SASA Foreign Member Thomas Fleiner passed away

It is with deep regret that the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts announces the passing of its foreign member of the Department of Social Sciences Thomas Fleiner (b. Zurich, 6 July 1938) age 85, one of the foremost world experts in the field of federalism, constitutional, administrative and international law, on 24 November 2023.

Following graduation from the University of Zurich in the field of law, he received his MA from Yale University. In 1966, he obtained PhD from the University of Zurich. In the period from 1971 to 2008, he worked as a full professor of constitutional and administrative law at the University of Freiburg, where he acquired the habilitation. He carried the duties of the dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Freiburg from 1983 to 1985. He held numerous lectures as a visiting professor at universities in Israel, France, Germany, Belgium, the USA, Switzerland and Serbia.

He spent the period 1984-2008 on the position of the director of the Institute for Federalism at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He was an advisor in the team of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for Kosovo and Metohija political talks.

He was the author or co-author of multiple papers as well as studies in the field of constitutional theory, general theory of state, federalism and human rights. Among his books, the most distinguished ones are ‘General Theory of State’, ‘Federalism and Minority Issues in Multi-Ethnical Communities’, ‘Human Rights and Human Diginity.’

He was elected an SASA foreign member in 2009. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Rouen. He was both a president and an honorary president of the International Association of Constitutional Law. In 2002, he was honoured with citizenship of the Republic of Serbia. Among the numerous recognitions he received for his work, the B’nai B’rith International Organization Award for human rights activities and against racism holds a special place.