Joseph H. H. Weiler

Joseph Halevi Horowitz Weiler (b. 1951 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is Joseph Straus Professor of Law and European Union Jean Monnet Chair at New York University Law School. He holds a diploma from the Hague Academy of International Law, Weiler is the author of works relating to the sui generis character of the European Union. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Contents

Career

He holds degrees from Sussex (B.A.); Cambridge (LL.B. and LL.M.) and The Hague Academy of International Law (Diploma of International Law); he earned his Ph.D. in European Law at the EUI, Florence. He is recipient of Doctorates Honoris Causa from London University, Sussex University, the University of Macerata and the University of Navarra and is Honorary Senator of the University of Ljubljana.

From 1978 to 1985 he was member of the Department of Law at the European University Institute, Florence, where in 1989 he was co-founder of its Academy of European Law. He later served as Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School (1985–1992) and as Manley Hudson Professor and Jean Monnet Chair at Harvard Law School (1992–2001).

He has been Visiting Professor at, among others, the University of Paris, the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Max Planck Institute for International Law at Heidelberg, the College of Europe in Bruges, All Souls College, Oxford, Chicago Law School, Stanford Law School, Yale Law School, the Ortega Y Gasset Institute, Madrid, the University of Toronto, the University of Frankfurt and the University of Ljubljana.

One of the topics of his specific interest is the influence of (Christian) church on European integration. Weiler contributes to the legal theory of European integration, he writes on many areas of EU law (internal market, external relations, social law, and above all, institutional law). He is a particular authority on the role of the European Court of Justice.

Accolades

Karin Calvo-Goller libel action

Weiler was a defendant in a criminal libel action brought in the French courts by Dr Karin Calvo-Goller of the Academic Center of Law and Business[1] concerning a review of her book, The Trial Proceedings of the International Criminal Court. ICTY and ICTR Precedents (Martinus Nijhoff, 2006) that appeared on the Global Law Books website[2] that Weiler edits. The review was written by Professor Thomas Weigend of the University of Cologne, and Calvo-Goller contended that it was libelous. Upon complaint by Calvo-Goller, Weiler declined to remove the review from the website and Calvo-Goller subsequently filed suit.

The suit was notable for the issues that it raised concerning the balance between academic freedom and the rights of those who consider themselves to have been libeled.[3][4]

The case was heard by Tribunal de Grand Instance de Paris on January 20, 2011, with the verdict handed down in Paris on March 3, 2011, dismissing the lawsuit.[5]

In its verdict, the Paris Tribunal said it had no jurisdiction in the case since Calvo-Goller did not bring proof by a court-appointed clerk that the book review website was visible in French territory the day or before the day she brought the case to the dean of the investigating judges in Paris. The Paris Tribunal also declared that the words used by Weigend did not constitute libel and were within the limits of free critical book review speech. The court said his words in the review were measured, and the court therefore dismissed the case. An appeal might be pending. The court stated that Calvo-Goller's bad faith in bringing the action was clearly established, and on that basis she was ordered to pay 8,000 euros (around US$10.000 ) in damages to Dr Weiler. Excerpts from an unofficial translation of the verdict has been posted by Weiler at the EJIL:Talk website.[6]

Excerpts from a Chronicle of Higher Education interview with Calvo-Goller after the verdict dismissing the lawsuit became final were published on March 11, 2011.[7]

Publications

Notes

  1. ^ clb.ac.il
  2. ^ globallawbooks.org
  3. ^ conflictoflaws.net
  4. ^ Corbyn, Zoë (25 February 2010). "Scholar vs scholar: libel case's 'disturbing implications' for free speech". Times Higher Education. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410542&c=1. 
  5. ^ "French Court finds in favor of journal editor sued for libel over book review". chronicle.com. http://chronicle.com/article/French-Court-Finds-in-Favor-of/126599/. 
  6. ^ ejiltalk.org
  7. ^ chronicle.com

External links