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A Successful Week at the European Law Moot Court (ELMC) Competititon
03 March 2023
This year's European Law Moot Court (ELMC) team, Hedda Horstick, Merle Möhlmann and Rebekka Stahlhut traveled to Lund, Sweden, as representatives of the University of Osnabrück and the Department of Law.
The ELMC is an international student competition in which the participating teams take on the role of lawyers and represent the parties in a fictitious legal dispute before the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The regional final in Lund took place from 23-25 February 2023. Over the course of three days, the students argued issues concerning the effect of EU court rulings in the member states, compensation obligations for environmental pollution, and the loss of EU citizenship due to legal regulations. The Osnabrück team competed against students from Columbia University in New York and the eventual finalists from the universities of Paris and Leuven. In total, teams from twelve different universities took part in the regional finals in Sweden and presented their arguments to the high-caliber bench.
Even though they did not reach the semi-finals, the team and their supervisors Pia Ahlers and Lena Hupe (Prof. Dörr) considered their participation in the competition a great success. Just making it to a regional final is not something that can be taken for granted, as only 48 out of around 100 teams manage to do so every year. In addition, the team greatly improved its rhetorical skills in the weeks leading up to the competition and leave the competition with skills that will last them a lifetime.
The Osnabrück team was supervised by Prof. Oliver Dörr and the research assistants Pia Ahlers and Lena Hupe.
For further information:
Dipl. Jur. Pia Ahlers
University of Osnabrueck
European Legal Studies Institute
https://www.doerr.jura.uos.de
Lecture by Prof. Groß at the Sorbonne in Paris
February 13, 2023
At the invitation of the French Society for Legal History, Prof. Dr. Thomas Groß gave a lecture at the Sorbonne in Paris on February 11, 2023, in which he presented the main results of his research on administration and law in ancient ruling orders. In the presentation he comes to the conclusion that already in the early states of the ancient Orient administrative tasks were conducted. A legal basis for the actions of officials, on the other hand, was not introduced until Athens and Rome.
For further information
Prof. Dr. Thomas Groß
University of Osnabrueck
European Legal Studies Institute
www.gross.jura.uos.de
#JURAinOS - Follow us on LinkedIn
12 January 2023
Here on the Department website, one can regularly read important information concerning their studies and news from the department. However, in order to network with the department and professors, to exchange ideas and to give feedback, we invite you to our LinkedIn page! Here we will report on news that is of interest to the Department's community, which includes our network of alumni and practitioners.You can find us on LinkedIn under #UOS Law School and every Monday a fresh post with news from the Department, event notes, background information and much more. The LinkedIn platform is free of charge. Last but not least, one can also find the UOS and more than half of the professors of our department there and learn about interesting publications and research projects in real time.
New research project on the regulation of online platforms in South Korea
12 January 2023
A German-Korean research group led by Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch (Osnabrück) and Prof. Dr. Byung Jun Lee (Seoul) will study the regulation of online platforms in the EU and South Korea from a comparative law perspective starting in January 2023. The one-year pilot project is funded by the German Research Foundation and the National Research Foundation of Korea.Learn more about the project here
Prof. Busch advises federal government on consumer policy
12. January 2023
Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch has been appointed to the German Council of Consumer Experts (SVRV) at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) for four years, effective Dec. 1, 2022. The SVRV consists of nine members and advises the German government on consumer policy and sustainability issues.
The full announcement can be found here.
New partnership with English university
01.January 2023
The Department of Law is pleased to announce a new Erasmus partnership with the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. Each year we will be able to send two students from the department and one faculty member to England under the ERASMUS exchange program. Applications for a semester abroad in the upcoming academic year (WS 2023/24 and SS 2024) can be submitted to the department's Erasmus office until 01/03/2023. Further information can be found on the Erasmus+ website, for questions please contact the Erasmus office (erasmus@uni-osnabrueck.de).
Together into the new semester!
29 September 2022
The new semester is just around the corner and with this comes the task of welcoming our first-year students and getting them excited about law. This sounds daunting but it is actually easy because law affects all aspects of life. Behind every current economic or societal problem is an often a fascinating and exciting legal question: climate change and the energy transition, supply chains or payment with data just to name a few. At the Faculty of Law in Osnabrück, where 20 professors supervise around 2,000 students, you have many opportunities to engage in conversation with us: in lectures and tutorials, as a student assistants working for professors, and as a doctoral student in our faculty. Maybe you will find it even easier to have an open discussion with your instructors if we remind you that we have a head start in experience, but just like you, we started out as law students. Let our new homepage photo be a reminder of that.
Doctoral students convene 5th annual conference in environmental law
06 September 2022
On September 1 and 2, 2022, the 5th Conference of Doctoral Students in Environment and Law (ProKUR) was hosted by the University of Osnabrück Law Department. The conference, which is hosted at a different location each year, allows doctoral students to engage in conversation about their research project and network with other doctoral students. This year, Ronja Altehenger, Kristina Dierkes, Jan Markgraf, Therese Neuffer and Lukas Preiß, all part Prof. Dr. Cancik's team, organized ProKUR and were also actively supported by Valerie Ludwig and Antonia Rebehn during the conference.
Participants came from all over Germany as well as Switzerland, and at the feedback session on the final day praised the organization, the social program and the entertaining and enjoyable time in Osnabrück. Joint restaurant and pub evenings as well as a night watchman tour through the old town of Osnabrück rounded off the conference program. The conference was supported by the Competence Network "Future Challenges of Environmental Law", a network of environmental lawyers from different universities funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The University of Osnabrück is represented in the network by Ronja Altehenger, Lukas Preiß and Prof. Dr. Pascale Cancik. The organizing team would like to thank the PhD students for their participation, exciting input and great atmosphere.
Graduates celebrate the end of their studies
19. July 2022
On July 6, 2022, the Department of Law held a joint graduation for graduates of the years 2020-2022. 377 diplomas in law, 173 bachelor's degrees in business law and 58 juris doctorates were handed out in this joint celebration. The graduation speech in the university's Schlossaula was given by Katharina Retemeyer (Diplom 2021), and the keynote speech was given by Stefanie Otte, President of the Higher Regional Court of Celle. Simon Marx, Lisa Lüken and Lucas Palma received the Schindhelm Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft prize for the best theses. A champagne reception and musical accompaniment by Martin Gehrmann rounded out the ceremony. The department is pleased to these graduates move on to their next stage of life and hopes that they will have fond memories of their time in Osnabrück.
More than just a doctorate: the doctoral program in law
July 5, 2022
Since this past winter semester, doctoral students in the department have been able to combine their doctoral studies with the doctoral program in law and thus get even more out of their dissertation time. The recently established doctoral program offers the opportunity to deepen specialized knowledge while working on the dissertation and to acquire a variety of complementary skills from very different fields. Further information on the doctoral program can be found here (in German).
Law Department Welcomes Ukrainian Professors
July 5, 2022
The Russian attack on Ukraine has forced millions of people, mostly women and children, to flee. Numerous female academics are also affected by this. Four of them have found a new academic home at the Department of Law. The lecturers conduct research in criminal law, public law and civil law: Prof. Dr. Anzhelika Baran is at the European Legal Studies Institute (ELSI, Prof. Dr. Hans Schulte-Nölke), Prof. Dr. Oksana Bratasyuk at the Institute for Constitutional, Administrative and Business Law (ISVWR, Prof. Dr. Bernd J. Hartmann), and Prof. Dr. Svitlana Mazepa and Prof. Dr. Tetiana Melnychuk are located at the Center for European and International Studies (ZEIS, Prof. Dr. Arndt Sinn). The Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) and the Volkswagen Foundation are subsidizing the stays. The "Guest Research Program for Escaped Ukrainian Scientists" was advertised nationwide. The applications for funding from the City of Peace were extremely successful: no other university in Lower Saxony accepted as many female academics as Osnabrück (eight in total), and no other department in Osnabrück accepted as many female lecturers as the Faculty of Law. The Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Oliver Dörr, looks forward to the exchange: "We are happy to help wherever we can and warmly welcome the female colleagues with their exciting research projects to our circle!"
Freeze – Secure – Seize – Confiscate
25. Mai 2022
On May 16, 2022, Prof. Dr. Prof. h.c. Arndt Sinn provided to testimony to the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag on the draft bill (Sanctions Enforcement Act I) submitted by parliamentary groups of the SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN and FDP and on the motion of the parliamentary group of the CDU/CSU entitled "Enabling a rapid and thorough response by the rule of law to Russia's war of aggression" (BT Printed Papers 20/1740, 20/1726) where he addressed ways to more effectively enforce sanctions against Russian oligarchs and their other economic resources.
Visit to the OLG Oldenburg
25. Mai 2022
On 11.5.2022 the professors of the department visited the OLG (Regional Appeals Court) Oldenburg and met judges there as part of professional and personal exchange. The visit continued a long-standing tradition that expresses the particularly close teaching and training links between the two institutions. In his brief welcoming address, the Vice President of the Higher Regional Court, Dr. Hans Oehlers, emphasized not only how fruitful and profitable the regular professional discussions between judges and professors are, but also how many personal connections have resulted from them. Participants were especially pleased to once again be able to resume these meetings after the pandemic break.
ProKUR goes Osnabrück
03. May 2022
The fifth installment of the PhD Conference Environment and Law (ProKUR) will take place in September 2022. The conference, which is held at a different location each year, enables doctoral students to discuss their research projects and to network with other doctoral students. This year, a team from our department is organizing the conference. Ronja Altehenger, Kristina Dierkes, Jan Markgraf, Therese Neuffer and Lukas Preiß, all researchers for Prof. Dr. Cancik, are looking forward to the two-day conference and to active participation from all over Germany. The conference is supported by the Competence Network "Future Challenges of Environmental Law", a network of environmental lawyers from different universities, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The University of Osnabrück is represented in the network by Ronja Altehenger, Lukas Preiß and Prof. Dr. Pascale Cancik. For more information on ProKUR 2022: www.jura.uni-osnabrueck.de/prokur.
Library access in the summer semester
2. April 2022
With the beginning of the lecture period on April 4, reserving workstations in the reading room has been abolished. All students are welcome during open hours. The only exception is group study rooms, for which a prior reservation remains necessary. The 3G rule & FFP2 masks are still required in all buildings, but at some workstations it is again possible to study without a mask. Reserving books in OPAC is also no longer necessary. With the start of lectures, loanable books (with very few exceptions) can once again be checked out, i.e. books that can be borrowed can be taken from the shelves and checked out by students themselves. Journal holdings will also again freely accessible. To ensure convenient use literature "off-campus", remote access to legal databases will remain available.
Professor Leonhard Hübner joins the European Legal Studies Institute
4. April 2022
From 1 April 2022, Prof. Dr. Leonhard Hübner, MJur (Oxon) will join the European Legal Studies Institute as Professor of Civil Law, Private International Law and European Private and Commercial Law. In this position, he will be the successor to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christian von Bar, FBA.
Professor Hübner received his doctorate in Heidelberg with a dissertation on conflict of laws. In 2021, he obtained his habilitation in Heidelberg with a thesis on corporate liability for human rights violations. At Osnabrück, his research will focus in particular on due diligence obligations of companies in their supply chain and the intersection of business law and climate change. In addition, his research will address fundamental questions of conflict of laws. Professor Hübner will primarily teach courses on civil law, conflict of laws and comparative law, commercial and corporate law as well as European business law.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch, the Managing Director of the European Legal Studies Institute, underlines: "We are really excited that Professor Hübner joins the Institute. He is an excellent scholar and his research interests perfectly complement the profile of our Institute. We warmly welcome Professor Hübner and are very much looking forward to working with him!"
More than just a doctorate: the new doctoral program in law
As of the winter semester, doctoral students in the department can combine their doctoral studies with the doctoral program in law and thus get even more out of their doctoral studies. The recently established doctoral program offers the opportunity to deepen specialized knowledge while working on a dissertation and to acquire a variety of complementary skills from very different fields. Organizing conferences and giving one's own lecture, publishing research results and didactic essays, designing one's own courses or participating in summer schools in Germany and abroad - the opportunities for developing one's own profile offered by the program are as diverse as the interests of the doctoral students.
Jan Oster accepts digitization professorship
15. February 2022
The department is pleased to announce that Professor Dr. Jan Oster has been appointed to the professorship "Business Law, Information Technology and Data Law" as of February 1. With his research in media and data law as well as the law of digitalization, he not only strengthens the Institute of Corporate and Business Law with a subject that has not been represented in this breadth so far, but will at the same time expand the range of courses for students, especially in concentrations 3 and 8, with the subjects of copyright and media law. We are pleased that in Jan Oster we have gained a colleague for the new digitization professorship who so excellently complements the research profile of the Department of Law at the University of Osnabrück with its focus on European business law and the law of digitization.
Johanna Wolff joins the ISVWR
22. December 2021
The President of the University of Osnabrück, Professor Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl, has appointed Professor Dr. Johanna Wolff, LL.M. eur. (KCL), to the position of full professor effective January 1, 2022. Ms. Wolff's work focuses on economic administration and regulatory law as well as finance and tax law. She received her doctorate in Frankfurt am Main with a dissertation in European law on "Foreign Sovereign Wealth Funds and Special State Rights" and her habilitation in Speyer writing on "Incentives in Law".
Indian Humboldt Fellow in Osnabrück
15. October 2021
Starting October 2021, Indian lawyer Rhuta Deogabkar will be a guest of Prof. Dr. Thomas Groß. She is sponsored by a German Chancellor Fellowship under the auspices of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The program supports future leaders who carry out an independent project in Germany. Ms. Deobagkar is studying the reception of refugees in Germany with an eye towards creating proposals for improving the refugee situation in India.
