Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law

The Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law is a Swedish academic legal institute established in 1956 to communicate knowledge of Scandinavian law and legal theory beyond the Nordic region. Its principal activity is the publication of Scandinavian Studies in Law, a scholarly book series containing contributions from Scandinavian academics and legal practitioners. The institute therefore functions less like a commercial consumer brand and more like an academic publishing and knowledge-dissemination platform associated with Stockholm University’s Law Faculty. The institute was founded by Folke Schmidt, a prominent professor of private law at Stockholm University. Schmidt also became the first editor of Scandinavian Studies in Law, helping establish the publication as the institute’s central vehicle for international legal scholarship. The first volume appeared in 1957. The early volumes, numbered 1 through 37 and published from 1957 to 1993, followed a conventional yearbook format and brought together articles covering a range of legal subjects. Later volumes adopted a more focused thematic model, with each volume organized around a particular field or legal problem under the supervision of a specialist volume editor. The series is intended to offer comprehensive accounts of developments in different areas of Scandinavian law. Most contributions are original to the series, although some volumes include translations of work previously published in one of the Nordic countries. Across the publication’s history, approximately 1,000 articles have appeared. The subject matter reflects the shared legal traditions and close historical, linguistic, and cultural relationships among Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, while also addressing the differences that exist among their national systems. The institute’s work is international in orientation. Scandinavian legal systems have attracted comparative-law interest because of their shared traditions, institutional cooperation, and distinctive approaches to private law, public law, international law, labour law, insurance law, information technology law, and European integration. The Nordic countries’ relationship with the European legal order also provides recurring context: Denmark, Finland, and Sweden are European Union members, while Norway and Iceland participate in the European single market through the European Economic Area. Governance is provided through an editorial board appointed by the Stockholm University Law Faculty. A general editor manages the day-to-day editorial work, while an advisory committee offers additional academic and professional support from across the Nordic countries. Antonina Bakardjieva Engelbrekt, Said Mahmoudi, and Petra Herzfeld Olsson constitute the board identified in the reference material, with Bakardjieva Engelbrekt serving as chair. Lydia Lundstedt is identified as the current general editor. Earlier general editors included Folke Schmidt, Anders Victorin, Bill W. Dufwa, and Peter Wahlgren. Scandinavian Studies in Law is distributed through established legal-information channels. After a short embargo period, volumes are made freely available in full text through the institute’s homepage, and the articles are also accessible through HeinOnline and LAWPUB. This open-access approach, combined with the series’ long publication history, gives the institute a continuing role in making Nordic legal scholarship available to researchers, lawyers, students, and institutions outside Scandinavia.

The Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law was created in 1956 by Folke Schmidt, a Stockholm University legal scholar, with the objective of making Scandinavian law and legal theory better known internationally. Schmidt became the first editor of the institute’s principal publication, Scandinavian Studies in Law, which began publication in 1957. The initial publication format resembled a general legal yearbook. Volumes 1 through 37, published between 1957 and 1993, collected articles on a variety of legal topics. Over time, the series developed a more specialized structure in which each volume addressed a defined legal subject and was overseen by a volume editor with expertise in that field. This approach enabled the series to combine national perspectives and provide broad treatments of developments across Scandinavian legal systems. The institute’s subject area is grounded in the close historical and cultural relationships among Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Although the term Scandinavia can have narrower geographical meanings, the institute’s legal focus encompasses the broader Nordic group identified in its materials. These countries share related legal traditions and have cooperated extensively in legal and institutional matters, making their laws particularly relevant to comparative-law research. Scandinavian Studies in Law has published work by academics and legal experts from the region. Most articles were prepared specifically for the series, while some were translated from earlier national-language publications. By the time described in the reference material, the series had carried roughly 1,000 articles. Its coverage has extended across multiple fields of law, including private law, European integration, international law, labour law, insurance law, and law and information technology. The institute is administered under the auspices of an editorial board appointed by the Stockholm University Law Faculty. A general editor is responsible for everyday editorial administration, and an advisory committee supplies additional expertise from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway. The editorial leadership has changed over time: Schmidt served from 1956 to 1980, followed by Anders Victorin, Bill W. Dufwa, and Peter Wahlgren. Lydia Lundstedt is identified as the current general editor in the supplied reference material. The publication model has also become more accessible through digital distribution. Following a short embargo, volumes are made available in full text through the institute’s homepage, and individual articles are additionally distributed through HeinOnline and LAWPUB. This arrangement extends the institute’s reach beyond Scandinavian universities and supports its original mission of disseminating Nordic legal knowledge abroad.

• 2019

  End of Peter Wahlgren’s editorial tenure

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Wahlgren’s period as general editor concluded after more than two decades.

• 1996

  Peter Wahlgren became general editor

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Wahlgren took over editorial administration and later served through 2019.

• 1995

  Bill W. Dufwa became general editor

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Bill W. Dufwa succeeded Anders Victorin in the institute’s editorial leadership.

• 1993

  End of the conventional yearbook period

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Volume 37 marked the end of the series’ period as conventional annual yearbooks published from 1957 onward.

• 1980

  Editorial leadership passed to Anders Victorin

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Anders Victorin succeeded founding editor Folke Schmidt as general editor.

• 1957

  First volume of Scandinavian Studies in Law published

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The institute launched its principal scholarly series, initially in a yearbook-style format covering multiple areas of law.

• 1956

  Institute established

  [1]Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Folke Schmidt founded the Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Law to promote international knowledge of Scandinavian law and legal theory.

A specialist Nordic legal scholarship institution that translates and presents Scandinavian legal developments for comparative-law researchers, international lawyers, academics, and students.

• Scholarly legal publication series · 1957

  Scandinavian Studies in Law

  The institute’s principal publication is a continuing scholarly series devoted to Scandinavian and Nordic legal developments. Individual volumes generally concentrate on a defined legal topic and are prepared under the direction of a specialist volume editor. Contributions come from Scandinavian academics and legal experts; most are original to the series, while some are translated from earlier national publications. The series has published approximately 1,000 articles and is distributed through the institute’s digital channels as well as HeinOnline and LAWPUB.

• Adoption of a focused thematic volume modelStrategy

  Background

  After its early yearbook period, the series developed a structure centered on individual legal topics and specialist volume editors.

  Action taken

  The institute organized later publications around comprehensive treatments of specific legal fields and developments.

  Aftermath

  The model supported deeper comparative analysis while retaining contributions from across Scandinavian legal systems.

  Source

• Expansion of digital and open-access distributionStrategy

  Background

  The institute sought to make its long-running legal scholarship available to an international research audience.

  Action taken

  Following a brief embargo, it made volumes available in full text through its homepage and also distributed articles through HeinOnline and LAWPUB.

  Aftermath

  The publication became more accessible to researchers, lawyers, students, and institutions outside Scandinavia.

  Source

1. 1Stockholm Institute for Scandinavian Lawen.wikipedia.org