Sima Avramovic () (b. 1950) is a Serbian university professor, author on the subjects of

comparative law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...

legal history 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 civilizations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and his ...

, law and religion,

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

and Ambassador of Serbia to the

Vatican City State Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

. Prof. Avramović served as Dean of the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

from 2012 until 2018. He was also President of the University of Belgrade's Senate.

Biography

Sima Avramovic was born in Belgrade,

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, on July 19, 1950. He graduated from the

University of Belgrade Faculty of Law The Faculty of Law of the University in Belgrade (/''Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu''), also known as the Belgrade Law School, is one of the first-tier educational institutions of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. The building is locate ...

in 1973. Avramovic extensively serves as a distinguished lecturer at leading universities in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. His past academic assignments include the following: President of the Commission for the University of Belgrade

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

Follow Up, President of the Statutory Commission of the University of Belgrade, Member of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

/Office for Democratic Institutions and

Human Rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

Panel of Experts,

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of the '' Belgrade Law Review'', Member of the Universities’ of Serbia Conference, Member of the Section for Sources of Serbian Law at the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...

, President of the Center for Cooperation among Religious Communities, President of the Society for

Roman Law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

and Classics ''

Forum Romanum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along ...

'', President of the Alan Watson Foundation, and he led the Center for Oratory ''Institutio oratoria''. In addition, Avramovic is the founder of the monthly bulletin of the University of Belgrade's Law School (

Acta Diurna ''Acta Diurna'' (Latin for ''Daily Acts'', sometimes translated as ''Daily Public Records'' or as ''Daily Gazette'') were daily Ancient Rome, Roman official notices, a sort of daily gazette. They were carved on stone or metal and presented in messa ...

). He is also an editorial board member for the Journal of Matica Srpska for

Classical Studies Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages ...

, and the European Lawyer Journal. Avramovic holds the

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree from the University of Belgrade. In 1984, he was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. He speaks English, German,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, French, Italian, Russian and Serbian, and knows two classical languages –

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. Avramović was one of the candidates of the

Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party (, SNS) is a major populist, catch-all party, catch-all List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. It has been the Ruling party, ruling party since 2012. Miloš Vučević, the former prime mi ...

for the Assembly of the City of

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 2018. In 2021 he was appointed the Serbian ambassador to the

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Legal scholarship

Avramovic has over one hundred books and articles to his credit. Selected scholarship includes the pioneering books Rhetorike Techne (2008), State-Church Law in Serbia (2007), Comparative Legal Tradition (2006), Аrs Rhetorica (2002), General

Legal History 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 civilizations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and his ...

(2001), The Court Speeches of

Isaeus Isaeus ( ''Isaios''; fl. early 4th century BC) was one of the ten Attic orators according to the Alexandrian canon. He was a student of Isocrates in Athens, and later taught Demosthenes while working as a ''metic'' logographer (speechwriter) for ...

and the Law of Athens (1988), Early Greek Law and the Code of Gortyn (1977), Evolution of Testamentary Freedom in

Ancient Greek Law Ancient Greek laws consist of the laws and legal institutions of ancient Greece. The existence of certain general principles of law in ancient Greece is implied by the custom of settling a difference between two Greek states, or between members ...

(1981), Foundations of Modern

Democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

, Selected Declarations and Charters on

(1989). Recent articles include “Searching for the New Law on

Religious Freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

in Serbia” (

European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, ) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 38 Nobel Prize laureates. The European Academy of Sciences and ...

, Weimar 2006), “Simulation of Athenian Court – A New Teaching Method” in the Balkans Law Review (2006), “The Rhetra of Epithadeus and Testament in Spartan Law” (

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

, Vienna 2005), et al. His book Ars Rhetorica was proclaimed as Book of the Year 2002 ( F.R.Y. Official Gazette Award) and he received the prestigious Italian award Premio romanistico internationale “Gérard Boulvert” for the Italian translation of the book Court Speeches of Isaeus and the Law of Athens.

Selected works

*''Rano grčko pravo i Gortinski zakonik'', Belgrade, 1977, 217 *''Evolucija slobode testiranja u antičkom grčkom pravu'' (PhD thesis), Belgrade, 1981, 384 *''The Quantitative Analysis of the Computerised Data Bank on Disposition in Case of Death in Ancient Greek Law,'' University of Maryland, College Park 1984, 90 (Library of Congress Reg.No. TXY 84-170-582). *''Isejevo sudsko besedništvo i atinsko pravo,'' Naučna knjiga, Belgrade, 1988 (1991), VIII+266; Službeni list SRJ, Belgrade, 2000 (2005), 270. *''Temelji moderne demokratije, Izbor deklaracija i povelja o ljudskim pravima'', Nova knjiga, Belgrade, 1989, 237 (p.. 13-25, 47-57, 75-83, 97-103, 111-119, 125-133). *''Sto pedeset godina Pravnog fakulteta 1841-1991,'' Faculty of Law, Belgrade. 1991, 196, co-author *''Pravna istorija Starog veka,'' Službeni list SRJ, Belgrade. 1992, 138. *''Osnovi retorike i besedništva,'' Zavod za udžbenike i nastavna sredstva, Belgrade. 1993 (1999), 182, co-author with dr Obrad Stanojević *''Opšta pravna istorija, I deo,'' Dosije, Belgrade. 1994 (1995, 1996, 1998), 159. *''Iseo e il diritto attic'', Jovene editore, Napoli 1997, 294. *''Opšta pravna istorija - Stari i Srednji vek'', Dosije, Belgrade. 1999, 363 (2000, 2001). *''Ars rhetorica – veština besedništva'', Sl. list SRJ, Belgrade. 2002, (2003), 529, co-author with dr Obrad Stanojević *''Opšta pravna istorija - Stari i Srednji vek'', Nomos, Belgrade. 2003 (2004), 239. *''Opšta pravna istorija – Novi vek'', Nomos, Belgrade. 2004, 87. *''Uporedna pravna tradicija'', Nomos, Belgrade. 2006, 319, co-author with V. Stanimirović *''Prilozi nastanku državno-crkvenog prava u Srbiji (State-Church Law in Serbia)''. Faculty of Law, Faculty of Orthodox Theology and JP Službeni glasnik, Belgrade. 2007, 250. *''Rhetorike techne – veština besedništva i javni nastup'' Službeni glasnik, Edicija Pravnog fakulteta '' Retorika'', Belgrade. 2008, 526. *''Uporedna pravna tradicija'', Faculty of Law, 2009, 341, co-author with V. Stanimirović *''Kako da postanem pravnik – uvod u studije prava'', co-author with Z. Mirković, Belgrade. 2010, 141. *''The Predicament of Serbian Orthodox Holy Places in Kosovo and Metohia - Elements for a Historical, Legal and Conservational Understanding, co-author, Belgrade. 2010. *''Temelji moderne demokratije, Izbor deklaracija i povelja o ljudskim pravima'' (koautorski, izmenjeno i dopunjeno izdanje), Zavod za udžbenike, Belgrade. 2011, 548 (17-30, 119-128, 147-154, 172-177, 191-198, 353-359). *''Primenjena retorika – 20 godina takmičenja u besedništvu'', Belgrade. 2014, 188. *''Rhetorike techne – veština besedništva i javni nastup'', Službeni glasnik, Dosije, Faculty of Law, Belgrade. 2018, 545 *''Konflikt und Koexistenz. Die Rechtsordnungen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert'', Bd. II ''– Serbien Bosnien-Herzegowina'', ''Albanien,'' „The Serbian Civil Code of 1844: a Battleground of Legal Traditions“, Max-Planck-Institut für europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt am Mein 2017, 379-482, autor poglavlja u knjizi

External links

Personal Website of Professor Sima Avramovic

Sources

(in Serbian)

References