Bernard Rudden

Bernard Anthony Rudden, (21 August 1933 – 4 March 2015) was a British legal scholar. He was the Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Oxford from 1979 to 1999.

Early life and education Rudden was born on 21 August 1933 in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. Having completed his training and gaining a reasonable level of Russian, he was posted to the Intelligence Corps depot at Maresfield, East Sussex, where he specialised in the Soviet Union. Having qualified, he worked as a solicitor in Norwich for a time, before returning to academia.

Academic career Having left behind legal practice, Rudden was appointed an assistant lecturer in law at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. During this time, he also studied for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Soviet tort law, which was awarded to him by the University of Wales. In 1965, he moved to the University of Oxford, where he was elected fellow and tutor in law at Oriel College, Oxford. In 1979, he was selected to become the next Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Oxford in succession to Barry Nicholas. This chair meant that he had to move college, and he became a fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. He retired from Oxford in 1999.