It is with immense sadness that colleagues across the University learned of the passing of our colleague and friend, Jörg Philipp Terhechte, on 22 November 2024, aged 49.

Jörg was a Professor of International Economic Law at the School of Law, which he joined as a visiting professor in 2015 and in a part-time capacity in 2018. He also served as Academic Director and Chairman of the Academic Board of the European Centre for Advanced Studies (ECAS), a joint research network led by the University of Glasgow and Leuphana University Lüneburg, Jörg's academic home in the German region of Lower Saxony.

As one of the leading academics of his generation, Jörg made lasting contributions to the understanding of European Union law and international economic law. As a law teacher, he shared his enthusiasm with students in Germany, Scotland and beyond. As an effective University manager, he inspired colleagues and created space for collaboration across geographical and disciplinary boundaries.

Jörg was born in Salzkotten, in the West of Germany, in 1975, and spent his childhood in Vreden near the Dutch-German border. Initially interested in music, he opted for a career in law, renouncing (perhaps counterintuitively) a studentship at a jazz school in favour of law studies at the University of Bielefeld. Between 1995 and 2011, he completed his German legal education, wrote a prize-winning doctorate on EU competition law and held early-career positions at the Universities of Bielefeld and Hamburg. Unusually for a German academic, Jörg was promoted to a full chair - at the University of Siegen, in 2011 - well before completing his post-doc ('Habilitation') thesis. From Siegen, he moved to Leuphana University in 2012, where, as one of its Vice-Presidents from 2014, he made decisive contributions to Leuphana's astonishing development.

Jörg's academic output was, if anything, more astonishing. He wrote relentlessly and excelled at initiating and managing dozens of collaborative academic projects. His Handbook on International Cartel and Merger Enforcement Law (2008) mapped an entire field. The most recent editions of the two leading reference works on European Union law - the Schwarze/Hatje/Terhechte and von der Groeben commentary - were shaped by his editorial leadership. Above all, Jörg coordinated the massive Encyclopedia of European Law (Enzyklopädie Europarecht), twelve volumes comprising 17,000 pages in total and now in its second edition.  His initiative and energy were legendary, and every discussion yielded new ideas for projects.

While Germany remained his academic base, Jörg felt at home abroad. Early stints at the US Federal Trade Commission and as a guest lecturer in St. Petersburg and Ulanbataar, reflected the young scholar's appetite to roam the legal world. Cape Town, Prague, Oxford and UWI Barbados (where he spent many months and which he loved) marked steps on his way. Scotland was particularly close to his heart, and he was closely affiliated with its two most ancient universities, St. Andrews and Glasgow.

From 2015, Glasgow became Jörg's second academic home. Characteristically, his Glasgow time was not spent idly. He collaborated with academics based at the Law School (eg editing works on EU-UK relations post-Brexit), taught international trade law to Glasgow LLM students and initiated the Glasgow-Leuphana LLM in international economic law, now in its tenth year. In 2018/2019, together with colleagues from the University of Glasgow, Jörg led the establishment of the European Centre for Advanced Studies, which brings together researchers from Scotland and the German region of Lower Saxony, "building" (as its motto has it) "bridges across the North Sea".

Jörg’s visits to Glasgow were short and focused, but they meant a lot to him. He enjoyed being part of a University with a global outlook and cherished its tradition and international atmosphere. His love for Glasgow and Scotland extended beyond academic life, though. He travelled through the country, walked the West Sands at St. Andrews, and gazed over the Clyde from Helensburgh. He loved Glasgow's music scene, enjoyed the West End's restaurants and was not averse to a 'wee dram'. Many conversations that had begun on campus ended in the Ubiquitous Chip.

Jörg was in many ways larger than life. His enthusiasm was infectious, his energy knew no bounds. The University mourns a life cut much too short. We will honour Jörg's memory. Our thoughts are with his wife and three children.

Photo credit: ©LEUPHANA GRAFIK

First published: 12 December 2024

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