Christopher Frimann Omsen (11 December 1761 – 25 April 1829) was a Norwegian "Founding Father" and later Supreme Court Justice. He was born in Bergen as a son of customs officer Hillebrandt Omsen (1723–1771) og Helchie Catharina Thode (1728–1775)—his parents died when he was young. He enrolled in law studies in Denmark in 1783, and graduated with a Danish law degree in 1789. In 1791 he took the

cand.jur. Candidate of Law (Latin: ''candidatus/candidata juris/iuris'') is both a graduate law degree awarded to law students in the Nordic region as well as an academic status designation for advanced Law School students in German-speaking countries. ...

degree. He was hired as an attorney ("procurator") in Christiania in 1791 and in

Akershus Akershus () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...

in 1797. From 1799 he doubled as a prosecutor in customs matters. He married twice; the first marriage lasted from April 1792 to his wife's death in 1809, and he remarried in October 1811. He lived in the city center until 1826, and in 1814 he was elected as Christiania's second representative to the

Norwegian Constituent Assembly The Norwegian Constituent Assembly (in Norwegian ''Grunnlovsforsamlingen'', also known as ''Riksforsamlingen'') is the name given to the 1814 constitutional assembly at Eidsvoll in Norway, that adopted the Norwegian Constitution and formalised th ...

, where he became one of the Fathers of the

Constitution of Norway nb, Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov nn, Kongeriket Noregs Grunnlov , jurisdiction =Kingdom of Norway , date_created =10 April - 16 May 1814 , date_ratified =16 May 1814 , system =Constitutional monarchy , b ...

. He was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution, and especially contributed to the chapter on the judicial branch. He supported monarchy, but not the King prospect

Christian Frederick Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Frederic ...

, and tried on 17 May 1814 to postpone the choice of Christian Frederick as Norway's new king. This did not happen, and 17 May even became the Norwegian Constitution Day. Later in 1814, Omsen published a Norwegian Constituent Assembly-version of the Hansard. The two-volume work was called ''Den Norske Rigs-Forsamlings Forhandlinger paa Eidsvold i Aaret 1814'', and was published together with

Georg Sverdrup Georg Sverdrup (born Jørgen Sverdrup; 25 April 1770 – 8 December 1850) was a Norwegian statesman, best known as one of the presidents of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly in Eidsvoll in 1814. He was a member of the Norwegian Parliament and ...

and

Ludvig Stoud Platou Ludvig Stoud Platou (28 March 1778 – 30 November 1833) was a Danish-Norwegian educator, historical and geographical writer, politician and State Secretary. Personal life He was born in Slagelse, Denmark as a son of curate Friderich Christian P ...

. In the same year he was given the right to be a barrister in cases in the newly established Supreme Court of Norway, and already in 1815 he was appointed as an

Assessor An assessor may be: * ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes * Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate * Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford * Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...

(Supreme Court Justice). He participated in the second and the fourth

Impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

cases. Omsen also served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway in 1815, and on the board of the Office of the Auditor General of Norway from 1818 to 1824. He lived at the farm Nedre Blindern in

Aker Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

from 1826, and died in April 1829 in Aker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omsen, Christopher Frimann 1761 births 1829 deaths Lawyers from Bergen People educated at the Bergen Cathedral School Fathers of the Constitution of Norway Deputy members of the Storting Politicians from Oslo Supreme Court of Norway justices