Assessment of non-economic damages following an attempted homicide committed by a 15-year-old

A boy aged 15 years and 4 months had stabbed an 18-year-old with a knife. The Court of Appeal convicted him of attempted murder and ordered him to pay non-economic damages to the aggrieved party. The incident occurred one evening while the boy was walking home alone and encountered the aggrieved party along with three older friends. Due to previous disagreements, a confrontation arose. The 18-year-old held the boy down and struck him with a belt. When the boy was unable to break free, he pulled out a knife and stabbed the 18-year-old three times in the torso. The stab wounds did not cause serious injury, but could easily have done so had vital organs been hit.

In assessing the non-economic damages, the Court of Appeal started from a baseline of NOK 175,000, which was reduced to NOK 100,000 due to the aggrieved party’s contributory conduct. No further reduction was made based on the offender’s young age.

The Supreme Court concluded that the circumstances would normally qualify for non-economic damages of NOK 250,000, which should be reduced by approximately one third to NOK 165,000 due to the contributory conduct. It emphasised that the best interests of the child are a fundamental consideration in the assessment of compensation and non-economic damages, but the Supreme Court also found it inappropriate to reduce the amount due to age in this case. Although the offender was a minor, he was fully capable of understanding the consequences of his actions. Given that the amount in question was relatively modest, youth and vulnerability did not provide sufficient grounds to reduce liability.

The judgment highlights the significance of the offender’s young age and the aggrieved party’s contributory conduct in the assessment of non-economic damages.

Read the judgment from the Supreme Court (Norwegian only) (PDF)

Areas of law: Tort law, aggravated damages, sections 1-1 and 3-5 of the Damage Compensation Act. 

Key paragraphs: 37, 54, 59 and 66

Justices: Falkanger, Østensen Berglund, Steinsvik, Stenvik, Poulsen