Abuse in close relationships

Supreme Court judgment 28 March 2019, HR-2019-621-A, (case no. 18-160032STR-HRET), criminal case, appeal against judgment.

A (Counsel Arne Gunnar Aas) v. The Public Prosecution Authority (Counsel Alf Anton Røst)

Justices: Webster, Kallerud, Falch, Høgetveit Berg, Lindsetmo

A 68-year-old man was convicted in the Court of Appeal of violation of section 219 subsection 1 of the 1902 Penal Code and sentenced to 120 days of imprisonment. He had over a period of four months, under the influence, treated his foreign wife with aggression, threats and degradation – and on one occasion with violence. The Supreme Court's majority of three justices found, as opposed to the court of appeal, that the ill-treatment on an overall level could not be characterised as abuse, although it was close. It was stated that the case was less aggravating than that heard in HR-2018-390-A. The Court of Appeal's judgment was set aside. Dissenting votes 3-2.