The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute is a body at

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led Medical school, medical university in Solna Municipality, Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. ...

which awards the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

. It is headquartered in the Nobel Forum on the grounds of the Karolinska Institute campus. Originally the Nobel Assembly was not a formal body but rather the collective of all

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

s (holders of chairs, i.e. full professors) at Karolinska Institute. In 1977 the Nobel Assembly became a separate private organization hosted by Karolinska Institute. Until 1984 all Karolinska Institute professors belonged to the Assembly; from 1984 the membership is restricted to 50 Karolinska Institute professors.Karolinska Institutet: ''Nobelpriset - den ärofyllda traditionen''
accessed on August 3, 2009 The main work involved in collecting nominations and screening nominees is performed by the

Nobel Committee A Nobel Committee is a working body responsible for most of the work involved in selecting Nobel Prize laureates. There are five Nobel Committees, one for each Nobel Prize. Four of these committees (for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiolo ...

at the Karolinska Institute, which has five members. The Nobel Committee, which is appointed by the Nobel Assembly, is only empowered to recommend laureates, while the final decision rests with the Nobel Assembly.Nobelprize.org: Prize Awarder for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
, accessed on August 3, 2009

Background

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was first awarded in 1901. For most of the 20th century the laureates were decided upon by all professors of the Karolinska Institute, collectively sometimes also referred to as the Nobel Assembly. In 1977 the Nobel Assembly was established as a separate private organization. The reason for creating a special formal body for the decisions concerning the Nobel Prize was the fact that the Karolinska Institute is a state-run university, which in turn means that it is subject to various laws that apply to government agencies in Sweden and similar Swedish public sector organisations, such as

freedom of information legislation Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfa ...

. By moving the actual decision making to a private body ''at'' Karolinska Institute (but not part of it), it is possible to follow the regulations for the Nobel Prize set down by the Nobel Foundation, including keeping the confidentiality of all documents and proceedings for a minimum of 50 years. Also, the legal possibility of contesting the decisions in e.g.

administrative court An administrative court is a type of court specializing in administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are considered s ...

s is removed. Until 1984 all professors at Karolinska Institute were members of the Assembly, but in 1984 the membership was restricted to 50 Karolinska professors. The other two Nobel Prize-awarding bodies in Sweden, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Swedish Academy, are legally private organisations (although enjoying royal patronage), and have therefore not had to make any special arrangements to be able to follow the Nobel Foundation's regulations.

References

{{Nobel Prizes Karolinska Institute Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Awards juries and committees