Claim for compensation and aggravated damages for prosecution after acquittal in a criminal case
Supreme Court judgment 23 September 2021, HR-2021-1871-A, (case no. 21-005303SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
The State represented by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (The Office of the Attorney General represented by Knut-Fredrik Haug-Hustad) v. A (Counsel Bernt Heiberg)
Justices: Skoghøy, Normann, Ringnes, Østensen Berglund, Høgetveit Berg
The Norwegian Civil Law Administration had rejected a claim for compensation and aggravated damages under section 444 subsection 1 and section 447 of the Penal Code from a defendant who had been acquitted of the criminal charges. The rejection was justified on the grounds that it was likely that the acquitted person had committed the act for which he was charged, see section 446 subsection 1 (b). Like the previous instances, the Supreme Court concluded that the reduction or loss of the defendant's claim for compensation could not be justified by the likelihood of him having committed the act. Section 446 subsection 1 (b) had to be strictly interpreted. A different interpretation of the provision would be a violation of the presumption of innocence in Article 6 (2) of the ECHR in a case like the present. The Supreme Court referred to the preparatory works and case law from the European Court of Human Rights.