Alan Watson
Encyclopedia
Professor W.A.J. 'Alan' Watson (b. 1933) is a Scottish
law and legal history
expert, and is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on Roman law
, comparative law
, legal history
, and law and religion. He is credited for coining the term "legal transplants".
Watson began his academic career at Oxford University, before taking the Douglas Chair in Civil Law
at the School of Law
of his alma mater, the University of Glasgow
. He now serves as Distinguished Research Professor and holds the Ernest P. Rogers Chair at the University of Georgia School of Law
. He is also Visiting Professor at the Edinburgh University School of Law
, where he held the Chair in Civil Law from 1968 until 1981.
Watson regularly serves as a distinguished lecturer at leading universities in the United States and such countries as Italy, Holland, Germany, France, Poland, South Africa, Israel and Serbia. He has attended several sessions regarding the development of a common law for the EU, including one in Maastricht in 2000, and, at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), served as a member of the two-person U.S. team helping to revise the draft civil code
for the new Republic of Armenia.
He is an honorary member of the Speculative Society and serves as North American secretary of the Stair Society
. He is an editorial board member of a number of learned journals.
In 2005, the University of Belgrade
's Law School
established the Alan Watson Foundation in honour of his worldwide scholarship.
Watson was honored by his international colleagues in 2000-01 when two collections of essays were presented in his honor: an American volume, Lex et Romanitas: Essays for Alan Watson, and the European volume, Critical Studies in Ancient Law, Comparative Law and Legal History.
for Europe" (2001), "Authority of Law; and Law" (2003), and "The Shame of American Legal Education
" (2005). His articles include "Law Out of Context" in The Edinburgh Law Review (2000) and "Fox Hunting, Pheasant Shooting and Comparative Law" in the American Journal of Comparative Law (2000).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
law and legal history
Legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history...
expert, and is regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
, comparative law
Comparative law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law of different countries. More specifically, it involves study of the different legal systems in existence in the world, including the common law, the civil law, socialist law, Islamic law, Hindu law, and Chinese law...
, legal history
Legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history...
, and law and religion. He is credited for coining the term "legal transplants".
Watson began his academic career at Oxford University, before taking the Douglas Chair in Civil Law
Douglas Professor of Civil Law, Glasgow
The Douglas Chair of Civil Law at the University of Glasgow was founded in 1948, and named after John Brown Douglas , who had been Professor of Roman Law at St Mungo's College...
at the School of Law
University of Glasgow School of Law
The School of Law at the University of Glasgow provides undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Law, and awards the degrees of Bachelor of Laws , Master of Laws , Master of Science , Master of Research and Doctor of Philosophy , the degree of Doctor of Laws...
of his alma mater, the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
. He now serves as Distinguished Research Professor and holds the Ernest P. Rogers Chair at the University of Georgia School of Law
University of Georgia School of Law
The University of Georgia School of Law is a graduate school of the University of Georgia. Founded in 1859 and located in Athens, Georgia, USA, Georgia Law was formerly known as the Lumpkin School of Law. The Law School is the second oldest of the University's schools and colleges. The University...
. He is also Visiting Professor at the Edinburgh University School of Law
University of Edinburgh School of Law
The University of Edinburgh School of Law, founded in 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, dedicated to research and teaching in law. Known today as Edinburgh Law School, it is located in the historic Old College, the original site of the University...
, where he held the Chair in Civil Law from 1968 until 1981.
Watson regularly serves as a distinguished lecturer at leading universities in the United States and such countries as Italy, Holland, Germany, France, Poland, South Africa, Israel and Serbia. He has attended several sessions regarding the development of a common law for the EU, including one in Maastricht in 2000, and, at the request of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), served as a member of the two-person U.S. team helping to revise the draft civil code
Civil code
A civil code is a systematic collection of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure...
for the new Republic of Armenia.
He is an honorary member of the Speculative Society and serves as North American secretary of the Stair Society
Stair Society
The Stair Society is a learned society devoted to the study of Scots law. It was instituted in 1934 "to encourage the study and to advance the knowledge of the history of Scots Law," and is named for James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, the seventeenth century Lord President of the Court of...
. He is an editorial board member of a number of learned journals.
In 2005, the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
's Law School
University of Belgrade Faculty of Law
The University of Belgrade Faculty of Law , also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia...
established the Alan Watson Foundation in honour of his worldwide scholarship.
Watson was honored by his international colleagues in 2000-01 when two collections of essays were presented in his honor: an American volume, Lex et Romanitas: Essays for Alan Watson, and the European volume, Critical Studies in Ancient Law, Comparative Law and Legal History.
Legal scholarship
A prolific scholar, Watson has nearly 150 books and articles to his credit, many of which have been translated from English into other languages. Selected scholarship includes the important books "Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law" (1974) and Society and Legal Change (1977) as well as "The Evolution of Western Private Law" (2000), "Jesus and the Jews: The Pharisaic Tradition in John" (1995), "Ancient Law and Modern Understanding: At the Edges" (1998), "Sources of Law, Legal Change, and Ambiguity" (2d ed., 1998), "Legal History and a Common LawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
for Europe" (2001), "Authority of Law; and Law" (2003), and "The Shame of American Legal Education
Legal education
Legal education is the education of individuals who intend to become legal professionals or those who simply intend to use their law degree to some end, either related to law or business...
" (2005). His articles include "Law Out of Context" in The Edinburgh Law Review (2000) and "Fox Hunting, Pheasant Shooting and Comparative Law" in the American Journal of Comparative Law (2000).