George Bermann is the Walter Gelhorn Professor of Law and the Director of the European Legal Studies Center at
Columbia Law SchoolColumbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. David Schizer is the dean....
. He is a leading figure in the study of European law, both in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad. He is currently co-Editor-in-Chief of the
American Journal of Comparative LawThe American Journal of Comparative Law is a quarterly law journal dedicated to comparative law. It is published by the American Society of Comparative Law.-External links:*...
(the country's leading comparative law review), former president of the
American Society of Comparative LawThe American Society of Comparative Law , formerly the American Association for the Comparative Study of Law, is a society dedicated to the study of comparative law, foreign law, and private international law...
, and the author of the leading US casebook on European Union Law (Cases & Materials on European Union Law, West.
George Bermann is the Walter Gelhorn Professor of Law and the Director of the European Legal Studies Center at
Columbia Law SchoolColumbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. David Schizer is the dean....
. He is a leading figure in the study of European law, both in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and abroad. He is currently co-Editor-in-Chief of the
American Journal of Comparative LawThe American Journal of Comparative Law is a quarterly law journal dedicated to comparative law. It is published by the American Society of Comparative Law.-External links:*...
(the country's leading comparative law review), former president of the
American Society of Comparative LawThe American Society of Comparative Law , formerly the American Association for the Comparative Study of Law, is a society dedicated to the study of comparative law, foreign law, and private international law...
, and the author of the leading US casebook on European Union Law (Cases & Materials on European Union Law, West. Pub., 2d ed.)
Early Life and Education
Born in
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
in 1945, George Bermann earned his B.A. summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a major in Political Science from
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
in 1967. After studying law and comparative politics in England on a
Marshall ScholarshipMarshall Scholarships are widely recognized to be among the most prestigious awards that American undergraduates can receive. The program was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom when the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act was passed in 1953...
, he attended
Yale Law SchoolYale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1843, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D., and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars and a number of legal research centers. The school's prestige and small size make its...
, from which he earned a J.D. in 1971. After working at the New York lawfirm
Davis Polk & WardwellDavis Polk & Wardwell LLP is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm employs more than 800 attorneys and is primarily known for its corporate, litigation and tax practices...
, he joined Columbia Law School's faculty in 1975. He is married to Sandra Bermann, Professor and Chair of the
Comparative LiteratureComparative literature is critical scholarship dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
department at
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, and current President of the
American Comparative Literature AssociationThe American Comparative Literature Association is the principal learned society in the United States for scholars whose work connects several different literary traditions and cultures or that examines the premises of cross-cultural literary study...
.]
Career
Bermann serves on the US State Department's Advisory Committee on the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction and Judgments and the American Law Institute's (ALI) Advisory Committee on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. He has testified before Congress on numerous occasions, including before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the
OPECThe Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...
countries, sovereign immunity and act of state (2004), the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Colombian practice in international arbitration and Andean legislation benefits (2002), and the House Committee on Government Operations on Tort liability of federal public officials (1983). Additionally, Professor Bermann has advised the National People's Congress of China on the adoption of a statute on government liability as well as one on an administrative procedure act.
Bermann was named
Jean MonnetJean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet is regarded by many as a chief architect of European Unity. Never elected to public office, Monnet worked behind the scenes of American and European governments as a well-connected pragmatic internationalist.-Early years:Monnet was born in Cognac, Charente, into a...
Chair of European Law by the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
(conferred July 2001), served as Honorary President of the American Society of Comparative Law (conferred June 2005), was conferred an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland (conferred November 2000)and was awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the American Foreign Law Association (conferred June 2005).
He is also a member of the teaching faculty of the College d'Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and also regularly gives courses at the Universities of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) and Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), as well as the Institut des Sciences Politiques ("Sciences Po") in Paris for its DESS en Droit de la Globalisation. He holds a doctorate honoris causa from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). He taught as Eason-Weinmann Visiting Professor of Comparative Law at Tulane Law School in New Orleans, taught European Union Law at New York University School of Law, and been visiting scholar at the Legal Service of the
European CommissionThe European Commission acts as an executive of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.The Commission operates in the method of cabinet government, with 27...
in Brussels, the French Conseil d'Etat, the Max Planck Institute for Foreign Public Law and International Law, and Princeton University's Center for International Studies.
Among his major speeches abroad or on comparative law themes have been those at the French Supreme Court on the subject of "Comparative Law and International Law: Allies or Enemies?," at the
European Court of JusticeThe European Court of Justice , is the highest court in the European Union in matters of European Union law. It is tasked with interpreting EU law and ensuring its equal application across all EU member states. The Court was established in 1952 and is based in Luxembourg...
on "The Supreme Court's Role in Policing US Federalism," at the United States Supreme Court on "Le droit administratif américain et le droit administratif français," at the French Conseil d'Etat on the influence of French administrative law on US administrative law, at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on "Managing International Regulatory Cooperation" and at the
Department of JusticeThe purpose of the Department of Justice is to ensure that the Canadian justice system is fair, accessible and efficient. The Department also represents the Canadian government in legal matters...
of Canada in Ottawa on "Taking Subsidiarity Seriously."