NEWS INDEX Archives 2007 December

U. of I. law professor receives honorary doctorate in Switzerland

Jan Dennis, Business & Law Editor
217-333-0568; jdennis@uiuc.edu

12/6/07

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois law professor William J. Davey has received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Berne in recognition of his longtime efforts to promote fair international trade.

Davey was cited by the Swiss university for his “fundamental work in the development and evolution of the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement system, thanks to which numerous trade conflicts were peaceably resolved.”

He also has made outstanding academic contributions to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later the WTO in the search for fair and balanced rules for international trade, according to the university.

Davey, who received his honorary doctorate Dec. 1 at the Swiss university’s 173rd annual Dies Academicus, served as director of legal affairs for the WTO from 1995 to 1999.

A faculty member at the U. of I. since 1984, Davey teaches international trade law and European Union law. His efforts to promote knowledge of European law in the U.S. have helped advance the trans-Atlantic dialogue, according to the University of Berne.

In 2004, Davey was awarded the distinguished faculty award for international achievement, the highest faculty award at the U. of I. for scholarship and service within the international community.

Davey, who earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Michigan, has been on the faculty of the University of Berne’s master’s program in international law and economics since its founding in 2001.