Father not entitled to contact rights when mother lives at a secret address

A father had requested rights of access to his four-year-old daughter who has permanent residence with her mother at a secret address, see section 10-4 subsection 2, cf. sections 3 and 4 of the Protection Instruction. The Supreme Court found that the secret address decision did not automatically exclude access, and that the courts themselves are not to carry out an assessment of whether such a decision is objective or sufficiently reasoned. The effects of the decision must, however, be applied as a premise for the assessments to be made when determining whether contact is in the best interests of the child, see section 48 of the Children Act. In the individual assessment, the Supreme Court strongly emphasised that access cannot be facilitated without risking that a four-year-old child unintentionally reveals the address. When assessing the best interests of the child, the child's health situation, the mother's need of protection and the father's mental health were important factors. After an overall assessment, access was not deemed to be in the best interests of the child. The father was thus not granted rights of access to his daughter. It was emphasised that the access may be reconsidered when the situation improves.

Read the whole judgment (Norwegian only)

Area of law: Children law, the Protection Instruction.

Key paragraphs: 49, 68, 72

Justices: Skoghøy, Indreberg, Falkanger, Arntzen, Sæther