Newswise — Singapore, 21 May 2015 - The National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Law is pleased to announce that Professor Alec Stone Sweet, an internationally renowned professor of comparative constitutional law and comparative politics, will be joining NUS Law in January 2016. Prof Stone Sweet, who has been with the Yale Law School since 2004, will be giving up his tenured position to join NUS.
Prof Stone Sweet will be the inaugural Saw Swee Hock Centennial Professor in Law, a tenured full-time position at NUS Law. The Saw Swee Hock Centennial Professorship in Law is generously supported by Professor Saw Swee Hock, President’s Honorary Professor of Statistics at NUS, who has supported numerous education and research related ventures at universities worldwide. The Professorship is one of the most distinguished appointments at NUS.
Professor Simon Chesterman, Dean of NUS Law, said, “Alec Stone Sweet is one of the very best scholars in the world on comparative constitutional law and comparative politics. We are thrilled that he will be the first Saw Swee Hock Centennial Professor of Law. Having been a tenured professor at Yale for a decade, his decision to give up that post and move to Singapore is an indication of how far and how fast NUS Law has risen. Given Alec’s scholarship on the evolution of legal systems, in particular the economic and political impact of courts, it is also a natural move that places him at the heart of Asia’s premier legal hub.”
Prof Stone Sweet said, “I have chosen to move to NUS because my future research will focus on Asian law and institutions, and NUS Law is clearly the most important law school in Asia.”
He added, “There are three main reasons for taking up this exciting opportunity. First, given my current book is on the evolution of international arbitration, Singapore’s growth as the dispute resolution hub for Asia is extremely attractive to me. NUS Law hosts the Singapore International Mediation Institute (SIMI) and will allow me to watch closely the development of the newly launched Singapore International Commercial Court. My research also covers regional integration and being in Singapore will place me at the heart of the developments in ASEAN. Finally, as one of my fields of research is comparative law, the NUS Law Centre for Asian Legal Studies, which has already become an important and widely-respected research institution, has made the study of constitutionalism its top priority.”
Prof Saw, whose generosity established the Professorship, said, “The Saw Swee Hock Centennial Professorship in Law was created to push NUS Law to new heights of excellence. I am delighted that it has led to the appointment of Prof Alec Stone Sweet, a tenured full professor who is giving up his position at Yale Law School to move to NUS. I am confident that Prof Stone Sweet will make a tremendous contribution to the research and teaching mission of NUS Law.”
In the latest report by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2015, NUS Law was placed 14th in the world and was also the top performer in Asia for its law programme. Widely regarded as the region's leading law school, NUS Law sees itself as part of a global conversation about the study and practice of law. Its diverse faculty includes 60 full-time academics together with many adjuncts and visitors; its 1,200 undergraduate and postgraduate students include some of Singapore’s top school leavers as well as outstanding scholars from all over the globe.
Please refer to the Annex for Prof Stone Sweet’s biography.
About National University of Singapore (NUS)
A leading global university centred in Asia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education and research, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. NUS has 16 faculties and schools across three campuses. Its transformative education includes a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment. Over 37,000 students from 100 countries enrich the community with their diverse social and cultural perspectives. NUS has three Research Centres of Excellence (RCE) and 26 university-level research institutes and centres. It is also a partner in Singapore’s fifth RCE. NUS shares a close affiliation with 16 national-level research institutes and centres. Research activities are strategic and robust, and NUS is well-known for its research strengths in engineering, life sciences and biomedicine, social sciences and natural sciences. It also strives to create a supportive and innovative environment to promote creative enterprise within its community. This year, NUS celebrates its 110th year of founding together with Singapore’s 50th year of independence. As the island’s first higher education institution established by the local community, NUS prides itself in nurturing generations of leaders and luminaries in Singapore and Asia. For more information on NUS, please visit www.nus.edu.sg. Details on NUS’ 110th Anniversary celebrations are available at nus110.sg.
About the NUS Law School
NUS Law is Asia’s Global Law School. Widely regarded as the region's leading law school, it sees itself as part of a global conversation about the study and practice of law. Its diverse faculty includes 60 full-time academics together with many adjuncts and visitors; its 1,200 undergraduate and postgraduate students include some of Singapore’s top school leavers as well as outstanding scholars from all over the globe.
In addition to its teaching programme, the faculty is a major source of research on legal issues affecting Singapore, the region and beyond. NUS Law produces the leading publication on Singapore law as well as the Asian Journal of Comparative Law and the Asian Journal of International Law. The Faculty regularly publishes in these and other leading journals, as well as producing their own monographs and engaging with the public through mass media.
The Law School’s alumni are a who’s who of Singapore’s legal community. Graduates include leaders in the profession, government ministers, Supreme Court judges, ambassadors, community leaders, social workers and many more. Other alumni go on to careers that take them to the heights of the profession around the world.
For more information, please visit www.law.nus.edu.sg.
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Annex
Professor Alec Stone Sweet
Professor Alec Stone Sweet is a leading American academic in the fields of international law and comparative law. He is currently the Leitner Professor of Law, Politics and International Studies at Yale University. His research has focused on law and courts, and the impact of judges on legislators and other policymakers, on market integration and transnational economic activity, and on the protection of human rights.
Prof Stone Sweet has published numerous articles in major journals of law and social science, as well as thirteen books and edited volumes, including: A Europe of Rights: The Impact of the ECHR on National Legal Systems (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Judicial Construction of Europe (Oxford University Press, 2004); On Law, Politics, and Judicialization (Oxford University Press, 2003); The Politics of Delegation (Cass, 2002); The Institutionalization of Europe (Oxford University Press, 2001); Governing with Judges (Oxford University Press, 2000); European Integration and Supranational Governance (Oxford University Press, 1998); and The Birth of Judicial Politics in France (Oxford University Press, 1992). Prof Stone Sweet’s current book project, to be published by Oxford University Press, is entitled, The Institutional Evolution of International Arbitration: Judicialization, Governance, Legitimacy.
Prior to joining Yale in 2004, Prof Stone Sweet was Official Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford (1999-2004), and Professor at the University of California, Irvine. He has also held visiting professorships at the Bocconi University Law School (Milan), the Columbia Law School (New York), as well as in law faculties in Aix-en-Provence (France), Bologna (Italy), Florence (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Paris (France), Stockholm (Sweden), Sydney (Australia), and Vienna (Austria).
Prof Stone Sweet has taught a wide range of courses in law, among which Comparative Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, Law and Globalisation, Legal Pluralism and Global Law, the European Convention on Human Rights, European Union Law, Qualitative Research Design for Legal Research, and International Arbitration.
Prof Stone Sweet will join the NUS Faculty of Law as the first Saw Swee Hock Centennial Professor of Law in January 2016.
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