Professor Kurt Martens is a Belgian lawyer and a member of the faculty of the school of Canon Law.  Born in Tielt, Belgium, professor Martens earned his law degrees at the Law School of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.  Professor Martens earned his canonical degrees – JCL and JCD – at the same university’s school of canon law.

 

Upon award of his JCL, Professor Martens joined the junior academic faculty at the School of Canon Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven where he served until his appointment as professor of canon law at Catholic University of America in 2005. Professor Martens also served as visiting professor at the Institut de Droit Canonique of the Université Marc Bloch in Strasbourg, France (2002-2003) and taught at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, The Netherlands (2004-2005).

Professor Martens currently teaches core canonical courses on Religious Liberty, Supra-Diocesan Structures of the Church, Due Process and Protection of Rights in the Administrative Life of the Church. He is a member of the Canon Law Society of America (CLSA), of the Groupe des canonistes francophones de Belgique and of the Working Group of Dutch Speaking Canon Lawyers (Werkgroep Nederlandstalige Canonisten, WNC). Professor Martens is a member of the editorial committee of The Jurist, a member of the editorial board of the European Consortium for Church and State Newsletter. He is also involved in the International Summer School in Law and Religion at the University of Siena (Italy).

Professor Martens’ publications deal with Roman-Catholic canon law, church and state relations and religious liberty. He has published three books, edited six, and authored more than forty scholarly articles as well as book reviews, proceeding reports, and editorials in Belgian newspapers.