Proactive and powerful : law clerks and the institutionalization of the Norwegian Supreme Court /

Proactive and powerful : law clerks and the institutionalization of the Norwegian Supreme Court /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Grendstad, Gunnar, 1960- author.
Imprint:	The Hague, the Netherlands : Eleven International Publishing, [2020] ©2020
Description:	xvii, 203 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	Norway. -- Høyesterett -- Officials and employees. Law clerks -- Norway. Judicial process -- Norway. Courts of last resort. Law clerks. Norway.
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/12522726

Hidden Bibliographic Details
Other authors / contributors:	Shaffer, William R., 1942- author. Sunde, Jørn Øyrehagen, 1972- author. Waltenburg, Eric N., 1965- author.
ISBN:	9789462369788 946236978X
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-196) and index.
Summary:	Norway's Supreme Court is one of the most powerful Supreme Courts in Europe. This position is in large parts due to the role and expansion of the law clerks on the Court. Beginning in 1957 with a single clerk, the number of law clerks has increased dramatically. Today, the clerks outnumber the justices, and their tasks have expanded considerably. In 1957 the task was to prepare civil appeals. Today, clerks assist in most stages of the Court's decisional process, including the writing of the final decision. The expansion and institutionalisation of the clerk unit have enabled the justices to commence on policymaking and on developing the law. The law clerks have been key in the development of a more proactive and powerful Norwegian Supreme Court. This book is the first comprehensive study of law clerks in a European Supreme Court. It will be valuable to lawyers, historians and political scientists who care about the expanding role of courts and the impact of courts on politics, society, and the legal system.

Table of Contents:

A master plan
The structure and organization of decision-making
Like ordering soldiers toward a shower of bullets
The court's gatekeepers
"A weakness of the system"
Who are the law clerks?
The development and impact of law clerks
A Nordic comparative perspective
Conclusion: clerks count, justices decide.