Amalie Skram Upper Secondary School won first prize in the Holberg Prize School Project competition 2021. Vestby Upper Secondary School received second prize and Longyearbyen School, Upper Secondary Department received third prize.
Ingrid Wittendorff Humblen, Amalie Min Bergås, Rasmus Madsen Berg, and Herman Fjell Lerstad from Amalie Skram Upper Secondary School won first prize in the Holberg Prize School Project competition 2021 with the research project “The climate lawsuit: conflict in the Norwegian separation of powers”. In the project, the pupils study the authority of the Norwegian Supreme Court and its role in Norwegian society through the court’s handling of the recent so-called “climate lawsuit”, where the environmental organizations Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom (“Nature and Youth”) filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian government, represented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The case is studied with a political-philosophical approach, and the pupils have analyzed publicly available documents.
The pupils approach the topic from several angles, and study, among other things, the Supreme Court’s interpretation of what rights are guaranteed by Article 112 of the Norwegian Constitution, the so-called «environmental clause». They also discuss to which extent the Supreme Court acts politically: “When §112 is set up against a parliamentary decision, in this case the 23rd licensing round for oil and gas exploration, §112 functions as a safety valve for gross breach of state
The Jury’s statement:
The report explores what the so-called “climate lawsuit” says about the development in the separation of power between the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the Norwegian political system.
Article 112 of the Constitution is examined on the basis of the various interpretations that have been presented in connection with the case. The report explains how the lawsuit can be understood as a negotiation of the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary. It is convincingly argued that the verdict indicates that the principle of popular sovereignty has been strengthened. Furthermore, it is shown that the Supreme Court could have reached a different conclusion had it opted for an interpretation that places a greater emphasis on a human rights perspective.
The pupils analyze a concrete, highly topical case that sheds light on how the courts can be political. The report is very well structured and makes good use of relevant sources. The pupils bring perspectives from law, philosophy and political theory into the argumentation in an impressive manner. This is accomplished, among other things, by discussing constitutionalism, the principle of popular sovereignty and the “tyranny of the majority” and the historical background of these concepts. Overall, the pupils show a very good understanding of the complexity of the subject they are treating of, and they succeed in relating fundamental questions within political philosophy to a very relevant topic. The report is very well written, and it is clear that the students have been deeply engaged with their subject matter.
The jury congratulates the pupils with an impressive and thought-provoking research project and with first prize in the Holberg Prize School Project competition 2021!
The Research Project
Title:
Written by:
Ingrid Wittendorff Humblen, Amalie Min Bergås, Rasmus Madsen Berg and Herman Fjell Lerstad
Year:
The School Programme
The Holberg School Programme is an annual research competition for students in Norwegian upper secondary schools i the humanities, social sciences law and theology. Each year, around 1,000 students from 20 selected schools participate in the competition.
The Holberg School Programme Jury selects three research projects that are awarded prizes of NOK 30,000, NOK 20,000 and NOK 10,000 respectively.
The finalists are announced in mid May, and the award ceremony is held during the Holberg Week in early June each year.