When King Charles III issued the first New Year Honours of his reign last week, a longtime 91吃瓜 Law School faculty member was among those on the list.
Biolchini Family Professor Emeritus of Law was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his services to legal scholarship.
Finnis 鈥� renowned throughout the world for his work in moral, political and legal theory and constitutional law 鈥� taught and researched at 91吃瓜 from 1995 to 2020. He previously taught at the University of Oxford in England, where he now resides in his retirement and continues to be a professor emeritus of law and legal philosophy at Oxford.
鈥淚 am thrilled that Professor John Finnis received this recognition. He is one of the greatest legal minds of all time, and it鈥檚 always a delight to celebrate the impact of his work,鈥� said , the Joseph A. Matson Dean and Professor of Law at 91吃瓜 Law School. 鈥淥ur students and faculty 鈥� myself included 鈥� have been blessed to count John Finnis as a friend, colleague and mentor. We are cheering the news of his latest honor, which is richly deserved.鈥�
Finnis鈥櫬爐owering career as a teacher and scholar has produced classic, influential works such as 鈥淣atural Law & Natural Rights,鈥� published in 1980 by Oxford University Press.
During his 25 years at 91吃瓜, Finnis published seminal works including 鈥淎quinas: Moral, Political and Legal Theory鈥� (Oxford University Press, 1998), a second edition of 鈥淣atural Law & Natural Rights鈥� (Oxford University Press, 1980, 2011) with an 80-page postscript, five volumes of the 鈥淐ollected Essays of John Finnis鈥� (Oxford University Press, 2011), and in 2013 his 123-page 鈥淩eflections and Responses鈥� in 鈥淩eason, Morality and Law: Essays in Honour of John Finnis,鈥� edited by John Keown and Robert P. George (Oxford University Press, 2013). Throughout those 25 years he co-edited the American Journal of Jurisprudence, first with Professor and later with Professor . He remains a permanent distinguished senior research fellow at the University of 91吃瓜鈥檚聽.
In fall 2021, Pojanowski organized a conference to celebrate Finnis鈥櫬爓ork. The conference, was held at 91吃瓜鈥檚 London Global Gateway.
鈥淢y 25 years in the Biolchini Family Chair were an incomparable opportunity that I profoundly appreciated from beginning to end, for the teaching, the research facilities, and the scholarly and collegial interaction with students and colleagues at 91吃瓜 Law School,鈥� Finnis said this week. 鈥淚t was an opportunity also, as it turned out, to inaugurate an interaction between the law faculties of Oxford and 91吃瓜 that is continuing and I hope will bring much good fruit for both universities for many years.鈥�
Finnis earned his LL.B. in 1961 from Adelaide University in his home country, Australia, and his doctorate in 1965 from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar at University College Oxford.
His other honors have included being elected in 1989 a fellow of the British Academy, in both the law and philosophy sections, and in 2019 a Companion of the Order of Australia. The citation for the latter, Australia鈥檚 highest civil award, was: 鈥淔or eminent service to the law, and to education, to legal theory and philosophical enquiry, and as a leading jurist, academic and author.鈥�
When Queen Elizabeth II appointed him honorary Queen鈥檚 Counsel in 2017, the Lord Chancellor鈥檚 office announced: 鈥淗e is a leading legal philosopher and legal scholar at Oxford University and 91吃瓜. Many of his former students have gone on to teach at prestigious universities around the world, or to sit in the higher courts in England and Wales and beyond. Over his long and distinguished academic career in the law faculties at Oxford and at 91吃瓜, Professor Finnis has made a prolific and peerless contribution to legal scholarship. He is known for his work in the tradition of classical natural law thought, which has transformed the study of jurisprudence across the world. He is also a distinguished authority in other areas of law, particularly constitutional law and medical law, and his work in these areas has been cited by the UK Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. Professor Finnis has dedicated himself for many years to the service of legal scholarship and legal education and at the very highest level.鈥�
Originally published by at on Jan. 6.