Aggravated damages after body searches in prison

On 22 March 2024, a grand chamber of the Supreme Court ruled that body searches in Bergen Prison had been in violation of human rights. The Supreme Court has now awarded aggravated damages to the three inmates. They demanded damages for non-economic loss based on Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Article 13 of the ECHR requires that the States offer an effective remedy for human rights violations. The State represented by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security agreed that the inmates were entitled to aggravated damages in this case. However, the parties disagreed on the legal basis for the claim: Article 13 ECHR “directly” or non-statutory law.

The Supreme Court states that it is the violation, combined with Article 13 of the ECHR, which makes persons whose human rights have been violated entitled to damages for non-economic loss.

The concrete sums are set at NOK 100,000, NOK 50,000 and NOK 90,000 respectively for the three inmates. The Supreme Court based its calculations on the standard rates for damages in the event of loss of liberty following wrongful prosecution, and Supreme Court case law on the deduction of one extra day for time spent in custody on remand per two illegal body searches. Equality considerations imply a corresponding conversion in cases where such extra custody deduction is not an option.

Read the judgment and order (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Rettsområde: Menneskerettar. EMK artikkel 13 og artikkel 41

Nøkkelavsnitt: 37-38, 43-44

Dommarar: Falkanger, Bull, Høgetveit Berg, Sæther, Stenvik