Rolf Birk, Dr. iur. utr., Dres. h. c., was born in 1938 and is professor for civil law, labour law and international private law and director of the Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Communities. He studied law in Tübingen and Erlangen, earned his PhD in 1966, completed his habilitation in 1971, became a member of the scientific council and professor in Erlangen in 1975, was named professor in Augsburg in 1976 and since 1983 has been professor and director of the Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Communities in Trier. Beginning 1994, he has been a member of the Committee of Independent Experts of the Council of Europe (in 1997 and 1998 president and beginning in 1999 vice president). In 1996, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Miskolc (Hungary) and in 2001 an honorary doctorate from the University of Pécs (Hungary). He is also Chairman of the Expert Committee for Comparative Labour and Social law for the Society for Comparative Law, a member of the board of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law (Genf) and coeditor of the Journal for Comparative Law Studies (Zeitschrift für vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft) as well as coeditor for the Journal for Foreign and International Labour and Social Law (Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Arbeits- und Sozialrecht).

• Labour law
• International private law