ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the system of ethical review of medical research by the five regional research ethics committees (RRECs). Norway was relatively late, compared to other European countries, to establish formal ethical review procedures in biomedical research. Whereas the USA and Europe saw the development of a formal research ethics committee (REC) system in the late 1960s and 1970s, the Norwegian system for the ethical review of medical research was only organized during the late 1980s. In 1989 the Norwegian Government proposed the establishment of three national committees for research ethics. This proposal was approved by Parliament and the Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs, which set up the National Committee for Medical Research Ethics (NEM) in 1990. A characteristic feature of the Norwegian model is that the national committees do not only deal with issues within the more narrowly defined field of research ethics, but also include the broader field of ethics of science.
