Jan M. Smits

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Jan Smits (Leiden, 1967) is a Dutch law professor. Currently, he is professor of European Private Law and Comparative Law in the University of Tilburg and director of the Tilburg Institute of Comparative and Transnational Law (TICOM).

Between 1986 and 1991, Jan Smits studied law at Leiden University and at the University of Poitiers. In 1995 he obtained his PhD degree from Leiden University on a thesis about the foundations of contractual liability. He then taught law in Stellenbosch, Tilburg and Maastricht. In 1999, he was appointed to the Chair of European Private Law at Maastricht University. In 2008, he accepted a call from the University of Tilburg to take up a newly created Chair of European Private Law and Comparative Law and to become the director of the new Tilburg Institute of Comparative and Transnational Law (TICOM). Smits is known for his critical view of the European harmonisation process; he is also a fierce believer in legal science as an international discipline. He held visiting positions at a number of foreign institutions, including Tulane University Law School, Leuven University, the University of Liège and Louisiana State University. Jan Smits is also a member of the Ius Commune Research School.