Today marks the National Sami Day in Sapmi – an area spanning the national borders of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russian Kola Peninsula. The Sami are a semi-nomadic people who have moved across national borders in Sapmi for hundreds of years. Similar to other people from the Scandinavian countries, they have also crossed the Atlantic in hopes […]
New Report Addresses Laws Protecting Journalists from Online Harassment
On September 17, 1809, 210 years ago today, Sweden and Russia signed the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (Finnish: Hamina), marking the end of the Finnish war of 1808-1809 and also the end of the Sweden-Finland era. Finland had been part of Sweden since 1323, when another peace treaty between Novgorod (Russia) and Sweden, the Peace of Pähkinäsaari […]
An overview of the Council of the European Union, including its powers and figurations, and especially an explanation of the Rotating Presidency whereby each EU member country holds the presidency of the council for a six month period.
Our interview series on In Custodia Legis started almost nine years ago with an interview of the then-Law Librarian of Congress, Roberta Shaffer. We are now approaching 300 interviews. Today’s interview with Elin marks a first: it is the first time we have completed a follow-up interview. Elin was originally interviewed in 2011 when she […]
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 […]
Can you tell us about you and about your career path leading to your current role(s)? I came to the Library of Congress in November of 2014, when I began as the Chief of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. I assumed the position of Law Librarian of Congress in February of 2017, and also […]
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 […]
Today’s interview is with Felicia Stephan, a foreign law intern working with Jenny Gesley on research related to the laws of Germany and other German-speaking jurisdictions at the Global Legal Research Directorate, Law Library of Congress. Describe your background. I am originally from Tübingen, a small town in the south of Germany, where I grew up with […]
The following is a guest post by Elin Hofverberg, who covers Scandinavian jurisdictions at the Law Library of Congress. Elin’s previous posts include Finland: 100 Years of Independence – Global Legal Collection Highlights, Alfred Nobel’s Will: A Legal Document that Might Have Changed the World and a Man’s Legacy, Swedish Detention Order Regarding Julian Assange, The Masquerade King and […]