The Supreme Court sitting as a grand chamber will hear three child welfare cases on 4–7 February 2020
The Supreme Court's Appeals Selection Committee has granted leave to appeal in four cases concerning child welfare. Two of the cases have been joined into one. The Chief Justice has decided that the cases will be heard by the Supreme Court sitting as a grand chamber with eleven justices, and in open court.
The cases have proceeded because they are suited to assess the impact of recent judgments by the European Court of Human Rights on Norwegian case law in cases concerning adoption, care orders and contact rights.
The first case to be heard by the Supreme Court is an appeal against the Court of Appeal's refusal to grant leave to appeal in an adoption case, where the child had previously been taken into public care, against the wishes of the biological parents. The Supreme Court will assess whether it was correct that the case did not proceed for hearing in the Court of Appeal. The case will shed light on various questions relating to adoption. In addition, the Supreme Court will consider the significance of post-adoption contact visits for biological parents.
The second case is an appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment in a case dealing with a care order and contact rights. The case concerns a small child that was removed from its mother shortly after birth. Among the cases to be heard in a grand chamber, this is the only one dealing with an appeal against a judgment, and where the Supreme Court has full jurisdiction to review the merits of the case.
The two joined cases also concern a care order and contact rights. The appellants are the mother and the father of the same child. The appeals concern the Court of Appeal's refusal to hear the cases and – also here – the question is whether that decision was correct. The decision with regard to the mother's case was made with dissenting opinions. The disagreement related to the significance of the lack of an up-to-date expert report. A hearing of the case in a grand chamber will shed light on this issue, among others.
In a grand chamber hearing, the Supreme Court sits with eleven justices instead of the usual five. According to law, cases of "particular importance" can be decided by a grand chamber.
The cases are scheduled for 4 – 7 February 2020, and will be heard simultaneously.