The University of Oslo denied students any exemption from exam requirements claiming their foreign degrees did not cover the same subjects. A Norwegian student whose Oxford degree was not recognized filed a class action lawsuit against the institution requesting damages of over NOK 500 million (c. EUR 42 million) for the over 750 affected students.

The class action is based on the allegation that the University of Oslo systematically and unlawfully refused to recognize foreign higher education. The decisions were made in violation of international, European, and Norwegian law, including the Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, the UNESCO Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. They also infringe the Norwegian Constitution, the Norwegian Universities and University Colleges Act, and a Storting (Parliament) Decision on the Mobility of International Students.

A class action may be brought under Norwegian law where this type of action is the most appropriate method to adjudicate the claims. According to the plaintiffs, this is the case here. At the centre is student Ove Kenneth Nodland whose Oxford degree was not recognized by UiO. Ove realized that he was just one of many in the same situation. He went through 758 decisions on recognition of foreign educational qualifications and concluded that systematic misconduct occurred.

The plaintiffs seek an order that the University of Oslo pay students whose application for admission to higher education was unjustly rejected during the period from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2023 an amount determined at the discretion of the court, capped at NOK 555,200,000, plus statutory default interest from 27 April 2023 until payment.