PhD Course on the Legitimacy of International Courts and Institutions
In line with its multidisciplinary approach, PluriCourts has organized two PhD courses integrating law, philosophy, and political science to discuss different yet overlapping concepts (and conceptions) of the legitimacy of international institutions. The course was first organised in 2022 with a particular focus on international courts. In 2023, the course focused on legitimacy in light of the recent backlash against international institutions.
The course has provided students with an overview of the theoretical and methodological challenges involved in assessing the legitimacy and justice of international law and international institutions. Professors at the Department of Public and International Law will carry on the legacy and continue to teach the next generation of researchers.
The Ryssdal Seminar Series
The Ryssdal Seminar series is organised annually in honour of Rolv Ryssdal, former Chief Justice of the Norwegian Supreme Court and former President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The seminars raise questions relating to the interaction between domestic and international law with a particular focus on human rights. They are co-hosted with the Norwegian Court Administration and particularly target Norwegian judges.
The seminar series has been organised annually since 2014 under PluriCourts' umbrella of activities. From 2024, the seminar series will be organised by the Faculty of Law’s Research Group on International Law.
As of 2023, the seminars have covered the following topics:
- Norway's relations with the ECtHR (2014),
- United Nation (UN) treaty bodies and their implications for Norwegian law (2015),
- The judiciary and the independence of judges (2016),
- The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) under Pressure? (2017),
- The Court’s independence and effectiveness (2018),
- Artificial intelligence and alternative dispute resolution methods (2019),
- The ECHR at 70, the NAV scandal and crisis regulation during the Corona pandemic (2020),
- Sami cases in Norwegian courts (2022)
- Climate cases in Norwegian courts (2023)
Research on the Interface between National and International Law
In 2021, PluriCourts and the Faculty of Law initiated a new research initiative on the interface between international and national law. The aim was to research the legal dimensions of the interrelationship between domestic law and a variety of branches within international law in a comparative context. The initiative sought to both analyse and explain how international law is currently being implemented and how it should be best implemented in Norwegian legislation, administration, and case law.
The initiative continues as part of the Faculty of Law’s Research Group on international law.
Cambridge Studies on International Courts and Tribunals
The book series Cambridge Studies on International Courts and Tribunals publishes theoretical and analytical scholarship on the content, impact, and broader implications of the emerging international judiciary, such as the regional human rights courts (including the European Court of Human Rights), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the WTO dispute settlement system, and the International Criminal Court (ICC). It contains both theoretical and interdisciplinary scholarship on legal aspects as well as the legitimacy and effectiveness of international courts and tribunals.
The general editors of the book series are the former co-directors of PluriCourts Andreas Føllesdal and Geir Ulfstein. They continued as general editors of the book series after PluriCourts ended.
The list of volumes is regularly updated on the Cambridge University Press website.