Sir Basil Markesinis, KC, FBA (10 July 1944 – 24 April 2023) was a Greek-British barrister and legal scholar, who was Jamail Regents Professor at the University of Texas, Austin. He was previously Professor of Common and Civil Law at University College London.

Early life and education

Basil Markesinis was born in Athens, Kingdom of Greece on 10 July 1944. He was the son of Greek politician Spyros Markezinis. He held dual British and Greek citizenship. He started his education at the law school of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens from where he graduated with a first class degree followed by a Doctor Iuris, Athens - "Summa Cum Laude". Sir Basil then went to read law at the University of Cambridge where he earned MA and PhD (York Prize) in 1970. In 1972, he was called to the bar at Gray's Inn, of which he was a Bencher. He took silk, thus becoming a senior barrister, in 2001. Sir Basil was awarded an honorary degree from Cambridge (1988), Gent (1992), Oxford (1995), Paris I (1998), Munich (1999) and Athens (2006).

Career

Markesinis held office as Assistant Professor of Roman and Byzantine Law at the University of Athens (1966–68), Fellow and Director of Studies in Law at Trinity College, Cambridge (1974–1986), Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge (1978–1986), Denning Professor of Comparative Law at Queen Mary and Westfield College, Professor of European Private Law at University College London, Clifford Chance Professor of European Law and Director of the Institute of European and Comparative Law, and Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford (1995–1999) and Clifford Chance Professor of Comparative Law and Fellow of Brasenose College. Other positions included Director and Founder of the Institute of Anglo-American Law, Leiden, member of the Council of Management of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, member of the Board of Management of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, member of the Board of Editors of European Review of Private Law, Revue de droit internationale et de droit comparé, and The Netherlands Journal of International Law. Markesinis held visiting professorships at Cornell Law School, University of Paris I, Panthéon-Assas University, the University of Michigan Law School, the University of Ghent, and the University of Siena. Markesinis authored or co-authored thirty books and more than one hundred and twenty articles in languages including English, French, German, and Greek.

Personal life and death

Markesinis was married to Eugenie Trypanis and together they had two children. He died from pneumonia arising from complications of Parkinsonism on 23 April 2023, at the age of 78.

Honours

Other

Articles