Roundtable: Studying health effects of criminal law

All societies use criminal law in ways that – intentionally and unintentionally, directly and indirectly – affect the health of both those who are incarcerated and the broader population. The criminalization of abortion that we see in many countries, is one of the uses of criminal law that potentially has severe health consequences. So is […]

Roundtable: Identity, politics and law in global battles over homosexuality

Why do we see an upsurge around the world in court cases concerning same sex intimacy – from decriminalization of sodomy to marriage equality? This roundtable presents findings from a LawTransform/UiB project on  “Sexual & Reproductive Rights Lawfare: Global Battles”. The project examines the use of courts and law in battles for and against rights […]

Roundtable: Who Benefits from Speech Rights?

Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of democracy – but are all speakers equal? A new comparative research project looks into which actors that are likely to bring cases against the state claiming that their right to free speech has been infringed – and whose claims are likely to succeed. […]

Roundtable: Researching Law & (in)Equality

Law – ranging from constitutions and international human rights treaties, to anti-discriminations laws and tax regulations – are tools by which societies seek to address unwanted inequalities. But at the same time these and other forms of law create and reinforce social inequalities in multitudes of ways – and countries with ambitious pro-equality laws, are […]

2016 Chr. Michelsen Prize Lecture by Francesca Jensenius: “Can Electoral Quotas Advance Social Justice – and How Do We Know?”

This lecture is based on the work that won Francesca Refsum Jensenius the 2016 Chr. Michelsen Price for the best work in development studies. The material is part of Social Justice through Inclusion: The Consequences of Electoral Quotas in India (forthcoming with Oxford University Press), her book manuscript about the longest-standing electoral quota systems in the world: The reserved […]

Key Note Address by Roberto Gargarella: Can courts pursue social justice while respecting democracy?

Since ‘dialogic constitutionalism’ emerged in Canada in 1982 court around the world have developed similar and improved dialogic practices to promote democratic debate through judicial intervention. Advocates of deliberative democracy and critics of traditional forms of judicial review have hoped that these dialogic mechanisms would help enforce social rights and social justice in a democratic […]

Rehabilitation in Bergen Prison: Perspectives of Inmates and Officers

How does the idea of “rehabilitation” work in practice? In this seminar, Yanique Anderson will present and discuss her study of Bergen Prison. Her research analyzes the perceptions of rehabilitation, from the perspectives of both inmates and the prison staff, in order to ascertain individual assessments of the efficacy and impact of rehabilitation policies and […]

PhD course: Effects of Lawfare – Courts and Law as Battlegrounds for Social Change (18-26 Aug. 2016)

One of the most central developments over the past three decades is the accelerating juridification and judicialisation of societies and of politics. The PhD course offers an introduction to the debates on the potential and limits of law as an instrument of social change, and opportunities to engage with some of the foremost scholar in the field, and international research projects currently seeking better answers to these questions. The course, offered by the University of Bergen, is a mixture of lectures specifically designed for the course, participation in research-project workshops and open round-tables that form part of the Bergen Exchanges on Law & Social Transformation. Deadline for application: 10. Aug. 2016.