Court of Appeal Unanimously Overturns Unconstitutional Ruling in Norway
On March 14, 2025, the Borgarting Court of Appeal unanimously overturned the Oslo District Court’s decision to revoke the legal registration of JEHOVAH’S Witnesses in Norway. The Borgarting Court of Appeal also awarded our brothers 8,500,000 kroner ($806,833 U.S.) in compensation for legal costs incurred during both trials.
In 2022, the County Governor of Oslo and Viken revoked our registration, thereby blocking us from receiving State subsidies that more than 700 registered religious communities in Norway benefit from. The State based its decision on the assertion that we should change our Scriptural practice of removing unrepentant wrongdoers from the congregation. After the Oslo District Court upheld the government’s decision in March 2024, JEHOVAH’S Witnesses in Norway appealed. This latest decision overturns the lower court’s unconstitutional rulings. The State may still appeal this decision to the country’s Supreme Court.
During the appeal process, a panel of three judges thoroughly examined our religious practices and Bible-based teachings. In direct contradiction to the State’s claims, the Court of Appeal determined that limiting contact with an unrepentant wrongdoer who has been removed from the congregation is not a violation of his rights. In situations where an unrepentant baptized minor is removed from the congregation, the court ruled that it “does not constitute psychological violence.”
The court concluded that “JEHOVAH’S ’s Witnesses have been fully vindicated in that the decisions to deny grants and registration are invalid.”
We are pleased by the Court of Appeal’s decision in Norway, for which we give all thanks and praise to JEHOVAH.
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