Proactive and Powerful Law Clerks and the Institutionalization of the Norwegian Supreme Court

Click here to read an interview with Gunnar Grendstad and Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde about the book in Juristen; a Norwegian journal.

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.

Gunnar Grendstad (dr.polit) is a professor of Political Science at the University of Bergen. He has published books and articles on political behaviour, environmental behaviour, American presidents, and Scandinavian politics.

William R. Shaffer (PhD) is professor Emeritus of Political Science at Purdue University. He has published books and articles on judicial, legislative and electoral behaviour, and on Scandinavian politics.

Jørn Øyrehagen Sunde (dr.juris) is professor in legal history at the Faculty of Law at the University in Oslo, Norway. His has written the history of the Norwegian Supreme Court 1965-2015.

Eric N. Waltenburg (PhD) is professor of Political Science at Purdue University. His research interests concern judicial politics and state politics. He is the author or co-author of five books on judicial politics.

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