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Frede Castberg (1893-1977) : A counterpoint in modern Nordic legal culture

Modéer, Kjell LU (2020) p.345-356
Abstract

Frede Castberg belonged to the post-World War II Norwegian establishment. His father, Johan Castberg, was a parliamentarian and a member of the Norwegian political aristocracy. Frede Castberg was professor of constitutional law at Oslo University from 1928 to 1963. In a period when antimetaphysic and realistic legal thought dominated Scandinavian legal culture, Castberg represented a more natural law-based concept of the law and of human rights. He searched for an ethical anchoring of the law, for which the Norwegian people had struggled throughout World War II. After the war, he sympathized with the European renaissance in natural law and human rights. In 1953, when a new church law went into effect in Norway, Castberg was elected... (More)

Frede Castberg belonged to the post-World War II Norwegian establishment. His father, Johan Castberg, was a parliamentarian and a member of the Norwegian political aristocracy. Frede Castberg was professor of constitutional law at Oslo University from 1928 to 1963. In a period when antimetaphysic and realistic legal thought dominated Scandinavian legal culture, Castberg represented a more natural law-based concept of the law and of human rights. He searched for an ethical anchoring of the law, for which the Norwegian people had struggled throughout World War II. After the war, he sympathized with the European renaissance in natural law and human rights. In 1953, when a new church law went into effect in Norway, Castberg was elected vice-chancellor of the University of Oslo. Asked to write an opinion in a governmental lawsuit against a Norwegian bishop, he published his investigation into the case. The subsequent inflamed and polemical conflict with Bishop Eivind Berggrav demonstrated the gap between “the church and the university about the position of the church in the state religion.” It also demonstrated Castberg’s constitutional views regarding church law. In the postwar era, he achieved the status of a cultural celebrity.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Law and The Christian Tradition in Scandinavia : The Writings of Great Nordic Jurists - The Writings of Great Nordic Jurists
pages
12 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85119235058
ISBN
9781000201536
DOI
10.4324/9781003015253-27
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.
id
3f3feac5-382b-432f-99f9-1a3e152f1711
date added to LUP
2021-12-14 09:17:22
date last changed
2022-09-27 15:48:37
@inbook{3f3feac5-382b-432f-99f9-1a3e152f1711,
  abstract     = {{<p>Frede Castberg belonged to the post-World War II Norwegian establishment. His father, Johan Castberg, was a parliamentarian and a member of the Norwegian political aristocracy. Frede Castberg was professor of constitutional law at Oslo University from 1928 to 1963. In a period when antimetaphysic and realistic legal thought dominated Scandinavian legal culture, Castberg represented a more natural law-based concept of the law and of human rights. He searched for an ethical anchoring of the law, for which the Norwegian people had struggled throughout World War II. After the war, he sympathized with the European renaissance in natural law and human rights. In 1953, when a new church law went into effect in Norway, Castberg was elected vice-chancellor of the University of Oslo. Asked to write an opinion in a governmental lawsuit against a Norwegian bishop, he published his investigation into the case. The subsequent inflamed and polemical conflict with Bishop Eivind Berggrav demonstrated the gap between “the church and the university about the position of the church in the state religion.” It also demonstrated Castberg’s constitutional views regarding church law. In the postwar era, he achieved the status of a cultural celebrity.</p>}},
  author       = {{Modéer, Kjell}},
  booktitle    = {{Law and The Christian Tradition in Scandinavia : The Writings of Great Nordic Jurists}},
  isbn         = {{9781000201536}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{345--356}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  title        = {{Frede Castberg (1893-1977) : A counterpoint in modern Nordic legal culture}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003015253-27}},
  doi          = {{10.4324/9781003015253-27}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}