Already from the beginning, the interest was of an interdisciplinary kind. Computers as potential tools for assisting legal work as well as new regulatory issues attracted the attention and many pilot studies and research projects were initiated. In 1981, the Working Party was reorganised into The Swedish Law and Informatics Research Institute (IRI) and soon after the first academic chair in Law and IT (Rättsinformatik/Legal Informatics) was announced.

IRI’s background is closely related to the developments in the other Nordic countries and this volume presents 24 articles written by Scandinavian authors contributing their expertise on specific topics related to Law and IT. The result is a book that highlights many of the recent issues that have come to the fore with the increased use of IT in society, and in several cases indicates alternative ways of addressing these.

The series Scandinavian Studies in Law is published by a non-profit trust. The first volume was presented in 1957 and to date some 900 articles have been published in the series.

The primary aim of the series has always been to bring important legal developments and issues occurring within Scandinavian law to a global audience. Over the years, however, the scope has been broadened. Denmark, Finland and Sweden have long been members of the European Union and Iceland and Norway are members of the EEA. Thus, European law has become a important part of Scandinavian law. This development is clearly reflected in this volume which includes articles describing the developments in several European countries.

The series Scandinavian Studies in Law is published by a non-profit trust. The first volume was presented in 1957 and to date some 900 articles have been published in the series.

Scandinavian academics, arbitrators, practitioners and courts have made significant contributions to the international development and arbitration institutes in the Scandinavian countries continue to build arbitration practice, develop innovative procedures and expand their global reach.

This volume presents 22 articles on a variety of topics related to arbitration authored by contributors with in-depth experience from Scandinavian and abroad.

For this 62th volume of Scandinavian Studies in Law scholars from different substantial fields of law have been invited to speculate over whether there can be (or perhaps already is) law without the state, and if so, the long term consequences.

Can law still play a central role in governing human behaviour? How can legitimacy be achieved? What will become of the public interest, and who will protect the private interest, if an indisputable state order is absent?

The topic is not new, the demise of the state as we know it has been discussed among legal experts for quite some time. The reason is obvious – the preconditions for traditional law as a product of a respected national state order are changing dramatically. Internationalisation, digitalisation, demands for deregulation and decentralisation of powers are just a few factors among many, providing food for thoughts and speculations.

359 p.

Though it has been over two hundred and fifty years since Sir Henry Main first published his seminal work, Ancient Law: Its Connection to the Early History of Society, and Its Relation to Modern Ideas, the field of comparative law has remained vibrant and responsive to topical questions. Founded in the age of the nation state, comparative law now faces new challenges as posed by internationalization, globalization, Europeanization and the consequent blurring of national boundaries, both geographically as well as theoretically.

The volume comprises two parts, the first focusing on theoretical and methodological issues within comparative law. The second part addresses specific topics as analyzed from a comparative law perspective. The authors contributing to this volume represent four countries, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, leaving a distinctive Scandinavian mark on the discussions presented.

408 p.

The notion ‘Law and Development’ demarcates a research field closely associated with international efforts to promote economic and social improvements in developing countries, as well as in transition and post-conflict societies, through the means of law and legal development assistance. In a broader sense, Law and Development encompasses theoretical enquiries into the role of law for societal transformation, including studies on legal transplants, law reform and legal change.
The Nordic countries have been at the forefront of legal development cooperation, both through national agencies like SIDA, NORAD and DANIDA, and through active involvement in international organisations and their development programs. The ambition in this volume is to take stock of the prolific scholarship on Law and Development in the Nordic countries and to give a Scandinavian perspective on the debate in this vibrant research field.

473 p.

Despite a regrettable lack of contributions from Norway the volume provides a reasonably broad and representative view of environmental law research in this region. One may argue that a Scandinavian, or Nordic, perspective on environmental law is made particularly interesting by the fact that the countries of this region have a reputation, and perhaps even more a self-perception, of being champions of environmental concerns and environmentally friendly policies and technologies. Whether this perception tallies with reality in all areas is contestable but the mere idea may have provided a special soil for the development of environmental law and environmental law research.
The region also has a particular legacy in the form of its geographic and personal links to the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (The Stockholm Conference) and the World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Commission).
These historic occurrences contributed greatly to pushing environmental issues up national and international agendas. Both also made a strong case for acknowledging the fundamental importance of the environment, including what today is known as ecosystems services, to human society and thus its (direct or indirect) significance for all areas of law and policy.

397 p.

Soft law in this context is understood in a broad sense. The authors investigate soft law such as recommendations, good practice standards, opinions, ethical principles, declarations, guidelines, board decisions, codes of conduct etc., and also “hard law” with a “soft” character. Norms issued by both private and public bodies are analyzed, and the volume contains articles which deal with national as well as international soft law.
In several articles soft law is observed from a general perspective and both problems and advantages related to soft law as a normative instrument are addressed.

308 p.

Commercial law in this context is understood in a narrow sense, i.e., the majority of the contributions deal with core contract law problems or are concerned with contract law related matters, such as choice of law and public procurement issues. In addition, some articles address issues related to personal property and insolvency law.

This volume has been produced in cooperation with The Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law, a research organisation established at the Department of Law, Stockholm University in 2000. The aim of the Stockholm Centre for Commercial Law is to promote scientific research and doctoral studies in the field of commercial law in a broad sense. Among other things, the Centre initiates, leads and co-ordinates research projects, as well as publishes and disseminates the results, collects research material, and organises scholarly lectures, seminars and symposia.

346 p.

In recent years the advent of so called social media is one illustration. A renewed focus on security issues, now often referred to as Cyber Defence (prompted by large scale intrusion and overloading of IT resources in connection to international conflicts) is another example. Noticeable is also the formation of new political parties in some 15 countries, initiated as a reaction to new legislation concerning file sharing and digital surveillance on the internet. The pace of change is in no way slowing down and presently many countries are experiencing legal and political debates concerning on-line publication of classified documents, so called street pictures and the reluctance of IT companies to make their systems open for external developers. In addition, a myriad of legal issues relating to previously recognized sub domains within the field of ICT and law have to be handled as the technical presuppositions continue to develop. The editorial board of Scandinavian Studies in Law is attached to the Stockholm University Law Faculty. The contributors to this volume are all scholars and practitioners active in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, countries which have long been in the forefront when it comes to the use of ICT.

442 p.