Institute of Anglo-American Law
The Institute of Anglo-American Law was established by Professor Basil Markesinis, and opened by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in 1988.
The opening by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales
The presence of Prince Charles underlined not only the successful and highly valued past, but also the promising future of Anglo-American relations in the field of law. It is these relations which were and still are at the heart of the Institute’s efforts.
On 22 October 1999 a plaque was unveiled by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Irvine of Lairg, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain to mark the Institute's successful promotion of close Anglo-Dutch legal relations since it was officially opened by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales on 27 October 1988.
About us
The board of the Institute of Anglo-American Law consists of the following members:
- Prof. Dr H.J. (Henk) Snijders, chairman
- Prof. Dr E. (Egbert) Koops, secretary
- Dr M. (Martijn) van Kogelenberg, treasurer
- Prof. Dr S.C.G. (Stefaan) Van den Bogaert, member
The objects of the foundation
- to promote the knowledge of Anglo-American law;
- to conduct and promote scientific research in the area of Anglo-American law;
- to take care of contacts between Anglo-American and Dutch lawyers and law students;
- and furthermore, everything that is directly or indirectly related to these matters or that may be conducive to them, all in the broadest sense.
The foundation tries to achieve its objects inter alia by:
- gathering and studying professional literature and documentation;
- establishing and maintaining contacts with persons and bodies that are important for the achievement of the said objects of the foundation;
- organising courses, symposiums, seminars and conferences;
- carrying out projects on the subject of Anglo-American law, both nationally and internationally.
The foundation does not aim to make a profit
Anglo-American Private Law
Prof. Ewan McKendrick, BCL, MA, LLB (Edinburgh), QC (Hon) holds the chair Anglo-American Private Law. He is Professor of English Private Law and a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall. He is a Bencher of Gray's Inn and a member of chambers at 3 Verulam Buildings, Gray's Inn. He was the Registrar of the University of Oxford from 2011 to 2018.
Sponsors
The work of the Institute would not be possible without the support of our sponsors.
The main sponsor of the Institute of Anglo-American Law is the law firm Clifford Chance.
Events
Some events organised, under the auspices of the Institute of Anglo-American Law, by the Institute, or by others, in co-operation with the Institute:
On 16 March 2020 prof. Ewan McKendrick was to give his inaugural lecture. It was to be preceded by a farewell symposium in honour of prof. John Cartwright. The event had to be postponed because of the covid-19 plague, but a new date will be set as soon as possible.
On 29 September 2016 the Rt. Hon. the Lord Mance, in cooperation with the Europa Institute, Justice of the UK Supreme Court, delivered the ‘Fifth Europa Lecture’, on ‘Jurisdiction, judgments and proper law relating to states outside the Brussels and Rome regimes’.
On 1 December 2015 a symposium was held on collective redress actions in the Netherlands and Europe.
On 17 and 18 October 2013 a two-day event on Anglo-American Law took place.
It commenced on 17 October with a lecture by the Rt. Hon. the Lord Hope of Craighead, former Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, on ‘Scots law’s debt to Leiden’. Leiden has a special place in the history of Scots law. For several decades, at a crucial stage of the development of Scots law, it was to Leiden that many of those who were intending to practice law in Scotland came to study. The law they took back with them to Scotland was the civil law (ius commune). Scots private law is still based on civilian principles, though it was never entirely without some borrowing from English common law. The lecture sought to explore how Scots private law became ‘mixed’ with the English common law, and what it means to have a ‘mixed system’ today.
On 18 October prof. Olav Haazen gave his inaugural lecture. It’s title was ‘Between a right and a wrong. Ordinary cases, civil procedure, and democracy’.
The lecture was preceded by a seminar, on ‘Facts and the Law in English and Dutch decision making. Do facts really matter?’
Study abroad
The Institute promotes and financially supports studies of Dutch students at Anglo-American universities, including Oxford with its excellent Magister Juris Programme.
The Institute of Anglo-American Law has at its disposal a small fund, from which modest grants can be made to students studying for a LLM abroad, preferably in the UK or USA.
Requests with CV, motivation, recommendations and list of marks can be sent by email to the treasurer of the Institute, Dr M. (Martijn) van Kogelenberg.