Trial lecture - time and place
Adjudication committee
- Professor Kristian Andenæs, University of Oslo (leader)
- Professor Shaheen Sardar Ali, University of Warwick (1. opponent)
- Vice Dean Stine Jørgensen, University of Copenhagen (2. opponent)
Chair of defence
Head of Department Ulf Stridbeck
Supervisors
- Professor II Kirsten Ketscher, University of Oslo
- Professor Henriette Sinding Aasen, University of Bergen
Summary
The study seeks to examine women’s human rights protection at the dissolution of marriage. The focus is upon certain aspects of Muslim family laws and traditions and their impact upon women’s divorces in a Norwegian context. A starting point for the legal analysis is interview data, from 13 interviews with divorced, Muslim immigrant women in Norway. Protection against discrimination in Norwegian law and the actual implications in Norwegian private international law and domestic law towards these problems are major objectives of the study.
There is also a comparative law component to the project as it looks at experiences of the discourse and application of faith-based dispute resolution in the UK (Sharia Councils) and Canada and its potential application in Norway. The experiences are used to make a foundation for a better arbitration process based on religious law in Norway.
The study indicates that there are obligations concerning women’s equality rights at divorce that are not adequately fulfilled in Norway today This relates to a variety of issues, which require further investigation using both theoretical and policy approaches. The study suggests that such approaches should build upon knowledge of how rights are actually violated (or risk of being so) and use this knowledge as a guide to formulate appropriate legal questions. Furthermore the study demonstrates a need for developments to fulfil Muslim minority women’s right to protection against discrimination at the dissolution of marriage, in a variety of arenas, that range from informal dispute resolution mechanisms, via public administrative practice, to theoretical developments within both national and private international law.