The Promise of Trust - an Inquiry Into the Legal Design of Coercive Decision-Making in Norway
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Asgeir Falch-Eriksen The Promise of Trust - An inquiry into the legal design of coercive decision-making in Norway Avhandling ph.d. Senter for profesjonsstudier Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus © Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus Avhandling 2012 nr 5 ISSN 1893-0476 ISBN 978-82-93208-22-8 Opplag trykkes etter behov, aldri utsolgt HiOA, Læringssenter og bibliotek, Skriftserien St. Olavs plass 4, 0130 Oslo, Telefon (47) 64 84 90 00 Postadresse: Postboks 4, St. Olavs plass 0130 Oslo Adresse hjemmeside: http://www.hioa.no/Om-HiOA/Nettbokhandel For elektronisk bestilling klikk Bestille bøker For manuell bestilling fax (47) 64 84 90 07. Trykket hos Allkopi Trykket på Multilaser 80 g hvit Det må ikke kopieres fra denne bok i strid med åndsverkloven og fotografiloven eller i strid med avtaler om kopiering inngått med KOPINOR, Interesseorganisasjon for rettighetshavere til åndsverk. Kopiering i strid med lov eller avtale medfører erstatningsansvar og inndragning, og kan straffes med bøter eller fengsel. Sammendrag I denne avhandlingen tas det sikte på å undersøke hvorvidt det rettslige designet av Fylkesnemnda for barnevern og sosiale saker innfrir et løfte om tillit. Den første delen utreder hva det vil si å innfri et løfte om tillit. Jeg vil redegjøre for de nødvendige premissene som må være på plass for at det skal være meningsfullt å sette opp et slikt løfte. Dette vil bli uttrykt i en modell som stipulerer at en forventningsorden er konstituerende for hva tillit er, og at man skal kunne evaluere hvorvidt en rettslig orden sammenfaller med forventningsordenen på et angitt tidspunkt. Sammenfall eller spenninger mellom disse to vil gi oss et inntrykk av hvordan det rettslige designet kan sies å holde sitt løfte om å skape tillit. Den andre delen tar utgangspunkt i at forventningsordenen formes av hvilken tid man lever i. Den må derfor kvalifiseres gjennom historiske studier. Man må forsøke å spore hva det er som har skapt tillit og også hva som har endret oppfatninger om hva man kan ha tillit til. Den historiske analysen av forventningsordenen, og derfor hva som har skapt tillit tidligere, er nødvendig for å få et så klart innblikk som mulig i hva den nåværende forventningsordenen består av. Del to vil konkludere med at beslutninger om tvang innen barnevernet i dag skaper tillit dersom de innfrir et krav til et rettighetsbasert og et post- nasjonalt design. Den tredje og siste delen vil gå inn i bestanddelene til hva et tillitsverdig rettighetsbasert og postnasjonalt barnevern består av. Dette vil si å ta tak i de dominerende forventningene i forventningsordenen, for deretter å etablere den normative selv-forståelsen av et tillitsverdig barnevern. Det vil bli argumentert for at barnets beste interesser og ikke- diskriminering skal betraktes som dominerende forventninger innad i et tillitsverdig barnevern. Den rettslige ordenen kan deretter evalueres opp imot den normative selvforståelsen som forventningsordenen inngir. Spørsmålet er derfor til slutt om beslutningsorganets design overholder disse to prinsippene i den forventningsordenen som utledes. Graden av overlapp mellom forventningsordenen og rettsorden vil derfor være avgjørende for hvorvidt beslutninger om tvang kan sies å innfri et løfte om tillit eller ikke. Avhandlingens konklusjon er at fylkesnemnda innehar sentrale tillitsskapende trekk, spesielt gjennom en formalisering av prosedyreprinsipper og forhandlingsprinsippet. Allikevel har den også mange svakheter ved seg. Disse svakhetene ved designet vil bli argumentert for at er opprettelige. Summary In this thesis the aim is to examine whether the legal design of the County Board for Child Welfare and Social Affairs upholds a promise of trust. The first part investigates what it means to redeem a promise of trust. I will explain the necessary assumptions that must be in place for making it meaningful to set up such a promise. This will be expressed in a model that stipulates that an order of expectations is constitutive of what trust is, and to be able to evaluate whether a legal order complies with the order of expectations at a certain point in time. Convergence or tension between these two orders will give us an idea of whether or not the legal design keeps its promise of trust. The second part is based on the idea that the order of expectations is shaped by what time you live in. It must therefore be qualified through historical studies. One must try to trace what it is that has induced trust and also what has changed perceptions about how you trust. The historical analysis of the order of expectations, i.e. what has induced trust in the past, is necessary to provide as clear an insight as possible into what the current order of expectations consists of. Part two will conclude that decisions about coercion in care today inspire trust if they meet the requirements of a rights-based and a post-national order of expectations. The third and final part will dive into the constituents of what trust is, i.e. what rights- based and post-national child protection implies. This means to address the dominant expectations in the order of expectations, and then to establish the normative self- understanding of this particular type of trust. It will be argued that the child's best interests and non-discrimination should be considered dominant as expectations within trustworthy child protection. The legal order can then be evaluated against the normative self- understanding of the order of expectations. The question is how ultimately the design of the decision-making body complies with these two principles of the order of expectations. The degree of overlap between the order of expectations and the legal order will therefore be crucial to whether the decision-making complies with a promise of trust or not. The thesis concludes that the design of the decision-making body holds key trust inducing components, especially through a formalization of principles of procedure and the meeting of negotiation. Yet it also has many weaknesses. These weaknesses of the design will be argued are repairable. Acknowledgments The research conducted for this dissertation has been undertaken as a PhD-fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Professions. Erik Oddvar Eriksen and Anders Molander have supervised my work. The discussions we have had on topics that directly or indirectly affect this dissertation have been many and very insightful (for me at least). The patience they have exercised is truly remarkable. Thank you! In conducting my research, I have become in debt to many at the Centre for the study of Professions and for their role of just keeping my sanity in the tedious and repetitious life that research can instill. These people are Vigdis Berger, Heidi Bergsli, Joakim Caspersen, Marianne Dæhlen, Harald Grimen, Hilde Karlsen, Anne-Cecilie Larsen, Anne Birgitte Leseth, Mette Løvgren, Gunda Mariane Ruud, Jens-Christian Smeby, JR, Silje-Maria Tellmann, Lars- Inge Terum, Jorunn Vindegg and André Vågan. Becoming acquainted with the academic world by being a part of the Centre for the Study of the Professions, has been awarding. For academic input, I am in debt to the members of the seminar on Professions and Governance held at the Centre for the Study of Professions. In this regard I would thank Rune Slagstad for helpful comments on an early draft of part II of this dissertation. I would also like to thank Magne Lindholm, Jan Messel, Marita Nordhaug and Pål Nygaard for providing valuable comments on part II. I also appreciate Robert Huseby’s comments—they sufficed. Furthermore, I would also like to extend my gratitude to Svein Tuastad for useful comments and discussions on a first draft of my dissertation in 2010. I will also thank my committee Aksel Hatland, Anne Julie Semb and Rune Slagstad. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents and entire family for being there. My parents have provided valuable and unconditional support. I will in particular convey a deeply felt gratitude towards my wife and my two children, Agnes and Ellen. Ellen, as I was finishing this dissertation, you entered the world in a most horrific manner. You have experienced too much pain too early in your life. I would thank Agnes for pouring sunshine and energy into your life, I would like to thank your mother for the love she has for you, and finally, I would like to thank you for changing my life and for teaching me what is important. Asgeir Falch-Eriksen Oslo – August – 2012 Contents SAMMENDRAG.................................................................................................................................III SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................V ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................................VII ABBREVIATIONS.............................................................................................................................XI 1.INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................1 1.1.TheoreticalApproach..................................................................................................................................5 1.2.TheHistoricalDevelopmentoftheOrderofExpectations.......................................................................10 1.3.EvaluationoftheLegalOrder:IsthePromiseRedeemed?.......................................................................13