Bart De Schutter is a Belgian scientist and was a member of the
Coudenberg group
The Coudenberg group (, ) was a Belgium, Belgian federalist think-tank, it was named after the place where the members met, the Coudenberg, one of the seven hillocks on which the centre of Brussels has been built. President of the organization was ...
, a federalist
think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
.
Education
He graduated as Doctor in Law from the
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Dutch language, Dutch, ; lit. Free University of Brussels; abbreviated VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engine ...
(VUB) in 1959. In addition he obtained a MA in Political and Diplomatic Sciences from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in 1960. In 1961, he obtained an LL.M. from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
(United States). In
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
(France), he followed the ''Special Programme on European Organizations'' at the ''Faculté Internationale pour l'Enseignement du Droit Comparé'' and in
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
the ''United Nations International Law Commission Seminar''.
Career
He started his career at the VUB where he became Dean of the Faculty of Law and Rector. In addition, he was member of the Board of Directors of the VUB and President of the Board of the VRT, the Flemish Public Radio and Television network. Since 1971 until 2003, he has been Director of the IES-VUB Programme on international legal cooperation of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He also co-initiated a similar programme at the Anglia Polytechnic University (Law School at Cambridge) of which he is Honorary Fellow.
He is the Belgian representative at the Joint Supervisory Body of Europol and Schengen since 1997. Since 2001, he is the Belgian representative in the Joint Supervisory Authority of the EU Customs Information System. In 2001, he became the founding President of the Institute for European Studies of the VUB, until he got replaced by
Karel de Gucht
Karel Lodewijk Georgette Emmerence De Gucht (; born 27 January 1954) is a Belgian politician who was the European Commissioner for Trade from February 2010 until 31 October 2014.''Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel''. He is a Member of the Belgian Data Protection Authority.