Stjórnspeki Snorra Sturlusonar

Í tilefni af útgáfu bókarinnar Stjórnspeki Snorra Sturlusonar eins og hún birtist í Heimskringlu eftir Sigurð Líndal prófessor mun Miðaldastofa HÍ í samstarfi við Hið íslenska bókmenntafélag og Rannsóknamiðstöð um samfélags- og efnahagsmál efna til fundar þar sem Prófessor Ditlev Tamm ræðir um réttarsögu Norðurlanda og framlag Sigurðar Líndals til hennar og dr. Tom G. Palmer ræðir um Snorra Sturluson frá sjónarmiði nútíma frjálshyggjumanns.

Haldið í fyrirlestrasal Eddu þriðjudaginn 23. september (á dánardegi Snorra Sturlusonar) kl. 16.30–18.00. Á eftir erindum verða umræður og á milli kl. 18 og 19 móttaka á staðnum fyrir fundargesti. Garðar Gíslason, fyrrverandi hæstaréttardómari, stjórnar umræðum. Málstofan verður haldin á ensku og er öllum opin.

Um fyrirlestur Ditlev Tamm

With the law the land shall be builtKing, people, law and parliaments in the Nordic legal tradition

The Nordic countries today share democratic values and welfare-state mentality. Similarities between the Nordic countries are often stressed. However, different roads have led to present day conditions. Starting with the medieval period that interested Sigurður Líndal, I will reflect on the history of the main Nordic institutions of democracy, on Nordic attitudes towards absolutism and democratic traditions and the historical differences which mark the Nordic liberal legal tradition.

Um Ditlev Tamm

Ditlev Tamm (f. 1946) lauk doktorsprófum í lögfræði frá Kaupmannahafnarháskóla 1977 og í sagnfræði frá Háskólanum í Óðinsvéum 1984. Hann kenndi réttarsögu og aðrar greinar í lagadeild Kaupmannahafnarháskóla frá 1978 og er nú prófessor emeritus. Voru þeir Sigurður Líndal góðir kunningjar. Tamm situr í fulltrúaráði hugveitunnar CEPOS í Kaupmannahöfn Hann hefur birt fjölda bóka á fræðasviði sínu, meðal annars Rettens rødder – hvordan lov og ret har skabt Danmark (2022), Konseilspræsidenten – Jacob Brønnum Scavenius Estrup – 1825-1913 (1996) og Retsopgøret efter besættelsen (1984).

Um fyrirlestur Tom G. Palmer

Deliberation, Liberty, and DemocracyComments on Sigurður Líndal’s contribution to the Understanding of Nordic Liberal Democracy

My comments will focus on an aspect of democratic liberty that Professor Sigurður Líndal touches on repeatedly, but which he does not make thematic. Sigurður Líndal stipulates, “When a society is called democratic, what is primarily meant is that political power is controlled by its people; and political institutions are thought to be democratic to the extent that they conduce to such an arrangement.” That is, as he notes, somewhat vague and could be improved by focusing on what is arguably the key to being conducive to the public weal and which was characteristic of the Nordic legal tradition, which is discussion and deliberation before public decision. Discussion and deliberation are found throughout the ancient traditions he discusses, obviously including the Nordic tradition, but also those of classical Athens and republican Rome. Democracy is, I submit, better understood as at base not merely an enumeration and tabulation of votes, such that, in Sigurður Líndal’s words, “political power is controlled by its people,” but rather, as Frank Knight phrased it, “government by discussion.” Discussion, rather than diktat, was a principle of Athenian and Roman republicanism, as well as of the Germanic societies.

I will also offer a wider appreciation of Sigurður Líndal’s interpretation of the role of Roman law, as in the essays before us he identifies as the key Roman law principle Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem (what pleases the prince has the force of law) (derived from the preface to the Institutes of Justinian, that is, from the teaching manual), which became a mainstay of royal power and absolutism. He does not treat the competing principle that Quod omnes tangit ab omnibus approbetur (what touches all must be approved of by all), which became a principle of European constitutionalism and popular government, e.g., the slogan of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic of Nobles (Nic o nas bez nas, Nothing concerning us can be settled without us), Magna Carta’s no scutage or aid shall be imposed in our realm unless by the common counsel of the realm, and the American’s no taxation without representation, among other instances. The thorough resistance of Icelanders to the principle that the king is absolute and above the law is a testimony to an ancient principle that was only later, and through much struggle, revived and defended elsewhere.

Um Tom G. Palmer

Tom G. Palmer (f. 1956) lauk doktorsprófi í stjórnmálafræði frá Oxford-háskóla og er forstöðumaður alþjóðamála hjá Atlas Network, sambandi nær sex hundrað hugveitna um heim allan, þar á meðal CEPOS í Danmörku og RSE á Íslandi. Hann er áhugamaður um íslensk fornrit, hefur margsinnis komið til Íslands og var góður kunningi Sigurðar Líndals. Hann hefur gefið út eða ritstýrt fjölda bóka, þ. á m. safni ritgerða eftir hann sjálfan, Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice (2009).