Compensation must be able to be given for all forms of damage, both financial and otherwise, it says in the recent report that news has been given access to. – I believe that there are grounds already today to award compensation, because the human rights conventions have been made into Norwegian law . But Norwegian practice is so unclear on that, so we need a legal provision to create more clarity in Norwegian law, says Kjetil Mujezinovic Larsen to news. – Whether compensation can be obtained to a sufficient extent under Norwegian law is an unclear and debated question. The lack of clarity means that there may be a need for a separate provision on that. It is law professor Larsen at UiO who is proposing the new legal basis. It must ensure that the Norwegian state provides reparation to victims of state human rights violations. Larsen says the legal authority he is proposing should allow for financial compensation to be claimed when other repairs are not sufficient. – Often other measures will be important and sufficient, for example a change in sentencing conditions. But if the violation concerns a relationship that has ended, it has no particular function. Debate after strip search The committee, which only consists of Larsen, was set up by the Ministry of Justice in December last year. For a long time, several actors had called for a law that could repair human rights violations. In particular, the cases regarding compensation for routine naked searches in Norwegian prisons have ignited the debate. In 2020, lawyers discovered that inmates in Norwegian prisons were routinely strip-searched. The Supreme Court has determined that this is a violation of human rights. The Supreme Court decided that inmates who were still in prison could receive penalty reductions as compensation. What did the Supreme Court say? The Supreme Court concluded that repeated body searches during detention had been carried out in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The three convicts who had their cases tried in court were compensated for this by receiving a lower sentence. The three convicts had been body searched 140, 129 and 73 times respectively. All the visits were carried out on a purely routine basis – without any assessment being made relating to the individual inmate or the circumstances of the individual case, nor the situation in the prison. The Supreme Court considered this to be a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR. The convicts received one less day in prison for two illegal body searches. Read the full decision here But for those who are no longer in prison, or who had not been strip-searched many times enough to receive a reduction in their sentence, different courts and judges have had different interpretations of the law. Director Adele Matheson Mestad in NIM. Photo: Norwegian Institute for Human Rights In a judgment from the Oslo District Court in 2021, the judge called for a separate legal authority. Because there was none, the court decided that the plaintiffs could not be awarded damages. However, the Borgarting Court of Appeal recently awarded compensation to the victims. – The case is not legally binding. But it highlights the need for this to be clarified, so that individuals who are exposed to violations can be saved from having to go through so many rounds in the legal system to have it determined that they have the right to redress after violations of fundamental rights, says director Adele Matheson Mestad in The Norwegian Institution for Human Rights (NIM) to news. – Those who have the right should get the right This spring, the Oslo District Court simultaneously awarded restitution compensation to someone who was no longer in prison. – The courts have taken different views on the question. Then it will be a task for the legislature to step in and clarify it, so that you avoid a fractious legal situation like you have now. It is not lucky in such an important area, says the director. In both the UN and the EU’s human rights conventions, there is a demand for compensation if human rights violations have been committed. Mostad refers to both the cases of strip searches, as well as isolation and other practices for which Norwegian correctional services have received harsh criticism from, among others, the Civil Ombudsman. – When it comes to sentencing conditions, for example, the problems in Norwegian prisons are well known. The challenges relate in particular to a lack of health care and the use of coercive measures such as isolation. I think most people would agree that this is very serious. Nevertheless, little happens. Do you have any tips or input on how we can continue to work on this matter? Send an e-mail here, or contact me on mobile/Signal + 4741462909. – Only courts can decide with binding effect whether any of these inmates are exposed to human rights violations and possibly repair such violations. And then it is important that they have the legal rules they need. The Ministry of Justice is reviewing the investigation Mestad points out that for many who are exposed to violations, it can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive to have their cases tried in court. Often in several rounds, such as in the naked inspection cases. – Those who are right must also be right. It is not always like that. There are many vulnerable groups with difficult access to the courts, and it becomes even more difficult if legal issues are unresolved, says the director. NIM is among several actors who have worked for the legal authority for several years. Mestad is now hoping for speedy processing of the investigation in the Ministry of Justice. The ministry writes in an e-mail to news that they are now undergoing an investigation, and have not yet decided what to do with it.
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Proposes compensation for victims of Norwegian human rights violations – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
