Procedures for consultations with indigenous peoples - Experiences from Norway
life. The report also stresses the need to emphasize the necessary significance and role of
the Sámediggi as a representative, democratically elected organ for the Sami people when
the foundation and procedures for consultations between State authorities and the Sami
people are being drawn up (KRD/Sámediggi, 2005).
The report underlines the responsibilities of the Norwegian State vis-à-vis the Sámediggi, as
well as the potential for the further strengthening of the Sámediggi, along with the associated challenges, through systematic and structured consultations. In that context, the report
points out that the Sámediggi is established as an organ and accorded resources and responsibility by the Storting – the Norwegian Parliament. As such, it is dependent on the central
authorities. At the same time, it is elected and given legitimacy by the Sami people through
elections, predicated on the conviction that the Sami themselves must have decisive influence on their own development within all areas. This, the report notes, gives the Sámediggi
a kind of intermediary position within the Norwegian system of government; a position that
can be challenging for both the Norwegian Government, the Sámediggi itself and Sami society. Systematic and structured consultation procedures will be of considerable importance in
order to develop and clarify the positioning of the Sámediggi, both within the political system
and within society in general.
The report goes on to note that the establishment of consultative arrangements between
the central authorities and the Sámediggi will be an important step in ensuring that the
Sámediggi functions properly as an independent and comprehensive political organ. The
consultative process will strengthen the legitimacy of the Sámediggi in Sami society – an
essential precondition for efforts by the central authorities to facilitate the sound and desired
development of Sami culture and society (KRD/Sámediggi, 2005: 5).
Accordingly, the consultation procedures and guidelines, from the outset, identify the
Sámediggi as the key representative institution to be consulted. The central role of the
Sámediggi in pursuing collaborative governance arrangements is reaffirmed in the 2006
consultation guidelines, which note that the consultative arrangements will also contribute to
strengthening the legitimacy of the Sámediggi and will lead to a better understanding of the
situation and the needs in Sami communities. The guidelines stress that such consultative
arrangements will also lay the foundation for a partnership between the State authorities and
the Sámediggi, which in turn will help to strengthen Sami culture (Norway, 2006: 3).
The guidelines further note that the consultative arrangements also confer responsibilities on
the Sámediggi, emphasizing that these will be binding on the Sámediggi. For example, it is
foreseen that the Sámediggi must give clear feedback within agreed deadlines on the proposals put forward by the State (Norway, 2006: 3).
The guidelines also acknowledge the need for the Sámediggi to undertake further consultations with Sami communities and organizations. They stipulate that, in cases prepared by
lower level State authorities, it will usually be a precondition for successful consultations
with the Sámediggi that the Sámediggi should be informed in advance about how the issue
in question is viewed by communities and organizations. Hence, it is important that the
Sámediggi is informed about the case as early as possible and it may not be advisable to
initiate consultations before it is clarified how the case is viewed by the various Sami parties
involved (Norway, 2006: 13).
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