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 Sociocultural evolution, 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. C ...

, regarded as one of the world's foremost authorities on

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 (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 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 histo ...

, 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 Hamilton Academy was a school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The school was described as "one of the finest schools in Scotland" in the Cambridge University Press County Biography of 1910, and was featured in a 1950 Scottish Seconda ...

, subsequently attending the

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating in Arts in 1954 and in Law in 1957. He began his professional academic career at

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, before taking the Douglas Chair in Civil Law at the

School of Law 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, ...

of his alma mater, the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He later served as Distinguished Research Professor and held the Ernest P. Rogers Chair at the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law sc ...

. He was also Visiting Professor at the

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

, 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 (

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), 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

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. 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 Societ ...

and served as North American secretary of the

Stair Society The Stair Society is a learned society devoted to the study of Scots law. It was instituted in 1934 "to encourage the study and to advance the knowledge of the history of Scots Law," and is named for James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, the sev ...

. He was an editorial board member of a number of learned journals. In 2005, the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in 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 merged with the Kragujevac-b ...

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 The term legal transplant was coined in the 1970s by the Scottish legal scholar W.A.J. 'Alan' Watson to indicate the moving of a rule or a system of law from one country to another (A. Watson, ''Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law'', ...

: 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 ''Ancient Law'' is a book by Henry James Sumner Maine. It was first published in octavo in 1861. The book went through twelve editions during the lifetime of the author. The twelfth edition was published in 1888. A new edition, with notes by Fred ...

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 omnipresen ...

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 j ...

'' (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 Glasgow

Alan Watson Foundation

Biography at Edinburgh Law School website

Profile 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