W. Alan J. Watson (1933 – 7 November 2018) was a
Scottish legal historian
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and hist ...
, regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...
,
comparative law
Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law (legal systems) of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal "systems" (or "families") in existence in the world, including the ...
,
legal history, and
law and religion. He is credited for coining the term "
legal transplants".
Watson was educated at St John's Grammar school and at the
Hamilton Academy, subsequently attending the
Glasgow University, graduating in Arts in 1954 and in Law in 1957. He began his professional academic career at
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, before taking the
Douglas Chair in Civil Law at the
School of Law of his alma mater, the
University of Glasgow
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, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
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, ...
. He later served as Distinguished Research Professor and held the Ernest P. Rogers Chair at the
University of Georgia School of Law. He was also Visiting Professor at the
Edinburgh University School of Law, where he held the Chair in Civil Law from 1968 until 1981.
Watson regularly served 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 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
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
), served as a member of the two-person U.S. team helping to revise the draft
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...
for
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
.
He was an honorary member of the
Speculative Society
The Speculative Society is a Scottish Enlightenment society dedicated to public speaking and literary composition, founded in 1764. It was mainly, but not exclusively, an Edinburgh University student organisation. The formal purpose of the Society ...
and served as North American secretary of the
Stair Society. He was an editorial board member of a number of learned journals.
In 2005, the
University of Belgrade's
Law School
A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction.
Law degrees Argentina
In Argentina, ...
established the Alan Watson Foundation in honour of his worldwide scholarship.
Watson was honoured by his international colleagues in 2000–01 when two collections of essays were presented in his honour: 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
Watson authored nearly 150 books and articles, 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 Law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...
for Europe'' (2001), ''Authority of Law; and Law'' (2003), and ''The Shame of American
Legal Education
Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular ...
'' (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).
References
Glasgow Herald 19 February 1965, page 10. Article on appointment to the Douglas Chair of Civil Law, University of GlasgowAlan Watson FoundationBiography at Edinburgh Law School websiteProfile at UGA Law School site*
Remembering Professor Alan Watson (1933 - 2018)
* Gabor Hamza: Watson, A.: Legal Transplants. An Approach to Comparative Law. Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1974. XIV+106 p. Állam- és Jogtudomány 20 (1977) 642-644.p. and Acta Juridica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 20 (1978) 240-242.p.
* Gabor Hamza: Watson, A.: Rome of the XII Tables. Persons and Property. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1975. 195 p. Állam- és Jogtudomány 19 (1976) 491-493.p.
* Gabor Hamza: Watson, A.: Legal Transplants. An Approach to Comparative Law. (Second revised ed.) London, 1993. Jogtudományi Közlöny 49 (1994) 265-266. p.
* Gabor Hamza: Watson, A.: The State, Law, and Religion: Pagan Rome. Athens. Jogtudományi Közlöny 50 (1995) 99-100. p.
* Gabor Hamza: Watson, A.: International Law in Archaic Rome: War and Religion. Jogtudományi Közlöny 50 (1995) 359-361. p.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Alan
1933 births
2018 deaths
Academics from Edinburgh
People educated at Hamilton Academy
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Legal scholars of the University of Oxford
Academics of the University of Glasgow
University of Georgia faculty
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Scottish emigrants to the United States
American legal scholars
Scottish legal scholars
Scottish lawyers
20th-century Scottish historians
Legal historians