Remembering Claire Moore Dickerson

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Pages: 177
• Citation: (2016) 3(1) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 177
• Author: Salvatore Mancuso
• Date: 16 August 2019
• Published date: 16 August 2019

Remembering Claire Moore Dickerson

Recently, we received sad news that a great colleague and friend of the

Centre for Comparative Law in Africa, Professor Claire Moore Dickerson,

passed away. Claire died peacefully after a courageous, two-year battle with

pancreatic cancer, pain-free, and surrounded by her family.

Claire was a distinguished scholar of comparative and business law, with a

particular interest in the relation between legal and social norms in shaping

economic transactions. As Senator John B. Breaux Chair of Business Law

Emerita at Tulane University in New Orleans, US, and permanent visiting

professor at the University of Buea in Cameroon, Claire has been one of the

world’s leading authorities on the development of harmonised business law

on the African continent. She caught from the very beginning the impor-

tance of OHADA law for the continent, and was deeply involved in

developing awareness of this legal system throughout sub-Saharan Africa and

the world, especially in the English-speaking countries.

Extremely keen on the concept of cross-border understanding on the

African continent, Claire participated in the activities of the Centre from the

very beginning. She was part of the group of scholars who gathered in Cape

Town in October 2012 at a workshop convened to shape the Centre’s future

orientation, and continued to be involved, serving as a member of the

Scientif‌ic and Editorial Board of this Journal.

We all mourn her passing away. We,and all the other scholars and students

in Africa and beyond who met her, will always remember her commitment

and activism, accompanied by her unusual kindness and availability.

Salvatore Mancuso

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(2016) 3(1) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 177

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