The project idea rests in a recommendation from the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police (“Krafttak for juridisk forskning”, January 2004). The Ministry addresses the need for development of the Norwegian legal research, in particular when it comes to the traditional legal disciplines, including property law. The Ministry also addresses the need for more research on how to improve the law making process, including research on effects and consequences of legal norms.
Firstly, the aim of the project was to explore what relevance new advances in such disciplines as behavioral economics, psychology, behavioral biology and cognitive neuroscience may have to the understanding of property as a concept. The fundamental problem is: How to take into account both cultural practices and the individual’s innate genetic structures when it comes to the design of property law?
The fundamental findings are published in the article “Current Empirical Premises to the Disclosure of the Secrets of Property in Law. A Foundation and a Guidline for Future Research”, Ancilla Iuris 2008 s. 96. (See also Geir Stenseth, “Ino Augsberg's comment - a few remarks”, Ancilla Iuris 2008 s. 118.)
Secondly, the aim of the project was to make use of the theoretical knowledge to inform public policy, i.e. how the psychological effects of having possession of property should be reflected in takings law (eminent domain). The findings are published in the article «Noen internasjonale utviklingstrekk i ekspropriasjonsretten», Tidsskrift for Rettsvitenskap 2010 s. 774.