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Shunning and family · Claim record

On 4 March 2024 the Oslo District Court upheld Norway's refusal of state grants and registration, holding that the exclusion practice infringed baptised minors' right of free withdrawal ('nearly impossible' for them to exercise it) and amounted to psychological violence, and ordered the organisation to pay costs of about NOK 1.14 million.

Claim ID claim-shunning-norway-2024-district-courtConcerns 4 March 2024Independent finding
Independent finding · 4 March 2024 Supported

On 4 March 2024 the Oslo District Court upheld Norway's refusal of state grants and registration, holding that the exclusion practice infringed baptised minors' right of free withdrawal ('nearly impossible' for them to exercise it) and amounted to psychological violence, and ordered the organisation to pay costs of about NOK 1.14 million. Oslo tingrett (Oslo District Court), judgment TOSL-2022-186588 / TOSL-2023-23178, 4 March 2024jw.org Newsroom, 28 March 2024Supreme Court of Norway (Høyesterett), judgment HR-2026-1009-A (case no. 25-089326SIV-HRET), official English translation published 16 July 2026, 29 April 2026

The organisation’s position or later explanation: jw.org (28 March 2024) called the ruling unconstitutional and announced an appeal.

Show the evidence (3 sources)
Official public record Supported

Oslo tingrett (Oslo District Court), judgment TOSL-2022-186588 / TOSL-2023-23178, “Jehovas vitner v. Staten v/Barne- og familiedepartementet”

4 March 2024 · sections 3.1, 3.3 (as extracted) · Oslo tingrett (published on Lovdata)

“For døpte mindreårige i den alderen vil det være tilnærmet umulig å utøve retten til fri utmelding”

Judge Ole Kristen Øverberg acquitted the State and ordered the organisation to pay costs of NOK 1,140,505, holding that the exclusion practice infringed baptised minors' right of free withdrawal and amounted to 'psykisk vold' (psychological violence); the judgment quoted the lv appendix ('Lojale kristne familiemedlemmer leter ikke etter unnskyldninger for å ha kontakt ...').

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Lovdata page opened via the fetch tool, which returned the case numbers, date, judge, outcome, costs and extracted Norwegian passages; the full judgment text was not read line by line, so the extracted quotations are reported as the summary gives them, and the claim they support is labelled supported. Downgraded to supported after review: the page was opened but the wording or date recorded here was tool-summarised, translated or inferred rather than confirmed by eye; re-read before upgrading.

Corroborated by. src-jworg-2024-0328-norway-appeal-release, src-court-no-2026-0429-supreme-court

Notes. Norwegian-language source.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-court-no-2024-0304-oslo-district-court

Primary JW publication Verified

jw.org Newsroom, “Jehovah’s Witnesses to Appeal Unconstitutional Ruling in Norway”

28 March 2024 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania

“The position of the State now remains that it will continue to deny legal recognition to Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country of Norway unless we change our practices regarding the removal of unrepentant wrongdoers from the congregation.”

Organisation's response to the Oslo District Court judgment of 4 March 2024; notes loss of grants and of authority to officiate weddings.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Page opened; date and wording confirmed.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-jworg-2024-0328-norway-appeal-release

Official public record Verified

Supreme Court of Norway (Høyesterett), judgment HR-2026-1009-A (case no. 25-089326SIV-HRET), official English translation published 16 July 2026, “The State (Ministry of Children and Families) v. Jehovah’s Witnesses; European Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses (intervener)”

29 April 2026 · paras 4, 39-45, 94-102, 110-127, 149-152, 227-230 · Norges Høyesterett

“Members of the religious community are thus not to associate with former members, whether disfellowshipped or withdrawn. This also applies to close relatives, unless they belong to the same household. Family ties are not severed, but with regard to family members other than those with whom one lives, contact is permitted only in necessary family matters. It is undisputed that the threshold for such contact is relatively high.”

3-2 majority (Steen, Arntzen, Hellerslia; Poulsen and Falkanger dissenting) dismissed the State's appeal and declared the refusals of registration and grants invalid; unanimous that infringement of children's rights was not proved; majority: practice 'may entail a clear psychological pressure not to withdraw' (para 123) but not 'improper pressure' under Art. 9 ECHR; dissent: right to withdraw infringed. Costs NOK 2,165,461. Quotes od 2019 p. 148, lvs pp. 39-40, ks 2019 ch. 12 par. 17, w24 Aug p. 24 par. 18, the 2022 jw.org FAQ and a JW brochure 'Jehovah’s Witnesses and Disfellowshipping'.

Official source Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Official English translation PDF (https://www.domstol.no/globalassets/upload/hret/translated-rulings/2026/hr-2026-1009-a.pdf) downloaded and read; all quoted paragraphs confirmed. Norwegian original: https://www.domstol.no/globalassets/upload/hret/avgjorelser/2026/april/hr-2026-1009-a.pdf

Scan provenance. Supreme Court of Norway, Communication Department translation (legal authenticity remains with the Norwegian text).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-court-no-2026-0429-supreme-court

Claim page

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-shunning-norway-2024-district-court/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.