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Private law has been taught and researched at the University of Edinburgh since 1722. Among the many distinguished scholars who have worked at Edinburgh are John Erskine of Carnock (1737-65), David Hume (1786-1822), George Joseph Bell (1822-43), Sir John Rankine (1888-1922), Sir Thomas B Smith (1958-72), and WA Wilson (1960-94).
The Edinburgh Centre for Private Law (ECPL), founded in 2009, exists to foster and develop this long tradition of private law scholarship. Building on Edinburgh’s position as a major university within Europe’s main mixed jurisdiction, much of the research carried out by its members examines Scots law in a European context or fosters a dialogue between the civilian tradition and the common law.
The membership of the ECPL comprises those members of staff and research students at the Edinburgh Law School with an interest in private law. The director is Professor George Gretton. The Centre has links with scholars in other institutions in the UK, in Continental Europe, and beyond. It is always glad to welcome visitors to its academic community.
The ECPL holds regular events (seminars, symposia and conferences), encourages research and informal discussion, and facilitates publication in the field of private law.
Its flagship annual lecture is the WA Wilson Memorial Lecture.
For intending postgraduate students (taught and research), the ECPL is able to offer supervision across the full range of private law subjects. The Centre is also closely associated with the LLM in Comparative and European Private Law, on which many of its members teach, as well as with the Edinburgh Law Review.
This page was published on 25 October 2013