Kalvis Torgans

Professor Kalvis Torgans Professor, Dr.habil.iur.(Ph.D), Department of Civil Law, Faculty of Law, University of Latvia 19 Raina Bulv., Riga, LV 1586 Latvia Phone: + 371 67034527 E-mail: Torgans@lu.lv

Born: March 31, 1939

Interests:

• Contract Law
• Commercial Law
• Consumer Protection Law
• Civil Procedure Law

Languages: English, Russian, Latvian

Education

• Latvia State University (Faculty of Economics and Law) cum laude, 1962
• Dr.iur. (Candidate of Science in former USSR, Ph.D. in a few Western countries), Tartu University (Estonia), 1970
• Doctor of Law (Doctor of Science in former USSR), Moscow State University (Russia), 1985
• Dr.habil.iur. (Habilitated Doctor of Law), University of Latvia, 1992
• Upgrading: Indianapolis, USA 1991, Louvain-le-Neuve, Belgium, 1994; East-West Forum, Florence, Italy, 1994.

Experience

• Assistant, Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor - Faculty of Law, Latvia State University, 1962-1976
• Dean of the Faculty of Law and Associate Professor, Latvia State University, 1976-1979
• Associate Professor, Senior Reseacher, Latvia State University, 1979-1985
• Professor of the Department of Civil Law, Latvia State University, 1985-1991
• Head of the Department of Civil Law and Professor, University of Latvia,  1991-2005
• Professor, University of Latvia, since 2005 -
• Adviser of Parliament (Latvia Saeima) Law Comission, 1991-1993
• Visiting Professor at Northwestern School of Law, Portland, USA, 1999
• Senator, The Supreme Court of Latvia, since February 2008

Honours and Awards

• Corresponding Member,  Latvian Academy of Sciences, 1992- 1997
• Full Member of Latvian Academy of Sciences, 1997
• Gold Record of Achievement, American Biographical Institute, 1995
• Man of Achievement 1994, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England
• Diploma of Honour of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, 2004
• Silver Emblem of Latvia University, 2004
• Award of the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia, 2005.
• Man of Achievement, American Biographical Institute, 2008.
• Order of Tree Stars (Latvia), 2009
• Latvia University Award in science for foundation of scientific school (2010)

Professional Activities and Memberships

• Member of the Promotion Academic Council on Law, University of Latvia
• Head of the Professors Council on Law, University of Latvia
• Expert of Latvian Council of Science Social sciences. Law (1993-1996, 2000-2012)

Courses

• Civil Law (contracts, tort law)
• Problems of Contract and Tort Law (study programme for L.L.M.)
• Legal Writing (study programme for L.L.M)

Recent/Representative Publications

More than 215 in Latvian, Russian, English, including 22 books, co-author of 12 books,  main:

• Commentaries of the  Civil Law. Obligations (art. 1401-2004), Riga, 2000, (in Latvian, co-author and sc. ed.)
• Commentaries of the Civil Procedure Law Act (co-author and sc.redactor), 1999 (ed. 1-st), 2001 (ed. 2nd), 2006 (ed. 3-rd).
• Latvian Contract Law and the EU. - Juridica International . Estonian Civil Code in European Private Law Context. Estonia, VI/2001, p. 38-43
• Comparing and Contrasting Obligation - Related Laws in Latvia and the Member States of the EU. - Humanities and Social Sciences . Latvia. Latvian Law and the EU, 2001, N 2 (31), pp. 5-26.
• "Principles of European Contract Law" and Latvian Civil Law. - Proc. Latv. Acad. Sci., A, 2002, vol. 56, N 4/5/6, pp. 34-41
• The Concept of Fault in Latvian Contract Law Requires Adjustment. -  Humanities and Social Sciences . Latvia. Current Topics in Latvian Law, 2003, N 3 (40), pp. 96-109.
• Freedom of Private Contracts and Influence of Public Power Thereon. Harmonization of Law in the Baltic Sea Region in the Turn of the 20-th and 21-st Centuries, Riga, 2006, p. 16-23.
• Obligation Law. Part I, Text book (in Latvian), Riga, 2006, 315 p.
• Latvian Report on Tort Law.- Digest of European Tort Law. Volume 1: Essential Cases on Natural Causation. Springer Wien New York. Wien, 2007, p. 66 - 69, 148 – 149. ;
• Fault and Remedies in the European Civil Law. – Trends and Perspectives in the Development of Contemporary Civil Law. Justitia, Vilnius, 2007, p. 210- 216;
• Obligation Law. Part II, Text book (in Latvian), 2008, 359 p.

Research Projects

• K.Torgans (Head of Project). New Commercial Law Act and Its Implementation. Latvian Council of Science (2001 - 2003).
• K.Torgans (Head of Project) Application and Further Approximation of Latvia’s Private Law in the Framework of the EU (2004-2008).
• K. Torgans (head) The Promotion of the Law in the Context of the Sustainable Development (2009-2012)
• Participation at research program A2 and A10, European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law, Austrian Academy of Sciences (2004 -2011)
• Participation at more than 60 draft laws and regulations of Cabinet of Ministers (during 1990-2012)

Last update 11.10.2012