Professor Gaabriel Tavits elected as Director of the School of Law

The council of the School of Law elected Professor in Social Law, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Social Sciences Gaabriel Tavits as the Director of the School of Law. The new director will assume the position on 1 January 2019, after the expiry of the term of office of current director Peep Pruks.

“The School of Law of the University of Tartu will continue development in the same direction – high-quality legal education at all three levels of study and high-level research,” says the future director Gaabriel Tavits.

Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Raul Eamets acknowledges Peep Pruks for effective management of the School of Law and wishes success to the new director. “Peep Pruks has been a committed leader and stood out with his composure and determination. I am grateful to him for his excellent work. I wish the same kind of determination to Gaabriel Tavits, who has convincingly demonstrated his leadership skills in his current position as a vice dean. I can confirm that the School of Law will get an excellent director,” says Eamets. He adds that the faculty is actively looking for a new vice dean for academic affairs and that there are potential candidates for the position.

Professor Gaabriel Tavits graduated from the School of Law at the University of Tartu in 1994 and defended his doctoral dissertation on the scope of regulation of labour law in 2001.

He has been working at the University of Tartu since 1996, first as a lecturer and associate professor in labour and social security law, and since 2016, as Professor in Social Law. Since 2018, Professor Tavits is the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Social Sciences and is responsible for the organisation and development of teaching and studies in the faculty.

His main areas of research are modern labour law and social law. He has published a number of publications that have contributed to the development of labour law both in Estonia and internationally. He is the author of several books on the legal basis of civil service, social security law and the social protection of migrant workers in the European Union.

Gaabriel Tavits has also participated in legislative drafting, for example, as a member of the codification committee of the Social Code Act.

Professor Tavits has extensive international experience. He is a member of several international cooperation networks, for example the European Labour Law Network and the European Centre of Expertise in the field of labour law, employment and labour market policy.

Further information: Raul Eamets, Dean of UT Faculty of Social Sciences, 514 0082, raul.eamets@ut.ee