Holberg International Memorial Prize

The Holberg Prize is awarded annually for outstanding scientific work within the fields of the arts and humanities, social sciences, law and theology, or interdisciplinary work within these areas. The Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon presented the Holberg Prize 2007 to Ronald Dworkin.

 

Professor Jan Fridthjof Bernt, Chair of the Board of the Ludvig Holberg Memorial Fund, said during the seremony that Dworkin's critique of traditional legal positivism, in which legal rules are seen exclusively as issued commands, is of particular importance. 
- In opposition to this theory, Dworkin has developed a theory of law which enables legal rules to be understood as norms whose content is the result of an ongoing interaction between political decisions, society's needs and moral considerations, he said.

The Norwegian Minister of Reaearch and Higher Education Tora Aasland hosted the Holberg dinner.
- The Norwegian Government wishes to raise the status of the arts and humanities, social sciences, law and theology, and to increase the awareness of the importance of research within these fields among the general public. But first of all, let me congratulate this year’s Holberg Laureate, Professor Ronald Dworkin, she said.

By the award of the prize, the Norwegian government wishes to raise the status of these academic fields and to increase the awareness of the importance of research within these fields among the general public.

 

Picture:Professor Ronald Dworkin.

Read more at the www.holberg.no