Position Paper: The Best Interests of the Child

As a general rule, it is in the best interests of the child to be with their parents.

Occasionally, there is a need for tailored measures at home, which may mean a short-term separation, but as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided with a 72 percent majority on June 28th, 2018 in its review of Norway, the child should return home to mom & dad as soon as possible.

Since 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has examined and found Norway guilty in around 30 child protection cases. All convictions are based on the PACE decision in 2018 and the ECHR ruling in Gnahore v. France of September 19th, 2000, paragraph 59, which stated that the best interests of the child must take precedence over all other considerations, and this assessment consists of two parts: 1) The child must be allowed to develop in a healthy environment, and parents do not have the right to make decisions that may harm the child's health and development. 2) The child's ties to his or her family must be maintained, except in cases where the family has proven to be «particularly unsuitable», since breaking those ties means cutting the child off from his or her roots. The best interests of the child dictate that family ties may only be severed in very exceptional circumstances, and that everything must be done to maintain personal relationships and «rebuild» the family.

The Council of Europe is the ECHR's commissioner, and sets guidelines for Europe's highest court so that it complies with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which Norway has ratified.

Section 3 of the Norwegian Human Rights Act states that «the provisions of the conventions and protocols mentioned in Section 2 shall, in the event of a conflict, take precedence over provisions in other legislation».

The Supreme Court of Norway was to lay down new rules of procedure for child welfare cases in March 2020, but research by lawyer Ola Tellesbø in 2024 shows that the situation has, on the contrary, become even worse. The Supreme Court has only ruled that Norway should not lose its reputation abroad.

In the event of a breakup, arrangements must be in place to maintain close contact with both parents.