William E. Butler

  • John Edward Fowler Distinguished Professor of Law
  • Carlisle
William Butler

Expertise

  • Comparative Law
  • International Law

Education

  • J.D., honoris causa, University of Uppsala
  • Dr. juris honoris causa, Academy International Independent Ecological-Politological University, Moscow
  • LL.D. honoris causa, Kyiv University of Law attached to the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
  • LL.D., University of London
  • Ph.D., Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
  • LL.M., School of Law of the Academy University of Law, Institute of State and Law, Russian Academy of Sciences
  • J.D., Harvard Law School
  • M.A., Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies
  • B.A., The American University

Biography

William E. Butler specializes in international and comparative law, focusing principally on Russia, Eurasia generally, and public and private international law. A member of the Dickinson Law community since 2005, he served as reader (1970-1976) and professor of comparative law (1976-2005) in the University of London — attached to University College London — where he is presently emeritus professor of comparative law. In 1992, he was elected a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and in 2012, a foreign member of the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine. Both Ukrainian Academies have awarded him their Gold Medal for distinguished contributions to international and comparative legal scholarship, and the Supreme Court of Ukraine its medal “For Fidelity to Law” — all distinctions rarely awarded to foreigners.