Child welfare – contact rights
Supreme Court judgment 2 March 2021, HR-2021-474-A, (case no. 20-140524SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
A, B (Counsel Geir Olav Pedersen) v. X municipality (Counsel Frode Lauareid)
Justices: Skoghøy, Noer, Ringnes, Østensen Berglund, Steinsvik
The child welfare services took over the care of a girl, who is now six years old, when she was seven months old. After the care order, there had been contact between two and four times per year between the child and her biological parents. In a new case regarding contact, the Supreme Court set the contact rights at six times per year, two hours each time, see section 4-19 of the Child Welfare Act. This was based on the possibility that family reunification could still take place, although it was not realistic in the short term. It was also mentioned that contact must be arranged to strengthen and develop the bonds between the parents and the child. Contact three times per year, as stipulated by the Court of Appeal, would at the outset not be sufficient to obtain this. At the same time, the best interests of the child are paramount, and the contact must not expose the child to undue hardship or be harmful to the child's health or development. The Supreme Court also emphasised the importance of hearing the child's own opinion. In the light of the positive development observed during the contact sessions, the Supreme Court found, with some doubt, that the extent of contact could be increased from that determined in the Court of Appeal.