Hedda Herresthal studied law at the University of Bergen and completed an exchange semester at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome. She has worked at Norway’s UN delegation in Vienna, interned at several law firms and worked as a consultant for the Rafto Foundation. While working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, she gained practical insight into investigative interviewing and the Méndez Principles, which later inspired her master’s thesis. She wrote the thesis during her Master’s Research Fellowship at NCHR in the spring semester of 2025, supervised by Asbjørn Rachlew.
“During my time at the NCHR, I was part of an inspiring working environment where I had the opportunity to discuss ideas with colleagues who are experts in children's rights and investigative interviewing. Their interdisciplinary perspectives gave me a deeper understanding of the topic.” – Said Hedda Herresthal.
Summary and main findings
The thesis analyses the extent to which evidential inferences can be drawn from a child's silence during police interviews under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), and the Norwegian Criminal Procedure Act.
Under Norwegian regulation, particularly the Criminal Procedure Act § 93 (2) and RA‑2023‑1676, children suspected of a crime may be informed of the evidential risks associated with remaining silent, and inferences can be drawn from their silence during questioning.
Norway has received repeated criticism from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) concerning the general provision in § 93 (2) of the Norwegian Criminal Procedure Act.
However, Norwegian regulation is especially problematic when the suspect is a minor, as Articles 40 and 12 of the UNCRC, read in conjunction with General Comment No. 24, prohibit drawing any adverse inference from a child's silence.
The thesis therefore concludes that the regulation in RA‑2023‑1676 on police questioning of children who are suspected of a crime, appears not to satisfy Norway’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Whilst the Méndez Principles are not legally binding, they nonetheless reflect a development in international standards that supports revising RA-2023-1676 in line with the UNCRC and the CPT’s recommendations.
The thesis also points out the need for new legislation to better safeguard the rights of children suspected of crime. There is no doubt that other countries look to the Nordic countries for best practice in the field of children’s rights. Norway also contributed to the development of the UN’s Manual on Investigative Interviewing for Criminal Investigation, launched in 2024 and based on the Méndez Principles. This gives Norway a particular responsibility to lead by example in fulfilling its international obligations.
Read the thesis
The thesis, titled “Evidential Inferences from a child’s silence during police interviews” is available here only in Norwegian