Academic

On October 15, 2007, long-time University of Chicago law professor David P. Currie passed away.  He has been rightly celebrated in the intervening year as one of the great lights of his generation in the American legal academy.  He was best known for his comprehensive and highly respected work in American constitutional law, federal courts, conflict of laws and environmental law.  Professor Currie???s work with American law was lovingly recalled in the Chicago Law Review (vol. 75 - Winter 2008) and the Autumn 2007 issue of the Green Bag 2d (the engaging journal he helped reestablish in 1997).  But for a generation of Americans and other English speakers who have come under the thrall of German constitutional law Professor Currie is better known as one of the two great American interpreters of the German Basic Law.  As Peter Quint points out in his contribution to this memorial collection, Currie and Notre Dame???s Donald Kommers produced the definitive scholarly treatments of German constitutional law in English.  Their work remains essential today.  It primarily was the publication of the 1994 book, The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany (University of Chicago) that earned Currie his place amongst our leading comparativists.  German Law Journal publishes this memorial to Professor Currie in recognition of this historic contribution.  We are proud to publish two original notes on German constitutional law both of which reflect on Currie???s influence in the field.  We also are proud to republish Markus Dubber???s review of Currie???s book The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.  Finally, it is our honor to republish two of Professor Currie???s seminal articles on German constitutional law.  We have relied upon and admired Professor Currie???s work and we hope to acknowledge with this memorial that the work of the German Law Journal, in no small degree, stands on his shoulders.