Alan Watson
William Alexander Jardine Watson, 85, a world-renowned expert on Roman law, comparative law, legal history and law and religion, died Nov. 7.
For more than two decades, he held the Ernest P. Rogers Chair at the UGA School of Law as well as a University Distinguished Research Professorship. Prior to that, he was the Nicolas F. Gallicchio Chair at the University of Pennsylvania Law School as well as a University Professor. He was also an honorary visiting professor at the University of Edinburgh, where he held the Chair of Civil Law from 1968 until 1980.
A prolific scholar, he authored more than 100 articles, as well as numerous books, the best known of which is Legal Transplants: An Approach to Comparative Law. He coined the term, “legal transplants,” which is now ubiquitous in legal literature. In 2005, the University of Belgrade established the Alan Watson Foundation, which is dedicated to developing international cooperation in comparative law and legal history.
Born in Hamilton, Scotland, Watson earned seven degrees in total from the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Oxford, at all of which he later taught. He received six honorary degrees from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belgrade, Palermo, Pretoria and Stockholm.
He is survived by his wife, Camilla Emanuel Watson, a professor at the UGA School of Law; children, Sarah Alexandra Campbell of Dacula, Eleanor Ann McCulloch of Sydney, Australia, and David Jardine Watson of London, England; and grandchildren, Wyatt Alexander Jardine Campbell, Emma Frances Jardine McCulloch and Rosie Piper Jardine McCulloch.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.