Minimum age requirement for family establishment is not in conflict with the ECHR
Supreme Court judgment 6 December 2022, HR-2022-2329-A, (case no. 22-066378SIV-HRET), civil case, appeal against judgment.
A (Counsel Karsten Alexander Anfinsen) v. The State represented by the Immigration Appeals Board (The Office of the Attorney General represented by Ida Thue)
A Norwegian national with a background from Kosovo married in 2017 a woman from Kosovo who was barely 18 at the time. The Immigration Appeals Board turned down the application for family establishment on the basis of marriage because the applicant was under 24 years of age, see section 41 a of the Immigration Act whose purpose is to prevent forced marriage. The Supreme Court, which only dealt with the question of whether the refusal violated the provisions of Article 8 and Article 14 of the ECHR, found like the previous instances that the refusal was valid. It was based on a reasonable balance between the individual's and society's interests, and therefore did not violate Article 8 of the ECHR. The age requirement and the application of the exception rule in section 41 a, according to which an exception to the age requirement can be made if it is obvious that the marriage or cohabitation is voluntary, was also based on justifiable grounds and was then not contrary to the prohibition of discrimination in Article 14 of the ECHR. The appeal against the Court of Appeal's judgment was dismissed.
Areas of law: Immigration law. Human rights. Section 41 a of the Immigration Act. Articles 8 and 14 of the ECHR.
Key paragraphs: 73, 81, 82, 91, 96, 97 og 105.
Justices: Øie, Bull, Kallerud, Bergsjø, Steinsvik