The President of the Republic expressed himself this Thursday as “shocked” by the death of Professor Paulo de Pitta e Cunha, of whom he was a student, and remembered him as “a great fighter for the accession of Portugal to the European Communities”.
“Still shaken by today’s news, the President of the Republic, who is in Brazil, calls on Professor Paulo Pitta y Cunha, his former professor at the Faculty of Law of Lisbon, who also taught at the Catholic University, expressing sincere condolences to the whole family,” reads a note published on the official website of the Presidium.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa believes that “Paulo Pitta e Cunha was, ‘avant-garde’, the great advocate of Portugal’s accession to the European Community and European law, in addition to economic law and tax law.”
“His acclaimed former student publicly pays tribute to him,” a note released today said.
Paulo de Pitta e Cunha, a retired law professor at the University of Lisbon who was the founder and president of the European Institute, died today, the institution said.
“The Faculty of Law informs the academic community of the death of Professor Emeritus Dr. Paulo de Pitta e Cunha, Honorary Professor of the Faculty of Law at the University of Lisbon,” reads a statement posted on the Faculty’s website.
This institution of higher education expresses “deepest condolences” to the family and “expresses deep sorrow at the death of this eminent Master, to whom he owes so much.”
According to a biography provided by the Lisbon Faculty of Law, Paulo de Pitta e Cunha was born in 1937. In 1972 he received a doctorate in political and economic sciences.
Between 1982 and 1984 he was President of the Faculty’s Scientific Council, taught several subjects in the Law and Economics group of which he was Dean, and founded the European Institute of the Lisbon Faculty of Law, which he also chaired.
“An unavoidable name in public circles, he was the first Portuguese professor to receive the chair of ‘Jean Monnet’. His contribution to the Tax Reform Commission responsible for the 1985 tax reform is also highlighted.
Paulo de Pitta y Cunha has also authored several works in the fields of tax law, international economic relations and European integration.
Since 2016, the European Institute of Lisbon Faculty of Law has been awarding annually the Prof. Paulo de Pitta e Cunha Prize, “regarded as one of the great engines of European studies in Portugal”, which aims to highlight the research work of university students in the field of European Union law, European integration , economy or economic and monetary union.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
