case has been dealt with. The whistleblower is informed that news is writing a case. The person has not responded to our inquiries.
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Strongly reacts to the Swedish Sports Confederation’s handling of the notification case: – Strongly criticizable
