Nye professorkolleger på Juridisk Institut // New professors at the Department of Law

(in English below)

Med to nye professorer på Juridisk Institut øger vi vores kompetencer inden for EU-ret og europæisk ret. Pr. 1. februar er Jacob Öberg og Graham Butler en del af instituttet og vil bidrage aktivt til vores forsknings- og undervisningsmiljø.

Dr. Jacob Öberg er blevet ansat som professor og skal stå i spidsen for at opbygge EU-retsområdet på instituttet, men han vil fortsat have en mindre tilknytning til Örebro Universitet. I foråret 2023 er han desuden gæsteforsker i EU-ret ved Amsterdam Centre of European Law and Governance, og han har tidligere været ansat som postdoc i retsvidenskab ved Lunds Universitet og som lektor i EU-ret ved Örebro Universitet (hvor han samtidig var konstitueret institutleder). 

Jacob færdiggjorde sin ph.d. i EU-ret på European University Institute i Firenze i 2014. Hans forskningsinteresser ligger især inden for konstitutionel EU-ret og europæisk strafferet, og han har publiceret talrige artikler i bl.a. European Law Review, European Constitutional Law Review og Yearbook of European Law. Han er medlem af forsknigskomiteen i European Law Journal og af styregruppen i Swedish Network of Europan Legal Studies.

Jacob er p.t. i gang med projektet ”Normativa grunder för integrerad EU-straffrätt – befogenheter, restriktioner och motiveringar”, der har fået bevilliget ca. to mio. SEK af Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. På baggrund af hhv. demokratiske teorier om repræsentation og føderalisme og økonomiske teorier om markedsfejl og kollektive goder søger han at udvikle den første integreede normative ramme til at evaluere EU’s lovgivningstiltag inden for kriminalret. Resultatet vil blive udgivet i løbet af vinteren 2023, og samme vinter påbegynder han o.a. et stort treårigt EU-retligt projekt, der har fået en bevilling fra Det svenske forskningsråd på fem mio. SEK.

På Juridisk Institut er Jacob som nævnt blevet sat i spidsen for at opbygge EU-retsområdet, både ift. undervisnings- og forskningsmiljøet. EU-ret griber ind i mange juridiske discipliner og områder, og Jacob skal bygge bro mellem de forskellige EU-retsforskere i vores fire forskningsgrupper. En af hans hovedopgaver er at udvikle forskningsprojekter, der kan opnå eksterne bevillinger, som vil gøre det muligt for instituttet at ansætte yderligere postdocs og ph.d.-studerende. Jacobs hovedinteresser ift. undervisning ligger inden for EU-ret i bred forstand (inkl. EU’s forfatningsret, unionens straffe- og procesret samt Det Indre Marked), men han underviser også gerne i almen strafferet og i tværvidenskabelige fag inden for EU-ret og politik.

Også Graham Butler er tiltrådt som professor på instituttet, hvor han primært skal stå i spidsen for sit Sapere Aude forskningsleder-projekt ”Judicial Minimalism by the European Court of Justice: Passivism, Conservatism, and Restraint in EU Law”. Han har været ansat på Aarhus Universitet siden 2016 og har været lektor dér i de sidste fire og et halvt år. Med ansættelsen bliver han en af de yngste juraprofessorer i Europa.

Graham afsluttede sin BA i 2012, sin LL.M. (cand.jur.) i 2013 og sin ph.d. ved Københavns Universitet i 2016. Ph.d.-graden blev tildelt som en såkaldt dual degree af hhv. Islands Universitet og Københavns Universitet på baggrund af en samarbejdsaftale med fokus på at fremme internordisk og europæisk retskultur.

I sin forskning arbejder Graham med europæisk ret i begrebets bredeste forstand. Dette inkluderer alt inden for offentlig ret og privatret, herunder EU-forfatningsret, EU-ret for det indre marked og EU-ret om eksterne forbindelser.

Grahams forskning er publiceret i førende, internationalt anerkendte peerreviewede tidsskrifter inden for EU-ret og europæisk ret, og han inviteres jævnligt til at bidrage til bøger i europæisk ret, udgivet på de førende forlag. Han har desuden selv udgivet en række bøger i europæisk ret, både som forfatter og redaktør, hvoraf sidstnævnte har omfattet bidrag fra mange af de førende autoriteter på området, inkl. akademikere, dommere, embedsmænd og praktikere. Grahams forskning er flere gange blevet citeret som akademisk autoritet i retslige udtalelser af generaladvokaterne ved EU’s øverste domstol, Den Europæiske Unions Domstol.

Graham har undervist i en række fag på bachelor-, kandidat- og ph.d.-niveau – inkl. obligatoriske fag på bachelorniveau og mere avancerede valgfag på kandidatniveau. Hans undervisning har fundet sted på både BA.jur./cand.jur. og HA (jur)/cand.merc.(jur.) samt på ikkejuridiske uddannelser, såsom HA og cand.merc. Han har desuden administrativ erfaring som fagansvarlig. 

Ud over sin forskning og undervisning deltager Graham i faglige fora uden for universitetet: Han var blandt andet udpeget af Danmarks Udenrigsministerium til at deltage i udredningen om udviklingen i EU og Europa på det sikkerheds- og forsvarspolitiske område og betydningen for Danmark (2018-2019), ligesom han blevet udpeget til at rapportere om den juridiske udvikling i EU-retten. Han har desuden fungeret som ekspert og panelmedlem ifm. behandling af ansøgninger om ekstern forskningsfinansiering for både offentlige og private fonde i andre EU-medlemsstater, og han er tillige medlem af det juridiske censorkorps.

På Juridisk Institut skal Graham som nævnt være såkaldt Principal Investigator (P.I.) på sit Sapere Aude forskningsleder-projekt, som blev tildelt en bevilling på 6,2 mio. kr. fra Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond. Projektet har til formål at undersøge EU-Domstolen og EU-ret.

Hjerteligt velkommen til vores institut, Jacob og Graham! Vi glæder os til at arbejde sammen med jer!

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At the Department of Law, we increase our strength in EU and European law through our two new appointments at professor level. As of 1 February, Jacob Öberg and Graham Butler will be actively contributing to the research and teaching environment at the Department.

Dr Jacob Öberg has been appointed as a full professor of EU law and will be in charge of reinforcing and developing this area at the Department, but he will continuously have a minor association with Örebro University. Furthermore, this spring, he is a visiting fellow at the Amsterdam Centre of European Law and Governance, and he has previously held positions as a postdoc in law at Lund University and as an associate professor in EU law at Örebro University (where he also acted as the deputy head of department). 

Jacob earned his PhD in European law from the European University Institute in Florence (2014). His research interests lie primarily in EU constitutional law and EU criminal law, and he has published widely in journals such as European Law Review, European Constitutional Law Review and Yearbook of European Law. He is a member of the scientific committee of the European Law Journal and a member of the steering group of the Swedish Network of European Legal Studies.  

Jacob is currently carrying out the project “Normative foundations for integrated EU criminal law – powers, restrictions and justifications” with funding of approximately two million Swedish kroner, granted by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Based on democratic theories of representation, theories of federalism and economic theories of market failures and European public goods, he strives to develop the first integrated normative framework for evaluating the EU’s criminal law activities. The final results will be published during the winter of 2023, and at the same time, he and other researchers will launch a three-year project in EU law with funding of five million Swedish kroner, granted by the Swedish Research Council.

As mentioned, Jacob’s key responsibility at the Department is to reinforce, enhance and develop the existing teaching and research environment in EU law. One of his central tasks for this purpose is to develop research projects which can generate external funding to enable the hiring of PhD students and postdocs for the Department. Jacob’s key teaching interests concern EU law within a broad sense (including EU constitutional law, EU criminal law, EU procedural law and EU internal market law), but also general criminal law and interdisciplinary teaching on EU law and politics are areas of particular interest to him.

Also Graham Butler has joined the Department as a full professor and will primarily be focusing on his Sapere Aude Research Leader project ”Judicial Minimalism by the European Court of Justice: Passivism, Conservatism, and Restraint in EU Law”. He has been employed at the Aarhus University since 2016 and has held a position as an associate professor there for the last four and a half years. His appointment as professor makes him one of the youngest full professors of law in Europe. 

Graham completed his BA in 2012, his LL.M. (cand.jur.) in 2013 and his PhD at the University of Copenhagen in 2016. The PhD was dually awarded by the University of Iceland and the University of Copenhagen under a cooperation agreement to foster inter-Nordic and European legal culture. 

In his research, Graham analyses and writes about European law in the broadest sense of the term. This includes everything from public law and private law, including EU constitutional law, EU internal market law and EU external relations law. 

Graham’s research has been published in leading, internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals in EU and European law, and he is regularly invited to author contributions to books in European law, issued by the leading publishing houses. He has also published a number of books in European law, both as author and editor, and the latter have included works by many of the leading authorities in the field, including academics, judges, civil servants and practitioners. Graham’s research on various fields of European law have been cited as academic authority in several judicial opinions at the EU’s top court (the Court of Justice of the European Union) by the Advocates General. 

In his teaching, Graham has taught an array of courses at Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral levels, including both compulsory courses on Bachelor’s degrees as well as more advanced optional courses at Master’s level. His teaching has been on both BA.jur./cand.jur and HA (jur)/cand.merc.(jur.) degrees as well as other non-law programmes, such as B.Sc.B. and cand.merc. Furthermore, his experience includes being the course director for several programmes. 

Beyond his research and teaching, Graham conducts public service work: He has served on an investigation into one of Denmark’s opt-outs in EU law, appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark; he has been appointed by a government agency to report on legal developments in EU law; he has served as an expert reviewer and panel member, examining applications for external research funding for both public and private foundations in other EU Member States; and he is currently a member of the examiners body for legal education in Denmark, appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research of Denmark. 

As mentioned, at the Department, Graham will be the Principal Investigator (P.I.) of his Sapere Aude Research Leader project, which was awarded a grant of 6.2 million Danish kroner by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. He will be leading research on a number of arising issues of doctrine in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Welcome to the Department of Law, Jacob and Graham! We look forward to working with you.