The court trial against the Norwegian Government initiated by two Norwegian environmental organizations (Nature and Youth and Greenpeace) for drilling in oil and gas fields in pristine Arctic areas will start in Oslo on Tuesday, the Nature and Youth website reports.

In June 2016, the Norwegian Government permitted oil and gas exploration and extraction in 10 pristine areas of the Barents Sea in the Arctic for the first time in 20 years. This decision triggered a lawsuit brought by the Nature and Youth Norwegian youth environmental organization and the Norwegian branch of Greenpeace, in which they accuse the state of violating the country's Constitution (the article on environmental protection). About 250,000 people have supported the court petition.

"We believe that the Government, permitting the drilling oil wells in pristine Arctic areas, infringes on our common right to "a healthy environment and nature with guaranteed reproduction and variety," the Nature and Youth press release reports, citing the Constitution article. The organization believes that oil exploration in pristine areas ruins the country's future. The trial will last for seven days and is expected to end on November 23.