Published by:
Oslo: Pax forlag (2013)
Summary:
Constitutions are often written for normal times. How will they meet the extraordinary demands of exceptional situations? Everything from natural disasters, political turmoil, war or terror can trigger a state of emergency that puts the normal functions of the constitution out of play.
Even in Norway, with a very stable state history, the Constitution of 1814 has been tested several times, most evidently during the war years 1940-1945. In Norwegian law 'constitutional necessity' has become a variation on emergency law, which gives the government the authority to suspend parts of the Constitution. Around the world, a state of emergency has at times become the most common grounds for suspension of constitution.
After 2001, new forms of conflict, terrorist action against governments, have triggered extensive national and international regulations of states of emergency. They have led to important debates about the relationship between the rule of law of the constitution and the state’s need for security. Is the right balance between these two considerations found?
This book is the first in Norwegian, which raises these pressing new questions against a broad historical backdrop.