Symposium on the Court of Impeachment and Ministerial Responsibility
A symposium will be held at the University of the Faroe Islands, 20 April 2026, that takes as its point of departure Danish constitutional law and the fundamental rules on ministerial responsibility, and addresses the dual structure of responsibility that characterises both Danish and Faroese law: political responsibility and legal responsibility.
In a system based on (negative) parliamentarism, political responsibility constitutes the ongoing and primary mechanism of control in relation to ministers. Legal responsibility in the narrow sense – in Denmark institutionalised through the Court of Impeachment – is, on the other hand, realised through an extraordinary constitutional procedural form.
The symposium examines the relationship between the two forms of responsibility and the transition from political criticism to legal prosecution.
With the inclusion of both the Danish Court of Impeachment system and the Faroese regulation in this area, including the Faroese Ministerial Responsibility Act, the question is raised as to the future of the legal institution – both in the Faroe Islands and in Denmark.
Are the arrangements up to date, and – especially the Faroese version – even coherent?
Is it in practice too cumbersome to bring a minister before the court?
Or is the high threshold for legal prosecution precisely a constitutional necessity in a system where political responsibility is primary?
The symposium focuses on legal-historical elements on the basis of the historic roots of the impeachment trial and the six Danish impeachment cases. Subsequently, an analysis is undertaken of the impeachment case against Støjberg, with a focus on the interplay between political responsibility and legal qualification, on the assessment of evidence and the requirements of guilt, and on institutional questions, including the role and significance of lay judges.
The experiences are placed in relation to the Faroese Act on Ministerial Responsibility and the framework of the Faroese Instrument of Government.
Speakers are René Offersen, defence counsel in the most recent impeachment case, Frederik Waage, Adjunct Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of the Faroe Islands, Bent Ole Gram Mortensen, Professor SDU, and Jóhan Lamhauge, teaching lecturer at the University of the Faroe Islands.
The academic point of departure is Danish and Faroese constitutional law, including the rules on ministerial responsibility and parliamentary control.
The event is free and open to everyone. It will be held on the 3rd floor at the University of the Faroe Islands, Jónas Broncks gøta 25 in Tórshavn.
NB: The event will be conducted in Danish.
The program
13.00–13.15:
Bárður Larsen, Associate Professor at UFI: Welcome and introduction
13.15–14.00:
Frederik Waage, Affiliated Professor at UFI: Danish impeachment trials in a historic and comparative perspective.
14.00–14.25:
Bent Ole Gram Mortensen, Professor at SDU: What worries the minister in Danish law?
14.25–14.35: Break
14.35–15.00:
Jóhan Lamhauge, Teaching Lecturer at UFI: Legitimacy without transparency: – a critical analysis based on the secret voting procedure in the Court of Impeachment.
15.00–15.45:
René Offersen, Defence Counsel: Perspectives on the latest Danish impeachment trial.
