Joëlle Godard was a comparative lawyer who taught comparative criminal procedure and French comparative law at the University of Edinburgh. As a former President of the Franco-British Lawyers Society in Scotland, she fostered a greater understanding of the French, Scottish and English legal system among the lawyers of the three nations. In 2003 she was awarded the Palme Académique in recognition of her services to education in France.

Joëlle Godard was born in colonial Algeria to a family of French settlers. As a result of the struggle for independence, the family had to return to France, when Goddard was five, with very little money and nowhere to live. Eventually they settled in Pau in the south-west of France, where, after completing her baccalaureat, Goddard studied law at the university. During this time she took the opportunity to travel and on a visit to Scotland she met Andrew Weatherley, who become her life-long partner. In 1985, when expecting her first child, Joelle decided not to pursue her original goal of becoming an avocat in France but to return to Scotland where Andrew would continue his career as a solicitor.

Possessed of enormous energy and tenacity, Goddard began to carve out a career in Scotland. The French Institute arranged for her to take a class at the Law Society in Edinburgh, teaching Scottish lawyers not just French but also French law. The class was a huge success and ran for several years, her pupils ranging from students to serving judges. Following the success of that class, she managed to secure a part-time job at Edinburgh University teaching French comparative law, later adding classes in comparative criminal procedure. By now she was a well-known figure throughout legal circles in Scotland. This led to her involvement with the Franco-British Lawyers Society. Until then, that organisation had been almost exclusively active in France and England, having done little in Scotland. But in 1993 Goddard established contact with the society and a year later began organising a three-day educational event, including a full mock trial involving judges and avocats from France, and judges, advocates and solicitors from Scotland. Subsequent events organised by her included a visit to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court, to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Auld Alliance, numerous seminars and colloquiums, and, very recently, a seminar on the responsibility of the judge in France, England and Scotland.

Alongside this she continued her academic interests, teaching at the university and publishing a number of articles. In 2007 she decided to concentrate on obtaining her doctorate, which had been an ambition of hers for many years. Not very long ago, she had her last meeting with her supervisor who told her, in effect, that the doctorate was hers.

Joëlle Godard, comparative lawyer, was born on August 17, 1956. She died after a short illness on June 15, 2008, aged 51