Rule of Law (BRV205)

Content

The course is about constitutional law and international human rights law. There are two major components of the course.

First, there is that part of the Norwegian constitution that pertains to institutions. This part of the course focuses on the competences and decision-making procedures of the highest state bodies, and the separation of powers between them. It is an integrated part of the course to compare various aspects of the Norwegian constitution with the constitutions of a few other countries.

Second, there are international human rights treaties, as well as national constitutional provisions that pertain to many of the same fundamental rights. On this part of the course, the focus will be on the protection of human rights according to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It is also a part of the course how these rights are implemented in the Norwegian legal order.

Both the institutional rules and fundamental rights can be regarded as important for the realization of the Rule of law.

Thus, the ideal of the Rule of law is pervasive, and all the major issues which this course focuses on, can be linked to this ideal.

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

With regard to the institutional aspect of constitutional law:

The student must achieve an overview of:

• The history of the Norwegian constitution, and how it has been influenced by constitutional developments in other countries, and by developments in international law.
• The structure of the Norwegian constitution, what issues the Constitution regulates, and how the Constitution relates to other kinds of rules (ordinary legislation, parliamentary rules of procedure, etc) that provide supplementary regulation of some of the same issues.
• The position of international law in the Norwegian legal order, and the ways in which the Constitution regulates international cooperation.

The student must achieve thorough knowledge of:

• The relationship between constitutional rules and basic idelogical requirements for the execution of state authority, such as the ideal of the Rule of law.
• Principles for the interpretation of constitutional rules in Norway, and how these principles compare with principles for constitutional interpretation in certain other countries.
• The Constitution's rules on the organization, procedures and competences of the highest state bodies, with a particular focus on the relationship between Parliament (the Storting) and the Government, and how the rules of the Norwegian constitution compares with certain other constitutions in this regard.

With regard to fundamental rights:

The student must achieve an overview of:

• the development of human rights nationally and internationally
• the legal foundations for human rights claims in Norwegian law, and how the Norwegian Constitution's Bill of Rights and international human rights treaties overlap and supplement each other in this regard
• important supervisory mechanisms at the national and international level

The student must achieve thorough knowledge about:

• the principles for judicial review according to the Norwegian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as the principles for interpretation of the Norwegian Bill of Rights and the ECHR
• the state's obligation to both protect and respect each person's human rights, including the ways in which the state can curtail the reach of various human rights provisions, and particularly what conditions various interferences must satisfy
• the following specific rights prescribed by the Norwegian Constitution's Bill of Rights and/or the ECHR: the prohibition of discrimination; the right to respect for private and family life; the freedom of expression; the right to freedom of religion and belief; the right to freedom of assembly and association; the right to liberty and security; the right to a fair trial.

With regard to both components of the course:

* Achieve an understanding of why both institutional rules and the protection of fundamental rights can be claimed to be important for the realization of the ideal of the Rule of law.

Skills:

The student must be able to demonstrate that he or she:

• is able to identify human rights issues and constitutional issues, and is able to analyze and discuss such issues by using recognized national and international principles of interpration.
• is able to analyze judgments concerning human rights issues and constitutional issues in light of recognized national and international principles of interpretation.
• is able to work both independently and to participate in academic cooperation with other students.
• is able to present his or her work both orally and in writing.
• is able to make thoughtful and cautious use of AI tools (Chat GPT or similarly) when working with human rights issues and constitutional issues.

Required prerequisite knowledge

Recommended prerequisites

Exam

Coursework requirements

Mandatory assignment no 1

Mandatory assignment no 2

Mandatory assignment no 3

The student must pass two written mandatory assignments, within time limits and according to guidelines set by the course supervisor, in order to be admitted to the exam.

One of these assignments may be organized as group work.

One of the assignments may involve the use of AI (Chat GPT or similarly), and reflections on the use of this tool.

The student must perform one or several oral presentations in class or solely to a teacher (in class is preferred), in accordance with instructions set out by the course coordinator. The course coordinator decides on the number of presentations (one fairly long, or two brief ones), and whether one or several presentations can or must be performed as group work. The presentations may be integrated into the teaching. The presentation must be of a satisfactory academic quality in order to be approved by the teacher. The presentations constitute mandatory assignment nr 3.

More detailed information concerning the mandatory assignments will be published on Canvas.

Apart from the three mandatory assignments, there are no mandatory curricular activites, but the students are encouraged to attend all classes that are offered.

It is emphasized that the lectures may supplement the syllabus, in the sense that not all learning objectives are covered by the syllabus literature, but only by the syllabus and the lectures taken together.

Course teacher(s)

Course teacher:

Course coordinator:

Study Program Director:

Method of work

Lectures, seminars, mandatory assignments, individual study, various administrative work.

The tuition, the mandatory assignments and the final exam will be wholly or partly in English, and the students must answer the mandatory assignments and the final exam wholly or partly in English.

Stipulated time for each of the activities (it is emphasized that this is only an estimate, and that it is up to each student exactly how much time he or she devotes to each of the actitivities):

Total number of working hours: 450. Apportioned as follows:

Lectures 75 hours (preparations and supplementary work included)

Seminars 37,5 hours (preparations and supplementary work included)

Mandatory assignments 37,5 hours (combined)

Individual study 285 hours

Various administrative work 15 hours

Open for

Course assessment

Literature