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Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
The first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest (Eurovision) is taking place today. Eurovision is a popular product of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which is made up of the public broadcasting networks of Europe. Twenty-six countries will compete to win in the grand finale being held on Saturday, May 18, in Tel Aviv, Israel. …
Posted in: Collections, In the News
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
This Sunday, May 5, 2019, the Council of Europe (not to be confused with the European Union, the European Council, or the Council of the European Union) celebrates 70 years of existence. On May 5, 1949, representatives from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom met in London and …
Posted in: Global Law, Law Library
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
This upcoming Sunday, January 25, 2019, marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day to commemorate the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. Right here in Washington DC, the Holocaust museum is located at 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW. In fact, there are a number of Raoul Wallenberg plazas, memorials, streets, and esplanades, around the …
Posted in: Global Law
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
Today, December 6, marks Independence Day in Finland. Although Finland is known as “the land of a thousand lakes,” it is also the most heavily-forested country in Europe. Around 72% of Finland’s land area is covered by forests, whereas 10% of the country is covered by lakes. With 60% of Finnish forests being classified as privately-owned forests, it …
Posted in: Collections, Global Law
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
Today, October 4, marks Cinnamon Bun Day (Kanelbullensdag) in Sweden. Despite being celebrated as a must-have in the Swedish fika culture, the cinnamon bun pastry did not become commonplace until the 1920s (after World War I), when its ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, yeast, and cinnamon) went from being on a list of rationed goods (ransoneringslista) …
Posted in: Global Law, In the News
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
This blog post is part of our Frequently Asked Legal Questions series. Svenska Akademien (the Swedish Academy) which was previously relatively unknown to most people, recently received heightened media attention because of internal disputes. The disputes involved allegations of sexual harassment against the husband of an Academy member, as well as allegations of financial impropriety (or at least …
Posted in: Frequently Asked Legal Questions (FALQ), Global Law, In the News
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
Just over 100 years ago, on December 6, 1917, Finland officially declared independence from Russia. The Declaration of Independence had been signed on December 4 by the Senate (then Finland’s highest governing body) and was adopted by the Finnish Parliament two days later. Work towards independence had commenced in March 1917 following the abdication of the Russian tsar. In …
Posted in: Collections, Global Law
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
This blog post is part of our Frequently Asked Legal Questions series. Background As more and more countries are heading toward cashless societies, I became painfully aware of the realities of a country without cash as I toured Sweden this past summer. Not only did some stores not accept cash, but travelling by bus also required either an app …
Posted in: Frequently Asked Legal Questions (FALQ), Global Law
Posted by: Elin Hofverberg
On the first weekend of February, in each year dating back to the 1600s, Sami traders gather at the Jokkmokk Market in Jokkmokk to trade their goods internationally. This year marked the 412th hosting of the annual market. Although I have yet to attend, its history fascinates me and I wanted to share it with you. Trade with …
Posted in: Global Law