About the project
The NAV scandal forms the backdrop for this project on the effects of international agreements on Norwegian law. Here, the EEA Agreement with its requirement of the same effect of legal acts is important. National administrative bodies – directorates and agencies – are linked to transnational EU agencies and implement EU legal acts. They must consider complex factors. The starting point for Complex is that the effect of EU law in Norway depends on how it is incorporated into Norwegian law. From previous studies, it is known that administrative bodies can understand and practice rules differently. This variation can result in legal uncertainty and thus in unequal treatment . When administrative bodies act differently based on their established routines and politically controlled discretion, they understand and prioritize the administrative values of accuracy, fairness, and efficiency differently. National administrative bodies may misunderstand, misinterpret, or ignore EU law. The wider question is how to ensure democracy and the rule of law in differentiated political orders where the monopoly of force rests with the nation states.
COMPLEX is closely linked to the project Rule of Law in NAV: Principled Justification (RETTS) at ARENA.
Objectives
The primary objective of COMPLEX is to establish the effects of EU law on the practicing of national law. COMPLEX investigates whether there is context sensitive variation in interpreting and practicing EU law. What would a theory of administrative behaviour in complex settings look like?
