Policy Making in an Independent Judiciary

'This book represents a step forward in the field of comparative judicial politics. While there exists a lot of research on the US Supreme Court, there is a gap on European Constitutional Courts in general, and even more so on European Supreme Courts. The authors contribute to closing this gap by applying the attitudinal model and several hypotheses from the strategic model to the Norwegian Supreme Court. They conduct a rigorous quantitative analysis of the composition and decisions in a long-term perspective, examining the voting behaviour on aspects like economics, gender, and government relations. Recommended reading not only for scholars of judicial politics, but also for those interested in comparative institutions and Scandinavian politics.' Christoph Honnige, University of Hannover 'This is a long-needed, unusual and thought-provoking interdisciplinary study of the Norwegian Supreme Court. It takes up a classic theme of how justices arrive at their decisions, yet it develops different scientific traditions, combining Scandinavian court studies with research fields such as law, elite studies and sociology of law. With its references to the US Supreme Court and other European Supreme Courts, Policy Making in an Independent Judiciary represents the best of interdisciplinary research on courts.' Ole Hammerslev, University of Southern Denmark & University of Oslo 'Policy Making in an Independent Judiciary is a model study of judicial behaviour. It's comprehensive, covering everything from the Court's internal processes to its relations with the government and the public. The data are original, and analysed with care and contemporary methods. Best of all, Grendstad and his colleagues have made the material palatable - and interesting - for social scientists and members of the legal community alike. I would love to see many more studies of this quality, for courts all over Europe.' Lee Epstein, Washington University in St Louis

Eric N Waltenburg is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Purdue University. His research interests concern judicial politics and state politics. He is the author or co-author of four books on judicial politics. Gunnar Grendstad is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Bergen. He has published books and articles on political behaviour, environmental behaviour, American presidents, and Scandinavian politics. William R Shaffer is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Purdue University. He has published books and articles on judicial, legislative and electoral behaviour, and on Scandinavian politics.

Contents List of Figures and Tables ix Acknowledgements xiii Preface xv Chapter One - Introduction: Politics and the Norwegian Supreme Court 1 Chapter Two - Institutional Structure and Process 31 Chapter Three - The Decisional Processes of the Norwegian Supreme Court 61 Chapter Four - Policy Making by Appointment: The Composition of the Norwegian Supreme Court 1945-2009 75 Chapter Five - Public Economic Interests vs. Private Economic Rights 97 Chapter Six - The Presence and Effect of Women on the Court: Family and Criminal Law 121 Chapter Seven - Government Friendliness of Supreme Court Justices 143 Chapter Eight - `The Super Legislators': Supreme Court Justices as the Guardians of the Constitution 163 Chapter Nine - Conclusion: Reflections on the Attitudinal Model 193 Appendices 207 Index 229