Sima Avramović

Sima Avramović (Serbian: Сима Аврамовић / Sima Avramović) (b. 1950) is one of the foremost Serbian authorities on comparative law, legal history, law and religion, Roman law, and rhetoric, and served as the Dean of the University of Belgrade's Law School from 2012 until 2018. Avramović is the current President of the University of Belgrade's Senate.

Sima Avramovic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, on July 19th 1950. He graduated from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law in 1973.

Avramovic extensively serves as a distinguished lecturer at leading universities in Greece, North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, Italy, the United States, Germany, England and Scotland. His current academic assignments include the following: President of the Commission for the University of Belgrade Bologna Follow Up, President of the Statutory Commission of the University of Belgrade, Member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Panel of Experts, Editor-in-Chief of the Belgrade Law Review, Member of the Universities’ of Serbia Conference, Member of the Section for Sources of Serbian Law at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, President of the Center for Cooperation among Religious Communities, President of the Society for Roman Law and Classics Forum Romanum, President of the Alan Watson Foundation, and he leads the Center for Oratory Institutio oratoria.In addition, Avramovic is the founder of the monthly bulletin of the University of Belgrade's Law School (Acta Diurna). He is also an editorial board member for the General Encyclopedia of Law, the Journal of Matica Srpska for Classical Studies, and the European Lawyer Journal. Avramovic holds the Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Belgrade. In 1984, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Maryland. Professor Avramovic speaks English, German, Greek, French, Italian, Russian and Serbian, and knows two classical languages – Ancient Greek and Latin.

Avramović was one of the candidates of the Serbian Progressive Party for the Assembly of the City of Belgrade in 2018.

Avramovic has over one hundred books and articles to his credit. Selected scholarship includes the pioneering books Rhetorike Techne (2008), State-Church Law in Serbia (2007), Comparative Legal Tradition (2006), Аrs Rhetorica (2002), General Legal History (2001), The Court Speeches of Isaeus and the Law of Athens (1988), Early Greek Law and the Code of Gortyn (1977), Evolution of Testamentary Freedom in Ancient Greek Law (1981), Foundations of Modern Democracy, Selected Declarations and Charters on Human Rights (1989). Recent articles include “Searching for the New Law on Religious Freedom in Serbia” (European Academy of Sciences and Arts, Weimar 2006), “Simulation of Athenian Court – A New Teaching Method” in the Balkans Law Review (2006), “The Rhetra of Epithadeus and Testament in Spartan Law” (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 2005), et al. His book Ars Rhetorica was proclaimed as Book of the Year 2002 (F.R.Y. Official Gazette Award) and he received the prestigious Italian award Premio romanistico internationale “Gérard Boulvert” for the Italian translation of the book Court Speeches of Isaeus and the Law of Athens.

• Biography at Belgrade Law School homepage (in Serbian)