Frederik Stangs naturrett
A new book was published in September about Frederik Stang's natural law lectures from 1830–1831; and a natural law seminar was held at the Faculty of Law (UiB). Stang was one of the most important players in Norwegian history in the 19th century and Norway's first prime minister.
Main content
The book "Frederik Stang's Natural Law Lectures 1830–1831" has recently been published in the Oslo Studies in Legal History series (Pax 2023). The book presents Stang's natural law lectures in a transcribed version.
From the publisher's description:
"Frederik Stang was one of the most central political figures in Norway in the 19th century, primarily as a minister for nearly 30 years. What did Stang believe society should look like? His lectures on natural law from 1830 to 1831 provide us with valuable insights. In this book, the lectures are published in a transcribed version. We learn about Stang's thoughts on philosophy, human nature, the role of law, property, contracts, marriage and family, punishment, the purpose of the state, power distribution, and democracy. The lectures shed new light on Stang's thinking, as well as on the natural law tradition in Norway and how historians have portrayed Stang in hindsight. In the introduction, the book's editor, Marius Mikkel Kjølstad, argues for a new understanding of the lectures.
Frederik Stang (1808–1884) was a lecturer and teacher in jurisprudence from 1830 to 1834. He published a constitutional law book in 1833, which stood as the leading interpretation of the Constitution for several decades. As a minister, he carried out important reform work in various areas of society. Stang contributed to strengthening the government's political position, and in 1873, he became the first prime minister in Norway after the removal of the office of governor."
After the book launch in September 2023, a seminar on natural law was also held at the Faculty of Law, led by the research groups for legal culture and the research group for the rule of law and legal theory.
The theme of the seminar was: What significance did natural law have in Norwegian legal thinking in the decades after 1814? The question has been explored to a limited extent, partly due to a belief that natural law disappeared in the early 1800s, and partly due to limited available source material. However, now a portion of preserved lecture material has been transcribed, providing an entirely new approach to the topic.