Sámi norm systems and law: a challenge to existing national governance systems and laws?

The project is based on the recognition of Indigenous peoples´ right to self-determination in international law and the opportunity for Indigenous peoples to develop their own norms and legal systems.

The Swedish Supreme Court´s judgment in the Girjas case in 2020 highlights, for instance, the importance of Sámi norm systems for an understanding of Sámi rights to land and natural resources based on their own traditional ways of using land, something that could be summarized as a Sámi legal system alongside the Swedish.

What such a Sami legal system could mean, and which legal sources that should be invoked or analyzed, is still unclear.The AIM of this project is twofold: first, to reconstruct and revitalize Sámi norm systems and to analyze the meaning of Sámi law, with a specific focus on (i) distribution and use of natural resources and territories, and (ii) conflict management.

Norm systems can be seen as perceptions that structures the society.

The definition of norms within the Sámi society needs, however, to be further addressed which calls for the development of a theoretical and methodological research framework.

Second, the aim is to analyze how Sámi norm systems and law might challenge existing Swedish and Norwegian laws and governance systems, as well as to present recommendations on how they can be implemented in a reciprocal and respectful manner to promote sustainable governing models on natural resources.