Professor Emilios Christodoulidis

Emilios was a leading scholar in legal theory and the philosophy of law. He held the chair of jurisprudence at the School of Law, University of Glasgow from 2006, having previously served at the University of Edinburgh as lecturer and then reader in jurisprudence (1990-2006). He received his first degree in law from the University of Athens and completed his master’s and doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh.

One of the most prominent scholars of his generation, Emilios made formative contributions to constitutional theory, critical legal theory, democratic theory, and transitional justice. His work combined analytical rigour with a deep engagement in the critical tradition and was distinguished by unusual philosophical depth and a marked resistance to facile, fashionable thinking. An uncompromising thinker and an elegant writer, he placed his scholarship in the service of progressive politics, inspired by the values of democracy, the labour movement, solidarity, and social justice. His book Law and Reflexive Politics received the European Award for Legal Theory in 1996 and the Society of Legal Scholars’ Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship in 1998. His later monograph, The Redress of Law (2021), was widely acclaimed and translated into several languages. His work reached an international readership and exerted a lasting influence across jurisdictions and traditions.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to scholarship, he received many distinctions, culminating in his election as a Fellow of the British Academy in 2023.

During his years in Glasgow, Emilios played a central role in founding and sustaining Glasgow Legal Theory, one of the leading jurisprudential communities in the United Kingdom and beyond. Generous with his time and unfailingly supportive of colleagues and students alike, he inspired generations of graduate students, many of whom have gone on to become established scholars in their own right. His intellectual generosity was matched by a deeply cultivated and elegant personal manner, and by the warmth and kindness of his personality, that left a lasting impression on all who knew him.

Diagnosed with brain cancer in the summer of 2024, Emilios remained actively engaged in academic life for most of his illness, which he faced with courage, dignity, and without bitterness. He continued to write, teach, and mentor until shortly before his death. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.

He is survived by his wife, Jane; his children, Theodoros, Annie, and Andreas; and his grandson, Elias.

Emilios Alexandros Christodoulidis, philosopher of law, born 3 September 1963; died 3 February 2026.