Process of Nomination and Selection

Process of Nomination and Selection
Nomination and Selection of the Nobel Peace Laureates

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for the selection of the candidates and the choice of the Nobel Peace Laureates. The Committee is composed of five members appointed by the Storting (Norwegian parliament). The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, not Stockholm, Sweden, where the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and the Economics Prize are awarded.

Who is eligible for the Prize ?

The candidates eligible for the Nobel Peace Prize are those nominated by qualified persons who have received an invitation from the Nobel Committee to submit names for consideration. No one can nominate himself or herself.
How are the Nobel Laureates selected?

Below is a brief description of the process involved in selecting the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

September – Nomination forms are sent out. The Nobel Committee sends out invitation letters containing confidential forms to individuals qualified to nominate – members of national assemblies, governments, and international courts of law; university chancellors, professors of social science, history, philosophy, law and theology; leaders of peace research institutes and institutes of foreign affairs; Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of previous years; board members of organizations that have received the Nobel Peace Prize; present and past members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; and former advisers of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.
February – Deadline for submission. The Committee bases its assessment on nominations that must be postmarked no later than 1 February each year. Nominations received after this date are included in the following year's discussions. In recent years, the Committee has received well over 140 different nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. The numbers of nominating letters are much higher, as many are for the same candidates.
March-May – Short list. The Committee assesses the candidates' work and prepares a short list.
June-August – Adviser review. The 'shortlist' is reviewed by permanent advisers and advisers specially called on for their knowledge of specific candidates. The advisers do not directly evaluate nominations nor give explicit recommendations.
October – Nobel Laureates are chosen. At the beginning of October, the Nobel Committee chooses the Nobel Peace Laureates through a majority vote. The decision is final and without appeal. The names of the Nobel Peace Laureates are then announced.
December – Nobel Laureates receive their prize. The Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony takes place on 10 December in Oslo, Norway, where the Nobel Laureates receive their Nobel Prize, which consists of a Nobel Medal and Diploma, and a document confirming the prize amount.
Are the nominations made public?
The statutes of the Nobel Foundation restrict disclosure of information about the nominations, whether publicly or privately, for 50 years. The restriction concerns the nominees and nominators, as well as investigations and opinions related to the award of a prize.