Aggravated damages of NOK 160,000 following sexual assault where the wrongdoer and the injured party were minors

In a case involving a sleep rape, the Court of Appeal had imposed a youth sentence on the defendant, who was 15 years and nine months. The aggrieved person was 16 years and four months old. The Supreme Court's majority of three justice set the aggravated damages at NOK 160,000. It was pointed out that standard aggravated damages in the case of sexual assault - 2 G - were only an indicative starting point. As both parties to the case were children, the amount had to be determined following an individual assessment, see section 1-1 of the Compensatory Damages Act. It was mentioned that consideration of the best interests of the injured party indicated an increase in the amount, while the wrongdoer’s age, vulnerability and financial ability, as well as consideration of his rehabilitation, indicated a reduction. An amount of around 60 per cent of what an adult wrongdoer would have had to pay represented a reasonable balancing of the competing considerations that came into play. A minority of two justices held that there was no basis for reducing the standard compensation because the wrongdoer was a child.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Area of law: Tort law. Section 1-1 of the Compensatory Damages Act

Key paragraph: 47

Justices: Matheson, Kallerud, Falch, Steinsvik og kst. dommer Remen