Henriette Sinding Aasen

Stilling: professor

Telefon: 55 58 95 85

E-post: Henriette.Aasen@jur.uib.no

Besøksadresse: Magnus Lagabøtesplass 1

Helse- og sosialrett, internasjonale menneskerettigheter

Education

Graduated from University of Oslo, Faculty of law (Cand jur), 1989
Doctor of law (Dr. juris), University of Bergen, Faculty of law, 1998

Employment history

Professor, University of Bergen, Faculty of law, 2006-
Postdoc, University of Bergen, Faculty of law, 2003-2005
Associate professor, University of Bergen, Faculty of law, 1998-2006
Research fellow, University of Bergen, Faculty of law, 1991-1998
Research fellow, University of Oslo, Institute of Women´s Law, 1989-90

Teaching, administration and supervision

Teaching and course administration:
International human rights in context, Faculty of law, University of Bergen
Norwegian and international health care- and social law, Faculty of law, University of Bergen
Human rights and the welfare state, Faculty of law, University of Bergen
Law and public administration, Faculty of law, University of Bergen
Patient rights, Faculty of law, University of Bergen
Health care law for nurses and doctors, at University of Bergen, hospitals and colleges
Law and genetic counselling, Faculty of medicine, University of Bergen
Psychiatric health care law for health care personnel and social workers, University of Bergen
Supervision of master students in health care- and social law, human rights law and other areas of public law.

Supervision of PhD students:
Sigmund Simonsen (NTNU), Acceptable risk and the requirement of proportionality in European biomedical research law (February 2010), Tone Linn Wærstad (Faculty of Law, University of Oslo), Transnational family relations in Norway (2011), Marit Østebø (Department of Public Health and Primary Health Care/Gender and development, University of Bergen), A critical assessment of the concepts “women’s rights” and “gender equality” in international aid: The case of Norwegian funded development projects in Ethiopia (2012).

Professional activities

Coordinator and leader of the University of Bergen interdisciplinary research program Democracy and Rule of Law (2008-2012). Leader of the research group on health care and social services, Faculty of Law, University of Bergen, 2005 -. Member of Regional Committee for Medical Research Ethics, Western Norway, 2005-2009. Member of the Norwegian Research Council´s committee on ELSA research related to biotechnology, nanotechnology and cognitive sciences, 2006-2007. Member of the Norwegian Research Council´s Programme Board concerning ethics, society and biotechnology, 2005-2006, and a member of the Norwegian Research Council´s Programme Board for ELSA (Research on Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of biotechnology, nanotechnology and neurotechnology) 2007-. Member of a government appointed committee on human integrity and privacy in the digital society (2007-2008). Member of a government appointed committee for the evaluation of values and objectives in future education (2006-2007). Member of the Directorate of Health´s reference group in biomedicine, 2004-2007. Member of government appointed committees for health related research involving human subjects, human biological material and health (2003-2004) and for biobanks (2000-2001).

Main areas of research, 2000-2010: Overview

Research includes a broad range of issues related to health care law and international human rights law.

Human rights, health and autonomy:
Leader of the interdisciplinary NORGLOBAL project (Norway-Tanzania) “Health promotion, dignity and human rights: improvement of maternal health” (2010-2013). Leader of an interdisciplinary Nordic project (2007-2009) focussing on vulnerable groups´ right to autonomy and dignity in the health care system and in social services, leading up to the publication Human Rights, Dignity and Autonomy in Health Care and Social Services: Nordic Perspectives (2009). Interdisciplinary research on health and human rights in collaboration with researchers especially from health care disciplines, see Nordic Journal of Human Rights; 2006, Special issue on Health and Human Rights (guest editor and contributor). The book Pasientens rett til selvbestemmelse ved medisinsk behandling [Patient´s right of self-determination in medical treatment, 2000] gives an account of paternalism in the history of medicine, analyses the legal basis of self-determination in relation to health care and discusses in depth the legal requirements of informed consent. Research on self-determination and participation of children; informed consent and treatment of individuals with cognitive impairment; and autonomy, coercion and human dignity in relation to coercive psychiatric treatment (2008-2009). Publications on self-determination, integrity and privacy in relation to medical research and in context of the digital society (2005, 2009).

Human rights, culture and Islam:
The book Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran: Psychological, Social and Cultural Perspectives (Kim, Aasen and Ebadi eds.), 2003, is a result of a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary project on the Islamic Republic of Iran in which Iranian history, identity and society are analysed in the context of international human rights standards and cross-cultural world views. The relationship between human rights, different cultural or religious traditions is addressed in the Report on human rights aspects of female genital mutilation (2008), in publications on Freedom of expression in Islamic law (2006, 2009) and in a publication on democracy and human rights in Korea (2001).

National and international law:
Participation in the international interdisciplinary project 'Should States Ratify Human Rights Conventions?' (2009-2010) hosted by Centre for Advanced Study, Oslo, Norway, analysing some of the national challenges related to international human rights treaties and international monitoring bodies. In the public report NOU 2007: 6 Formål for framtida – formål for barnehagen og opplæringen [Values and objectives in future education] issues of cultural diversity, social inclusion and the relationship between Norwegian domestic law and international human rights law are examined.

Publikasjoner i Cristin

Publications (selected)

Books
Human Rights, Dignity and Autonomy in Health Care and Social Services: Nordic Perspectives (Aasen, Halvorsen and Barbosa da Silva eds), Antwerp: Intersentia 2009, 221 pp.
Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran: Psychological, Social and Cultural Perspectives (Kim, Aasen and Ebadi eds.), Bergen: Fagbokforlaget 2003, 519 pp.
Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace in Korea (Aasen, Kim og Helgesen red), Seoul: Kyoyook-Kwahak-Sa Publishing Company 2001, 312 pp.
Pasientens rett til selvbestemmelse ved medisinsk behandling [Patient´s right of self-determination in medical treatment], Bergen: Fagbokforlaget 2000, 687 pp.

Articles and contributions in books
”Freedom of expression in Islamic Law”, Ragnarsbók - Fræðirit um mannréttindi til heiðurs Ragnari Aðalsteinssyni hæstaréttarlögmanni (Iceland), 2009, pp 141-162.
“Frivillighet, tvang og menneskeverd i det psykiske helsevern: Etiske og juridiske utfordringer” (2009), Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening (invited article to a special issue on psychiatric
treatment and human rights), Dec 2009, vol 46, pp 1175-1182.
“Dignity and human rights in the modern welfare state”, chapter 2 in Human Rights, Dignity and Autonomy in Health Care and Social Services: Nordic Perspectives (Aasen, Halvorsen, Barbosa da Silva eds), Intersentia 2009.
“Informed consent and treatment of individuals with cognitive impairment”, chapter 5, ibid.
“Barns rett til selvbestemmelse og medbestemmelse i beslutninger om helsehjelp” [Children´s right to self-determination and participation in medical decisions], Tidsskrift for familierett, arverett og barnevernrettslige spørsmål nr 1/2008, pp 4-28.
Guest editor for a special issue on Health and Human Rights, Nordic Journal of Human Rights, vol 24 nr 4, 2006, pp 271-382, see the following articles:
"Helse og menneskerettigheter: Internasjonale og nasjonale utfordringer" (innledning) [Health and human rights: International and national challenges (introduction)], Nordic Journal of Human Rights, vol 24 nr 4, 2006, pp 271-274.
Gunnar Kvåle og Henriette Sinding Aasen: "Svangerskapsomsorg - en menneskerett også for fattige kvinner" [Maternal health care – a human right also for poor women], Nordic Journal of Human Rights, vol 24 nr 4, 2006, pp 291-301.
Inger Hilde Nordhus, Arvid Skjerve og Henriette Sinding Aasen: "Demens, samtykkekompetanse og rett til selvbestemmelse - utfordringer ved behandling og forskning" [Dementia, concent capacity and right of self-determination – challenges in treatment and research], Nordic Journal of Human Rights, vol 24 nr 4, 2006, pp 362-372.
"Freedom of expression in Islam", Nordic Journal of Human Rights, vol 24 nr 2, 2006, pp 131-147.
"Om selvbestemmelse og integritetsvern ved medisinsk og helsefaglig forskning: Behov for nye regler?" [Self-determination and integrity protection in treatment and health care research: In need of new regulation?]
Personvern på nettet og Forvaltningsinformatorisk notatserie (October 2005).
"The Sami People and the Right of Self-Determination: Developments in International and Norwegian Law", Nordic journal of Human Rights, vol 22 nr 4, 2004, pp 462-480.
“Universal and Islamic Conception of Human Rights and Justice”, in Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran (2003), pp 259-323.
“Islamic Conception of Justice, Law, and Human Rights” (Ebadi and Aasen), in Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran (2003), pp 185-221.
“Universal and Islamic Conception of Human Rights and Justice”, in Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran (2003), pp 259-323.
“Rights of Women and Children in Iran” (Ebadi and Aasen), in Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran (2003), pp 221-259.
“Democracy, Human Rights, and the Iranian Government” (Ebadi and Aasen), in Democracy, Human Rights, and Islam in Modern Iran (2003), pp 369-393.

Reports

NOU 2009: 1 Individ og integritet. Personvern i det digitale samfunnet [Human integrity and privacy in the digital society (co-author, 296 pp).
Menneskerettslige aspekter knyttet til kjønnslemlestelse og helseundersøkelser (Report on human rights aspects of female genital mutilation, submitted to the Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, 30.04.2008). The report is published in the University of Oslo, Institute of Public law Series no 5/2008 (92 pp).
Digital Freedom for Persons with Disabilities. Country Report: Norway, 2008 (unpublished report used in Gerard Quinn´s comparative research project on digital freedom for persons with disabilities.
NOU 2007: 6 Formål for framtida – formål for barnehagen og opplæringen [Values and objectives in future education] (co-author, 146 pp).
NOU 2005:1 God forskning - bedre helse. Lov om medisinsk og helsefaglig forskning, som involverer mennesker, humant biologisk materiale og helseopplysninger [Good research – better health. Law on health related research involving human subjects, human biological material and health data (co-author, 255 pp).
NOU 2001:19 Biobanker. Innhenting, oppbevaring, bruk og destruksjon av humant biologisk materiale [Biobanks. The collection, storage, usage and destruction of human biological material] (co-author, 155 pp).