Portrait of Morten Kjelland
Professor, Dr. Juris · Tort law & welfare law

Morten Kjelland

Professor of law specialising in tort law, personal injury compensation and welfare law

Professor of law at Kristiania University of Applied Sciences in Oslo, with a body of scholarship and teaching centred on tort law and welfare law.

Born in 1972, Kjelland qualified as Cand. Jur. in 2000 and was awarded the degree of Dr. Juris in 2008. His academic career began as a research assistant at the Institute for Sociology of Law (1999–2000), followed by positions as a legal researcher with the law firms Ness & Co and Riisa & Co (2001–2003) and as a doctoral research fellow and postdoctoral fellow at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, University of Oslo (2004–2011). From 2008 to 2011 he served as academic secretary to the Norwegian Personal Injury Compensation Committee.

He was appointed Associate Professor at the Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo, in November 2011, and was promoted to Professor in 2013. He held a professorship at the USN School of Business from 2017, an appointment concluding at the end of September 2026. Since 1 July 2026 he has been Professor of Law at Kristiania University of Applied Sciences. His research concentrates on the establishment of liability, the assessment of damages, patient injury compensation and personal injury compensation law, with interfaces towards social security and welfare law.

Alongside his scholarly work, dissemination occupies a central place. Over the past three years he has delivered more than 400 lecture hours to attorneys, judges, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (Nav) and hospital trusts. In 2018 he founded the Norwegian Forum for Tort Law (NFFE), where he serves as academic director and chair, and he is editor-in-chief for e-books and digital legal products at Lexia Education.

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Professional experience

2026 – present
Professor of Law
Kristiania University of Applied Sciences, Oslo
Appointed 1 July 2026. Teaching, research and academic dissemination within tort law, personal injury compensation and welfare law.
2013 – present
Professor
Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo
Promoted to Professor in 2013. Teaching and supervision in tort law, social security law, welfare law and health law, including the supervision of master’s theses.
2018 – present
Founder, academic director and chair
Norwegian Forum for Tort Law (NFFE)
Established in 2018 a professional network for tort law which today has some 1,500 members. Responsible for academic content, events and professional development.
Ongoing
Editor-in-chief
Lexia Education
Editorial responsibility for e-books and digital legal products, including the development of digital learning resources for law students and practising lawyers.
2017 – 2026
Professor
Department of Economics, Marketing and Law, USN School of Business, Campus Hønefoss
Teaching and supervision in tort law during the autumn term and welfare law during the spring term, with academic responsibility for course development. The appointment concludes at the end of September 2026.
2011 – 2013
Associate Professor
Department of Public and International Law, University of Oslo
Appointed in November 2011. Teaching, research and supervision within tort law, social security law, welfare law and health law.
2008 – 2011
Academic secretary
The Norwegian Personal Injury Compensation Committee
Academic secretariat function for the committee’s work on reform of Norwegian personal injury compensation law.
2004 – 2011
Doctoral and postdoctoral research fellow
Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law, University of Oslo
Research within tort and insurance law, with doctoral work completed in 2008.
2002 – 2003
Legal researcher
Riisa & Co Law Firm
Research and case preparation on personal injury and insurance law questions.
2001 – 2002
Legal researcher
Ness & Co Law Firm
Research and assistance in tort law cases.
1999 – 2000
Research assistant
Institute for Sociology of Law, University of Oslo
Research assistance with a socio-legal orientation.
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Publications

Published
Erstatningsrett – en lærebok (Tort Law: A Textbook)
3rd edition, 2023. A comprehensive treatment of general and special tort law, with emphasis on the bases of liability, causation and the assessment of damages.
Velferdsrett I: Grunnleggende rettigheter, rettssikkerhet og tvang (Welfare Law I: Fundamental Rights, Due Process and Coercion)
7th edition, 2022 — co-authored with Professor Aslak Syse.
Skader på reiseveien – når er man yrkesskadedekket (Injuries on the Journey to Work)
Monograph, 2024. An analysis of the reach of occupational injury coverage for injuries sustained travelling to and from work.
Erstatningsrett i et nøtteskall (Tort Law in a Nutshell)
Work of popular scholarship, 2024.
Doctoral thesis
Dr. Juris, University of Oslo, 2008.
In progress
Norwegian personal injury compensation law
Comprehensive monograph in preparation.
Annotated edition of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act
Under contract.
Annotated editions of the Natural Damage Act and the Natural Perils Insurance Act
Under contract.

A complete list of publications is available in Cristin, the Norwegian national research information system.

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Lectures and professional dissemination

Continuing professional education
Courses and lectures in personal injury compensation law
Attorneys, judges, Nav and hospital trusts — more than 400 lecture hours over the past three years

The lecturing covers the establishment of liability, the doctrine of causation, the assessment of damages, patient injury compensation and occupational injury coverage, together with the interface with social security and welfare benefits. A searchable overview of the lectures is available in the lecture database.

International
The Danish Insurance Academy, Copenhagen
Annual lectures in Denmark

A regular lecturer for the Danish Insurance Academy. He has further served as an assessor for Danish doctoral theses within tort and insurance law.

Higher education
Teaching and guest lectures
Kristiania, University of Oslo, USN, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (2014–2017), University of Agder and Molde University College

At the University of Oslo his teaching has encompassed tort law, social security law, welfare law and health law, and at USN tort law in the autumn and welfare law in the spring. Kjelland also supervises master’s theses at several institutions, holds a basic qualification in university pedagogy (2008) and completed the University of Oslo’s programme for academic leadership in education in 2013.

Media contributions include appearances on NRK Dagsrevyen and Dagsnytt 18, as well as background briefings for journalists on personal injury compensation, entitlements to health care and air passenger rights.

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Education

Dr. Juris

University of Oslo
Doctoral degree within tort law
2008

Cand. Jur.

University of Oslo
Norwegian professional degree in law
2000

Basic qualification in university pedagogy

University of Oslo
Foundational teaching qualification for the higher education sector
2008

Programme for academic leadership in education

University of Oslo
Leadership programme for academic direction of educational provision
2013
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Areas of expertise

Fields of law

Tort lawPersonal injury compensation Patient injury compensationOccupational injury coverage Welfare lawSocial security law Health lawAdministrative law Insurance lawLegal method Sociology of law

Key legislation

Compensatory Damages Actskl.
Patient Injury Compensation Actpasskl.
Motor Vehicle Liability Actbal.
Insurance Contracts Actfal.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Actvol.

Subjects taught

Teaching at bachelor’s, master’s and continuing education level, with emphasis on the interplay between tort law and welfare law.

Tort lawWelfare law Social security lawHealth law Legal method

Dissemination

Textbooks and monographsAuthor
Annotated editions of statutesAuthor
Digital learning resourcesEditor-in-chief
Continuing education and coursesLecturer
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Appointments and editorial work

2004 – present
Member of the editorial board
Journal of Tort Law, Insurance Law and Social Security Law
A standing member of the editorial board since 2004. Co-editor of several collections within health law and welfare law.
2022 – present
Standing deputy member
NMBU Research Ethics Forum
Participation in research ethics assessments at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
2018 – present
Academic director and chair
Norwegian Forum for Tort Law (NFFE)
A professional network for tort law with some 1,500 members, established by Kjelland in 2018.
Ongoing
Assessor and expert reviewer
Danish doctoral theses and academic assessments
Assessment assignments within tort and insurance law.
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References and contact

Enquiries regarding lectures, courses, expert opinions and academic collaboration may be directed to morten.kjelland@kristiania.no or morten@lexiaeducation.no, alternatively by telephone on +47 916 82 025. References are provided on request. Out of regard for the privacy of the individuals concerned, no names or contact details are published on this page.