Heirbaut Dirk Gustaaf Maria

Prof. Dirk Heirbaut (born 1960) is a distinguished academic at Ghent University, Belgium, where he has served as Professor of Legal History and Roman Law since 1998. He holds a PhD in Law (1997) and dual MA degrees in History and Law from Ghent University.

• Director of Ghent's Department of Legal Theory and Legal History
• Co-founder of the European Society for Comparative Legal History
• President of Royal Flemish Academy's Legal History Committee
• Organized major conferences on codification, legal reception, and cross-cultural legal systems

His research focuses on:

• Medieval customary law and feudalism
• Comparative legal history of Europe
• Codification processes in Belgium and the Netherlands
• History of private law and judicial systems

His editorial leadership includes:

• Chief editor of De Rechtshistorische Courant
• Co-editor for Brill's Studies in the History of Private Law
• Advisory board member for Medieval Legal Practice series

Scientific honors:

• Robbins Collection Fellowship (UC Berkeley, 1997)
• Laureate of Royal Flemish Academy (1998)
• Corresponding member of Monumenta Germaniae Historica (2007)