Abstract This article explores the process of legalization as a shift in the way humanitarian actors are held accountable. The analysis is developed at the interface of legal sociology, legal anthropology and at the margins of an anthropology of the Norwegian welfare state. Through an account of the groundbreaking Steven Patrick Dennis v. the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) case litigated in Oslo District Court in 2015, I show how the evolving juridification of humanitarian organizations’ duty of care for their staff is transforming both the content and the framing of the relationship between employers (NGOs) and employees (NGO workers), and perceptions of the moral duties and humanitarian worker subject positions that underpin this relationship. Over the last decade, the NRC has gone through a period of exceptional growth and has evolved to become one of the humanitarian sectors most well-known and respected actors. Despite this prominence, there is no critical academic engagement with the organization’s work or its institutional culture. The article aims to bridge that knowledge gap.

中文翻译：

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法庭上的人道主义者：注意义务如何从人力资源转移到法律责任

摘要 本文探讨了作为人道主义行为者承担责任方式转变的合法化过程。该分析是在法律社会学、法律人类学的界面以及挪威福利国家人类学的边缘进行的。通过对 2015 年在奥斯陆地方法院提起诉讼的开创性史蒂文帕特里克丹尼斯诉挪威难民委员会 (NRC) 案件的描述，我展示了人道主义组织对其工作人员的照料义务不断演变的司法化如何改变内容和方式。雇主（非政府组织）和雇员（非政府组织工作人员）之间关系的框架，以及对支撑这种关系的道德义务和人道主义工作者主体地位的看法。在过去十年中，NRC 经历了一段非凡的发展时期，并已发展成为人道主义部门最知名和最受尊敬的参与者之一。尽管如此突出，但该组织的工作或其制度文化并没有重要的学术参与。本文旨在弥合这一知识鸿沟。