Professor Richard Fentiman has received an honorary degree from the University of Athens. He was awarded the title of Doctor honoris causa at a ceremony on 4 May.
He was presented at the ceremony in the University’s Great Hall by Professor Haris Pamboukis, representing the School of Law, who delivered the laudatio describing his contribution to scholarship, legal education and the development of the law. Professor Pamboukis said of Richard Fentiman:
'He is regarded as one of the World’s leading authorities in Private International law. To put it in a laconic way, Professor Fentiman is the epitome of an academic, incarnating all the virtues of a Law Professor in the field of Private International Law. By honouring him, our University aims to underline his academic excellence'.
The Rector of the University, Professor Meletios-Athanasios Dimopoulos, said of the award:
'It is our way of asserting the significance and impact of your work in the community of scholars. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens by conferring this title, which is the highest honorary title awarded by our Institution, wishes to honour you, a distinguished scholar in your field who through outstanding work has bestowed praise and credit on Private International Law.'
Professor Fentiman is the epitome of an academic, incarnating all the virtues of a Law Professor in the field of Private International Law. By honouring him, our University aims to underline his academic excellence. Professor Haris Pamboukis
Having received the robe and sash of an honorary doctor Richard delivered an address on the theme of Realism in Private International Law.
Commenting on his degree Richard Fentiman said:
'It is an enormous privilege to receive this prestigious honour from one of the World’s great Universities. It recognises the place of Cambridge in the study of Private International Law and is testament to the fact that, whether in Cambridge or Athens, we share in the same long tradition of international legal scholarship.'