PhD Candidate in Administrative Sanctions

Fixed Term Contract · Full-time · Day

Department of Law and Governance at BI Norwegian Business School announces a position as a PhD candidate in administrative law and criminal law within the project RODEAS: Rule of Law, Due Process, and Effectivity in Administrative Sanctioning. RODEAS is funded by the Research Council of Norway (2026-2030).

The position is for four years with 25% teaching or other career-promoting duties.

Project description

The RODEAS project will analyse administrative sanctions broadly and interdisciplinarily. Core research topics include the relationship between administrative sanctions and punishment, general principles for imposing administrative sanctions, the need for a dedicated process for imposing sanctions, and proportionality as a guiding principle in sentencing. Using an established data research platform, the project will also conduct large-scale analyses of sanctions decisions by selected partner regulators. This empirical evidence will be used in the project’s various WPs, including the project which is now advertised. The overall ambition of the project is to contribute to the development of a normative framework within which the administrative sanctions regime can function in a way that meets the considerations of efficiency, legal certainty and predictability.

The PhD project should be anchored in the project's WP 1, which focuses on the legal nature of the administrative sanctioning regime as situated in the intersection between criminal law punishment and purely restrictive measures (WP1 is described here,project description). While most administrative sanctions are imposed as a reaction to a violation of a legal norm, and are justified by deterrence, they are often not intended to convey blame in the same sense as criminal punishment. The justification for administrative sanctions is blurred and clear and coherent principles guiding the functional relationship between administrative sanctions and criminal penalties are lacking. The candidate’s project should analyse the legal nature of the administrative sanctioning regime as situated between criminal law punishment and administrative sanctions, how it can be theoretically justified and how such justifications align with current legislative and administrative practices.

While the candidate will design and pursue his/her own research project anchored in WP 1, the final project description will be developed in consultation with the supervisor, the project manager and RODEAS’s research team following the appointment.

Expectations and commitments

The Department of Law and Governance is responsible for BI’s master’s program in Law. In addition to the doctoral work, the candidate will be expected to deliver teaching of high academic and pedagogical quality to an extent that corresponds to the teaching duties for the position. The Department of Law and Governance focuses on quality and competence development. Good pedagogical activities support the process for further academic career development.

It is an ambition that BI, through its academic work, distinguishes itself on the international research arena, and develops the students' academic competence and skills through high quality teaching. Relevance and influence on practice is ensured through close collaboration with the working world. The teaching must build on the latest research, be practically relevant, and further the development of academic skills amongst the students.

The candidate is expected to join and actively participate in the research community at the Department of Law and Governance at BI Norwegian Business school, Campus Oslo, and to be based there. The doctoral candidate may be expected to be responsible for organising various joint activities within the RODEAS project. The candidate is also expected to participate in the RODEAS’s activities.

Qualification requirements

• A Norwegian five-year Master’s degree in Law or an equivalent qualification
• The PhD project should preferably be conducted in English, but applications in Norwegian are also welcomed. Applicants must demonstrate excellent academic proficiency in either English or Norwegian, both written and spoken.
• The candidate's project must correspond to the purpose and objectives of the RODEAS project
• As BI is not accredited for awarding PhDs in law, the PhD project will be affiliated with either the University of Oslo or the University of Bergen. The candidate must therefore qualify for the PhD programme at one of these institutions

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Veiledning for søkere til ph.d. -stillinger ved UiB

Other assessment criteria

• The quality of the academic project description (5-10 pages)
• Previous experience and academic publications, particularly in criminal law and/or administrative law
• The candidate’s ability to work goal-oriented, systematically, creatively, and independently
• We are looking for a candidate with good communication skills
• We are looking for a candidate with a collaborative, friendly, and team-oriented style of work, and an ability to join interdisciplinary and international academic communities

What we can offer

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development and knowledge-based education
• A very good working environment at one of the leading business schools in the Nordic region
• Supportive and agreeable academic and research environment
• Strong focus on professional career development
• Membership in BI's collective pension scheme
• Good welfare schemes
• Salary NOK 623.200 (will be adjusted)

Application Process

Candidates interested in the position must submit their application electronically via the "Send Application" button. The following documents must be uploaded:

• Application Letter
• Academic project description (5-10 pages)
• CV and publication list
• Diploma from the highest degree obtained
• Other documentation that may be of importance for the assessment of the applicant’s competence level The application deadline is 15th November, 2026. No materials can be submitted after the deadline

Qualifications will be assessed according to the usual guidelines for academic positions at universities and specialized university institutions, as well as BI's employment guidelines. In assessing applicants, priority will be given to the project description, their academic achievements, previous relevant publications, and their professional and personal qualifications, especially regarding their ability to complete the proposed project within the specified timeframe.

BI Norwegian Business School emphasizes equality and diversity.

Qualified applicants can be called in for an interview. BI Norwegian Business School reserves the right not to appoint qualified applicants if the candidate is considered not to satisfy the requirement for personal collaboration or other specific requirements for the position.

More information For more information about the position, please contact the project manager Professor Johan Boucht, telephone + 47 47155 5403, e-mail:[email protected].

For more information about the department and BI Norwegian Business School, visit Department of Law and Governance, BI