Hugh Beale

Biography

Hugh Beale has been a Professor of Law at Warwick since 1987. Before that he taught at the University of Bristol, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, and the University of Connecticut. He has been a visiting professor at the Universities of Amsterdam, North Carolina, Paris I and Utrecht. He currently holds a Visiting Professorship at the University of Oxford (2007-). From 2000 to 2007 Hugh was on leave from the University while he was a Law Commissioner for England and Wales, with responsibility for the Commercial and Common Law Team. During this time the Team worked on projects such as Limitation; Unfair Contract Terms; Illegality in Contracts and Trusts; Registration of Security Interests over Property other than Land; and Insurance Contract Law. Hugh was appointed Honorary QC in 2002. He was elected as an Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 2001 and a Fellow of the British Academy in 2004.

Research Interest

Hugh's research interests are in contract (including European contract law) and commercial law. From 1987-1999 he was a member of the Commission on European Contract Law and with the founder of that group, Ole Lando, he edited the Principles of European Contract Law: Parts I & II (2000). He was a member of the Study Group on a European Civil Code and heavily involved in the preparation of a draft Common Frame of Reference as part of the European Commission's Action Plan of a European Contract Law. He is a member of the Expert Group advising the European Commission on the proposed Common European Sales Law.