Matthias Edward Storme (born
GhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, 1959) is a Belgian
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
, academic and liberal conservative philosopher.
Family life
Storme was born and raised in a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
family in the Belgian city of
GhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
. His family is widely known for reasons of academic and political excellence.
His father
Marcel StormeMarcel Storme is a Belgian lawyer, member of the Ghent Bar, and Christian Democratic politician. He was born in Ghent as son of Professor Jules Storme and Maria Bosteels....
(b. 1930) used to be a
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
lawLaw is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets...
professorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
, lecturing on the topic of
Civil Procedure, and a member of the
Belgian SenateThe Belgian Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament.-Composition:...
(1977-1981) for the Flemish Christian Democrats. His grandfather August De Schryver (1898-1992) held several ministerships in many Belgian governments, including the
Belgian Exile Government in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He held his seat in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives until the late 1965. His other grandfather Jules Storme was professor at the University of Gent (Ghent).
Studies
Storme was educated at the Jesuit College in Ghent, the Sint-Barbaracollege (Latin-Greek Humanities 1970-1976) and was a boy scout in the Sint-Barbara group.
He studied law and philosophy, first at the UFSIA in
Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
(1976-1978) and further at the
Catholic University of LeuvenThe Catholic University of Leuven, or Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. It was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V, and refounded in 1835 after the disruptions of the French Revolutionary Wars...
(1978-1981), where he obtained a
master's degreeA Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
in law.
As a student in Leuven, he was active in the
FlemishThe Flemish people , the Flemings or the Flemish are the over six million people of Flanders, the northern region of the country Belgium — and the majority of all Belgians....
nationalist Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KVHV) of Leuven, as well as in the Royal Flemish Law Society (Koninklijk Vlaams Rechtgenootschap, VRG). He later became a member of K.A.V. Lovania Leuven, a catholic student fraternity that is affiliated to the
Cartellverband der Katholischen Deutschen StudentenverbindungenThe Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen or Cartellverband is a German umbrella organization of Catholic male student fraternities .-Foundation:...
.
Storme also studied at
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 New Haven, completing a
Master of ArtsA Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic master degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in English, Fine Arts, History, Nursing, Humanities, Geography, Philosophy, Social Sciences or Theology and can be either fully-taught, research-based, or a...
in philosophy (1982) as a
Graduate Fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation. At Yale, he also was a member of the
Party of the RightThe Yale Political Union , a debate society now the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold , to enliven the university's political culture of the time. It was modelled on the Cambridge University Union Society and Oxford Union...
and the Calliopean Society.
After his university years in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he continued his higher education at Bologna University,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and at the Max Planck Institute for International and Foreign Private Law in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. He received his
doctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
on contract law under professor Walter van Gerven, a former advocate-general to the Court of Justice of the European Communities in Luxemburg.
Pie.
Professional life
Currently, Matthias Storme is a university professor attached to the University of Leuven and the
University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp one of the major universities located in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The name is sometimes abbreviated as UA.-History:...
. His lectures include the topics of
Civil Law,
Bankruptcy Law,
Comparative Law,
Civil procedure and
European Community Law. Outisde the law school, he teaches a course on Comparative Religion and Ideology. He also writes for several academic and political magazines.
As a member of the Brussels Bar, he was president of the Brussels Young Bar Association (Vlaams Pleitgenootschap bij de balie te Brussel) (1995), member of the Bar Council 1996-1998, and member of the General Council of the Flemish Bars 1998 tot 2000 (Orde van Vlaamse balies).
he was three times asked o deliver the Opening lecture of the Bar, in Brussels in 1991, in Mechelen (Malines) in 2000 en in Oudenaarde (Audenaerde) in 2007. The latter discussed the legitimation of revolution and secession in history.
Storme is now a senior partner
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
in
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
, often pleading before the Court of Arbitration, the Belgian court for constitutional and civil rights matters (now called the Constitutional Court).
In 1999, Storme brought the
Doel CaseDoel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of Oost-Vlaanderen. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland....
(a tiny Flemish village near the
ScheldtThe Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
river which was to be evacuated and destroyed in order to make the growth of the
Antwerp||-||-||-||}Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km²...
port possible) to court on behalf of the local inhabitants, assigning the Belgian and Flemish governments.
He is also bringing a case in 2007 before the Constitutional Court that seeks to overturn Belgian laws that he claims are limiting the exercise of
freedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. A similar lawsuit was started earlier by prominent
Vlaams BelangVlaams Belang is a political party in the Flemish Community of Belgium that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...
members.
Other cases before the Constitutional Court concern the modification of electoral laws, the protection of the professional privilege of lawyers against EU-legislation, etc.
Academic activities and influence
As a scholar, Matthias Storme publishes mainly in the field of private law and tries to enrich the Belgian law by integrating elements of comparativE law. In his doctoral thesis on Good faith, he developed the theory of "burdens" (lasten) inspired by the German doctrine of
Obliegenheiten. He developed the theory of confidence in private law, i.a. in his preadvice for the Vereniging voor de vergelijkende studie in België en Nederland. A lot of his work concerns a further systematisation of general concept s of patrimonial law, such as representation, authority to dispose, separate patrimonies and funds, trustlike concepts, property of securities and a systematical approach to security rights.
He published articles in legal theory and legal history on the evolution of law, especially the development of law through case law and the juridification of society. He also published on questions of comparative law and constitutional law and writes a work on Legal Traditions and Systems of the World.
He is an expert appointed by the Flemish Government in the Belgian Commission on the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National MinoritiesThe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was signed on February 1995 by 22 member States of the Council of Europe ....
.
From 1992 until the end of its activities in 2003, he was a member of the Commission on European Contract Law, the so-called
Lando Commission,and he continues to be a member, since 2000, of the Study Group on a European Civil Code and the so-called
European Acquis Group. These groups work together in writing a Draft "Common Frame of reference" for European Contract Law and more generally
European Private LawPrivate law is that part of a legal system that involves relationships between individuals. This includes the law of contracts or torts and the law of obligations...
(6th framework program of the European Union). Storme is a member of the 10-person "Compilation and redaction Team" finalising this draft. The interim version of the Draft CFR was published on januaru 1st 2008. Storme is also a member of the
Académie des Privatistes Européens in
PaviaPavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 71,000...
.
He helped to start the comparative law project "Trento common core project" directed by Ugo Mattei (University of Torino) and Mauro Bussani (University of Trento).
He is editor in chief (with Ewoud Hondius) of the "
European review of private law", of which he was one of the founders in 1991. He is also member of the Board of Editors of the main private law journal in Belgium, the "
Tijdschrift voor Privaatrecht".
He is a Board member of the
Centrum Pieter Gillis, a thinktank on pluralism attached to the
University of AntwerpThe University of Antwerp one of the major universities located in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The name is sometimes abbreviated as UA.-History:...
.
Awards
In 2000, he received the
André Demedts Award.
Because of his efforts to promote
libertyLiberty is a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his or her own will....
and
political freedomPolitical freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression.The opposite of a free society is a totalitarian state, which highly restricts political freedom in order to regulate almost every aspect of behavior...
, he was awarded the
Prize of Liberty by the classic-liberal thinktank
Nova CivitasNova Civitas is a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservativism. Nova Civitas claims to be completely independent, although it is recognized and supported by the Flemish Liberal Party. The chairman of Nova Civitas, Boudewijn...
in 2005. The Prize was awarded earlier to
Luuk van MiddelaarLuuk van Middelaar is a Dutch historian and liberal philosopher attached to the Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie , which is the biggest liberal formation in the Netherlands...
and to
Ayaan Hirsi AliAyaan Hirsi Ali is a Dutch feminist, Intelectual writer, and politician. She is the estranged daughter of the Somali scholar, politician, and revolutionary opposition leader Hirsi Magan Isse. She is a prominent critic of Islam, and her screenplay for Theo Van Gogh's movie Submission led to death...
and afterwards to senator
Alain DestexheAlain Destexhe is a Belgian liberal politician. He was elected senator for the Francophone electoral college in 2003, and again in 2007. Destexhe is a member of the liberal Reformist Movement and represents Belgium in the World Economic Forum. He was awarded the Prize of Liberty by Nova Civitas.-...
(2006) and writer and journalist
Derk Jan EppinkDerk Jan Eppink is a Dutch journalist and former cabinet secretary for European Commissioners Bolkestein and Kallas . In 2009 he was elected to the European Parliament for List Dedecker....
(2007).
In 2006 he was nominated Honorary senator, i.e. a member of the European Honorary Senate of the
Movement for a United States of Europe.
Speeches
In 1998 he delivered the annual speech to the Flemish Entreprise Association in Brussels ("
V.E.V.-Comité Brussel"), defending Flemish secession from Belgium and independence as a member state of the European Union (23 September, 1998.
He lectured at several international law conferences (in Coimbra, New Orleans, Rouen, Groningen, Utrecht, Athens, Jerusalem, Budapest, Trento, Lille, Stellenbosch, Maastricht, Poitiers, Freiburg, Lleida, Salzburg, Porto, Trier, Luzern, Münster, Tartu, etc.).
In 2000 he delivered the opening speech of the Bar at Mechelen, pleading for a devolution of the judicial system from the federal state to the autonomous communities.
At the Third
Ethical Forum of the
Fondation universitaire in Brussels on 25 November, 2004 (organised by
Philippe Van ParijsPhilippe Van Parijs is a Belgian philosopher and political economist, mainly known as a proponent and main defender of the basic income concept.-Education:...
), he gave a speech on "Free speech and the ideology of multiculturalism".
In 2005, when receiving the Prize of Liberty ("Prijs voor de vrijheid"), he held the traditional
Gustave de MolinariGustave de Molinari was an economist born in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands associated with French laissez-faire liberal economists such as Frédéric Bastiat and Hippolyte Castille. Living in Paris, in the 1840s, he took part in the "Ligue pour la Liberté des Échanges" , animated by Frédéric...
lecture, in which he proclaimed that "the most fundamental freedom is the freedom to discriminate", directly attacking and rejecting the existing Belgian "totalitarian" legislation restricting freedom of choice in private relationships.
In 2006, when he was nominated a member of the European Honorary Senate of the
Movement for a United States of Europe, he delivered a speech entitled "The European values: protect them against the values of the European Constitution".
Socio-cultural and political activities
- President
President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Order of the Flemish Lion (Orde van de Vlaamse Leeuw).
- Member of the Flemish Journalists Association (Vlaamse Journalistenvereniging, VJV).
- Contributor to several blog
A blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
s, notably In Flanders Fields, The Brussels JournalThe Brussels Journal is a conservative blog, founded by the Flemish journalist Paul Beliën. It was founded in 2005, and has both an English language section with various international contributions, and a Dutch section. It is published by the Society for the Advancement of Freedom in Europe , a...
and the Flemish Conservatives.
- Former chairman (1996-2004) of the Flemish Academics Union (Verbond der Vlaamse Academici, VVA).
- Former chairman (1996-2001) of the Alliance of Flemish Organizations (Overlegcentrum van Vlaamse Verenigingen, OVV).
- Member of the classic-liberal
Classical liberalism is a political ideology that developed by the middle of the nineteenth century in England, western Europe, and the Americas, which provided a coherent vision of how society should be organized. Central to the classical liberalism of the nineteenth century is a commitment to...
thinktank Nova CivitasNova Civitas is a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservativism. Nova Civitas claims to be completely independent, although it is recognized and supported by the Flemish Liberal Party. The chairman of Nova Civitas, Boudewijn...
.
- Honorary senator (2006- ) to the Movement for a United States of Europe (Beweging voor de Verenigde Staten van Europa).
- Member of the Order of the Prince (Orde van den Prince
The Orde van den Prince or Order of the Prince is a Flemish-Dutch society of men and women who do their best for the promotion of language and culture of the Netherlands . Each month members meet on fixed locations, except during summer.-History:The organization was founded in November 1955, by the...
).
- Member of Vision and Reality (Visie en Werkelijkheid), a thinktank based on the principles of Christian-Democracy.
- Board Member of the General Dutch Alliance (Algemeen Nederlands Verbond, ANV).
- Board Member of the Flemish People's Movement (Vlaamse Volksbeweging, VVB).
- Board Member of the Flemish Lawyers Association (Vlaamse Juristenvereniging) and the Flemish Public Law Conference (Vlaamse Staatsrechtsconferentie).
- Committee Member of the Eleven Days for Flanders-Europe (Elfdaagse Vlaanderen-Europa) and the Movement for Flanders-Europe (Beweging Vlaanderen-Europa).
- Member of the secessionist thinktank Denkgroep in De Warande
De Warande is a Flemish business club, located in Brussels, Belgium. The club was founded in Brussels in 1988, by Flemish businesspeople and the Flemish government. The club wants to bring together distinguished and representative personalities from the Flemish business community...
.
- Editor of the Dutch conservative paper, Bitter Lemon
In 2004, a few days after the conviction of three organisations of the
Vlaams BlokThe Vlaams Blok was a Belgian right-wing and secessionist political party which advocated anti-immigration. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for independence of Flanders. On November 14 2004 the party changed its name to Vlaams Belang...
party for "the incitement of hate and discrimination" by the Ghent Court of Appeal, Storme told a journalist of newspaper "De Morgen" that "because all so-called democratic parties had supported the freedom-killing antiracism statute, it was nearly a moral duty for every freedom-loving Fleming to vote for the Vlaams Blok in the next election." Afterwards, Storme stepped down as member of the board of the N-VA party.
See also
- Boudewijn Bouckaert
Boudewijn Bouckaert is a Belgian law professor, a member of the Flemish Movement, and a libertarian conservative thinker and politician. He currently chairs the Cassandra think tank and serves as Member of the Flemish Parliament for the right-wing liberal party List Dedecker...
- Vlaams Belang
Vlaams Belang is a political party in the Flemish Community of Belgium that advocates the independence of Flanders and strict limits on immigration, whereby immigrants would be obliged to adopt Flemish culture and language...
- Doel Case
Doel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of Oost-Vlaanderen. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland....
- Liberal conservativism
- Libertarianism
Libertarianism is a term adopted by a broad spectrum of political philosophies which advocate the maximization of individual liberty and the minimization or even abolition of the state...
- Nova Civitas
Nova Civitas is a Flemish think tank based on the principles of classic liberalism in combination with Anglo-Saxon conservativism. Nova Civitas claims to be completely independent, although it is recognized and supported by the Flemish Liberal Party. The chairman of Nova Civitas, Boudewijn...
- N-VA
- Flemish People's Movement
- Yale Political Union
The Yale Political Union , a debate society now the largest student organization at Yale University, was founded in 1934 by Professor Alfred Whitney Griswold , to enliven the university's political culture of the time. It was modelled on the Cambridge University Union Society and Oxford Union...
External links