York’s Les Green elected Oxford Professor of the Philosophy of Law

Prof. Leslie (Les) Green of York’s Osgoode Hall Law School was recently elected to the Professorship of the Philosophy of Law at Oxford University and, with it, to a Fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford.

Left: Les Green

This permanent position is one of two statutory Chairs in jurisprudence in the Oxford law faculty and is one of the most prestigious Chairs of jurisprudence in the English-speaking world. Essentially a research position, the Chair leaves Green free to work and teach elsewhere for a period each year, and he will continue as a part-time member of the Osgoode faculty.

"Osgoode is internationally known for its strengths in legal theory, and it is now proud to count among its own the Oxford Professor of the Philosophy of Law," said Osgoode Dean Patrick Monahan. "This is a tremendous honour for Professor Green and a tribute to the major contribution he has made to legal and political philosophy over the past two decades."

Professor Green is author of The Authority of the State (1988) and co-editor of Law and the Community: The End of Individualism? (1989). He has published many papers in jurisprudence and political theory on topics including the nature of law, freedom of expression, minority rights, language rights, and the philosophy of gender and sexuality. He is currently writing about general jurisprudence, about the relationship between social groups and the state, and about sexuality and justice. He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Legal Theory; Law and Philosophy; Ethics and Social Philosophy; Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence; and Osgoode Hall Law Journal.

Green will take up his post as Professor of the Philosophy of Law and Fellow of Balliol College in July 2007.