2 July 2009

New professor of international law at the University of Dundee

An acclaimed international arbitration lawyer has been appointed Professor of International Law at the University of Dundee, cementing the institution’s position as the world leader in a field growing in size and global importance.

Professor Kaj Hobér, an expert in East European Law, will take up the post at the University’s Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) in January 2010.

The international law sector has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Increasing globalisation and the growing importance of challenges relating to energy and natural resources have escalated the number and size of commercial and investment disputes.

Professor Hobér, whose impressive pedigree has been noted by Who’s Who Legal, will join the CEPMLP on a full-time basis to teach and research in the field of international economic law and international dispute resolution.

He is a partner at Mannheimer Swartling in Stockholm and is a prolific author on international arbitration, Russian and East European law, international investment, and trade law. Professor Hobér is also currently the Professor of East European Commercial Law at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Professor Hobér expressed his delight at the prospect of joining the University, saying. 'I very much look forward to joining the faculty of the Centre,' he said.

'As the world’s leading academic institution in its field, it offers an intellectual and scholarly environment which I find very stimulating.'

He has acted as counsel and arbitrator (including chairmanships) in over 300 international arbitrations, and was part of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) expert group which prepared a legal guide for international countertrade contracts.

Professor Hobér has also been involved in drafting legislation with the Russian Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Privatisation. He is the Swedish delegate to the UNCITRAL Working Group on Arbitration.

Professor Philip Andrews-Speed, Director of CEPMLP, said the appointment reflected the University’s standing in the field globally. 'The arrival of Professor Hobér will further strengthen and enhance the established worldwide reputation of the Centre in international economic law,' he said.

Professor Hobér takes over from the late Professor Thomas Wälde, who died last year. Professor Wälde had been with CEPMLP since 1991 when he became the Centre’s Director and led its dramatic growth in size and reputation.

He went on to establish the centre’s teaching and research programme in international economic law, international commercial arbitration and dispute resolution after stepping down from his director role in 2001.

Notes to editors:

About the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP)

CEPMLP is an international graduate centre of multi- and inter-disciplinary research and study in the fields of law, economics, policy and business management for the energy and natural resources sectors.

CEPMLP also provides executive education, professional development courses and consultancy services.

Together with the UNESCO IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Sciences and the Centre for Enterprise Management, CEPMLP forms the University’s Graduate School of Natural Resources Law, Policy and Management.

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