Children's Constitutional Right to Respect for Family Life in Norway: Words or Real Effect?

Abstract

Children`s right to respect for family life is widely recognised in Norwegian law. The specific provision on children’s human rights in the Norwegian Constitution, section 104, mentions family. In addition, section 102 states that everyone, including children, have a right to respect for private and family life. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (crc) and the European Convention on Human Rights (echr), in article 8, have strongly influenced both provisions. The crc and the echr are both incorporated into Norwegian law, and both have a semi-constitutional status, since they take precedence over conflicting domestic legislative provisions.1 Children’s right to respect for family life is recognised both at a constitutional and a semi-constitutional level. In many specific aspects, domestic statutory law also recognises children’s rights in this context.<p>

<p>The aim of this chapter is to introduce and discuss some questions concerning the protection of children’s right to respect for family life in Norway. To do this, I will first give a brief overview of some of the legislative protection given. Thereafter, the main objective is to examine whether the constitutional reform in 2014 strengthened the protection children already had through semi-constitutional and domestic statutory law, and to examine whether children’s right to family life is given proper attention both in the legislation and case law. I will examine some aspects regarding the establishment of family, children in post-divorce families and children in foster care. Finally, I will discuss the approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has assumed in two recent cases concerning children’s right to family life in Norway. The aim is not to discuss the notion of family, the protection of family life in general, nor the potential tension between the right to family life versus the right to privacy and private life.