Constantinus Albertus Josephus Maria "Constantijn" Kortmann (14 March 1944 – 24 January 2016) was a Dutch professor of

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

. Kortmann was born in

Groesbeek Groesbeek () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. In January 2015 the former municipality merged with Millingen aan de Rijn and Ubbergen. The larger area was known as Groesbeek until January 2016, whe ...

. In 1967, he obtained his doctoral’s degree in Dutch Law at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. In 1964, he studied the French language for half a year at the Institut Catholique in Paris, France. After his degree he pursued his study of the French language, as well as French public law, for another year at the

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; , ) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest student/inhabitant ratio in France ...

. In 1976, he obtained his doctor's degree (master) at the Catholic University of Nijmegen. From 1976 to 1981, Kortmann was a professor of Dutch and comparative constitutional law at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

, since 1981 he has been a professor of constitutional law and general political science. Furthermore, he has been a dean of the Faculty of Law, twice in Nijmegen and once in Amsterdam. He became member of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

(KNAW) in 2000. In 2004 the KNAW entitled him with an academy professorship. The handbook ''Constitutioneel Recht'' (Constitutional Law, for which Kortmann received the Thorkbecke Prize in 1996), ''Het staatsrecht van de landen van de Europese Unie'' (Constitutional law of the Member States of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

), and ''Het bestuursrecht van de landen der Europese Gemeenschappen'' (Public Law of the Member States of the European Communities) are amongst his most important publications. The latter two books were edited by Kortmann in cooperation with professor Lucas Prakke. In 2005, the second chamber of the

Dutch parliament The States General of the Netherlands ( ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States General originated in ...

appointed him to be the chairman of the referendum committee on the rejected

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE; commonly referred to as the European Constitution or as the Constitutional Treaty) was an Ratification, unratified international treaty intended to create a consolidated constitution for ...

. This committee summarised the Treaty text and divided allowances between the advocates and adversaries of the Treaty. Kortmann’s brother, Sebastiaan Kortmann, is a professor of Dutch civil law, and was Rector Magnificus of the Radboud University Nijmegen from 10 May 2007 until 17 October 2014. Kortmann was asked regularly to give advice and explanation in matters of public law in Dutch media. Constantijn Kortmann died in Heilig Landstichting in 2016.

Decorations

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

**Knight (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kortmann, Constantijn 1944 births 2016 deaths Dutch legal scholars Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Groesbeek Radboud University Nijmegen alumni Academic staff of Radboud University Nijmegen Rectors of universities in the Netherlands Academic staff of the University of Amsterdam