Understanding the Norway Supreme Court’s Decision on Religious Freedom, the Limits of Legal Reasoning, and the Human Impact Behind It It’s a simple question—but not an easy one, especially when freedom exists on paper yet feels far more complicated in real life. Recent legal decisions have brought that question into sharper focus—not just in terms […]
Vart Land Sondre Bjordal April 30, 2026 The State Took Jehovah’s Witnesses to the Supreme Court. Now the Judgment Has Been Delivered JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES: The country’s highest court has decided whether the state can deny the religious community state funding and registration as a religious community. FINALLY DECIDED: The case between Jehovah’s Witnesses and the state was […]
THE DECISION OF THE COUNTY GOVERNOR TO DENY JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES GOVERNMENT GRANTS FOR 2021 Translated by Rolf J. Furuli, Stavern, Norway March 27, 2022 DEFINITIONS OF NORWEGIAN WORDS AND ABBREVIATIONS Forskrift: A legally binding set of rules that must be sanctioned by law. Lov: A law that is passed by the National Assembly. Trossamfunn: A […]
– I got a bit carried away JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES: Before the weekend, the religious group’s lawyer claimed that a certain word was not used by the group itself, but only by their critics. He had to retract that statement. SUPREME COURT: Monday was the last day in the Supreme Court for the case between Jehovah’s […]
They have come from the United States, Spain, and Iceland to sit in Norway’s Supreme Court and follow the case between the state and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Amalie Sande Henden– JournalistJournalist Published today at 11:23 Updated 40 minutes ago The case summarized – The entire community is following Norway. Today, this is the world center for all those who […]
Monday February 9, 2026 Good morning. The negotiations will continue. Lawyer Ryssdal will proceed, but first, lawyer Gabrielsen will briefly address the court. A new document has just been submitted. The court asks whether there is agreement between the parties regarding its presentation. Lawyer Gabrielsen explains that two new documents have been submitted: “I have […]
Jehovah’s Witnesses are involved in a major legal dispute in Norway over the government’s decision to revoke their official legal registration as a religious community and to strip them of associated state subsidies.The case has now reached the Supreme Court of Norway. The case is scheduled to be heard on Thursday February 5th Friday the […]
The Supreme Court’s treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses is not primarily about freedom of religion. It is more about society’s limits on state support for religious communities. The Friend of the Fatherland Updated: 4 days ago You are now reading an editorial. It expresses the opinion of Fædrelandsvennen. Big words are being used about the decision that […]
Article from Fædrelandsvennen. The congregation Samfundet and other religious groups that want to exercise negative social control can rejoice in the victory of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Court of Appeal. The losers in the case are some children who live with deep fear of internal punitive processes that are “very unpleasant”, “burdensome” and “humiliating”. Has […]
by Jan Frode Nilsen and Rakel Fjelltvedt “Psychological violence”, “negative social control”, “the right to opt out” Do these words mean anything to us? So we have now received the Court of Appeal’s conclusion in the years-long dispute between Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Norwegian state, a process that in practice has been going on continuously […]