Hasselt University in Belgium has awarded Professor Heinz Klug an honorary doctorate for his contributions to the field of comparative constitutional law. He received the degree on May 28, along with six other leading international scholars.

Since 1996, Klug has taught at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he also earned his doctorate in law. He currently serves as associate dean for faculty development and research, and as director of the Law School’s Global Legal Studies Center.

Klug has published extensively on post-apartheid South African legal issues, including his book, “Constituting Democracy: Law, Globalism and South Africa's Political Reconstruction.” His works have also explored how law can facilitate due access to social resources, such as medicine, land and water.

Early experiences shaped Klug’s perspective on South African constitutionalism. Raised in the midst of apartheid South Africa, he openly resisted the regime, both as a journalist and member of the African National Congress. As a result, he spent years in political exile in Botswana and the United States.

Prior to joining the UW Law School faculty, Klug returned to South Africa in 1990 to take part in the country’s democratic transition. He taught law at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg—and as South Africa developed its new constitution, he served as advisor to the ministers of land and water.

Read more in Professor Klug’s Law in Action profile and in the Summer 2007 Gargoyle article, “The Constitution Builders.”

Submitted by Law School News on April 10, 2017

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