Guenter H. Treitel (1928–2019)

Guenter Treitel was born to a prosperous Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. His parents were Hanna Lilly (Levy) and Theodor Treitel, a kindergarten teacher and a prominent lawyer. They were part of the leftist political and cultural milieu of the Weimar Republic. Following the rise of the Nazi regime to power in 1933, his father lost his job and his passport, and Guenter was expelled from school. The family tried vainly to emigrate to the USA. In March 1939, 11-year-old Guenter and his older brother Kurt were sent via Kindertransport to the UK. His parents and sister Celia managed to follow a few months later with only two suitcases between them. As a penniless refugee, Treitel had difficulties getting an education until he won a scholarship to Kilburn Grammar School in 1942 and then a scholarship to read law at Oxford University. There he studied with John Morris and Rupert Cross and earned a First Class Honours degree in jurisprudence (the first degree in law) in 1949 and a First in the BCL (Bachelor of Civil Law) in 1951, as well as a master of arts degree in 1953. From 1951 to 1953, he was an assistant lecturer at the London School of Economics, and passed the bar examination. In 1953, he was appointed to a lecturership at University College, Oxford. He chose not to go into law practice and became a distinguished member of the legal academic world. He was a pillar of the Oxford Law Faculty for many years, and served as a Fellow of Magdalen College from 1954 to 1979, and a Fellow of All Souls College after 1979. In 1979, he was named Vinerian Professor of English Law, a position he held until his retirement in 1997. Prof. Treitel also was a sought-after visiting professor at law schools in the USA, Europe, and Australia. He was recognized as one of greatest legal scholars in the English-speaking world and his book The Law of Contract, first published in 1962, immediately became a standard text for lawyers and students. He was elected a fellow of the British Academy and was named an honorary QC. He was married to Phyllis Margaret Cook, with whom he had two sons. Sir Guenter was knighted in 1997 for services to law.