The Nordic Constitutions: A Comparative and Contextual Study

ISBN-13: 9781509910939 / Angielski / Twarda / 2018 / 272 str.

Helle Krunke; Bjorg Thorarensen

Opis

The idea of the book is to present the Nordic constitutional systems in a comparative context which reveals similarities and differences. The Nordic countries include Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Albeit the seemingly widespread interest in the Nordic Constitutional systems from the outside world, very little literature on the constitutional systems of these states exist in English. At the same time, the Nordic constitutional systems are generally viewed as similar from the outside because of the closeness of their culture and languages, interwoven history etc. to an extent not necessarily supported by a closer look.The purpose of the book is dual. First, it aims at making the constitutional systems of each of the Nordic legal systems accessible to the rest of the world in English. Second, it envisages to show which features are similar in all or some of the Nordic constitutional systems and in which areas limited or no coherence exist. The analyses will be embedded in their political, historical and cultural context. On an important issue such as EU membership the Nordic countries have made different choices and at different times. Among others it will be discussed how this has affected the individual country and whether a divide between EU member states (Denmark, Finland and Sweden) and non-members (Iceland and Norway) has appeared as regards the development of the respective constitutional systems. Such a comparative study of the Nordic constitutional systems would be the first of its kind and in itself provide a valuable input into comparative research on constitutional law.