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Lecture by Prof. Dr. Anatol Dutta, M. Jur. (Oxford), LMU Munich on 10.01.2024

21 December 2023

The principle of recognition under EU law and conflict of laws are in tension with each other: If legal situations created abroad are to be recognized independently of the law applicable in the case, there is little room for conflict of laws.

Anatol Dutta examines the question of whether a current expansion of the principle of recognition under secondary law in international Union private law is now leading to the - long feared - coup d'état against the conflict of laws.
The speaker is a university professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich and is one of the leading conflict of laws experts in Germany.

His lecture will take place on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 18:00 in lecture hall 44/E03 at the European Legal Studies Institute in cooperation with the International Jurists Association Osnabrück (IJVO). Students are cordially invited!

20 years of the European Legal Studies Institute in Osnabrück

Research Forum and anniversary ceremony

21. December 2023

The Osnabrück University European Legal Studies Institute, founded in 2003, celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a Research Forum for young academics and a ceremony attended by numerous guests from Germany and abroad, including many students and former employees of the Institute.

At the Osnabrück Research Forum on European Legal Studies on November 30 and December 1, fifteen young academics who had applied for a Europe-wide call for papers were able to present their diverse research topics and discuss them with around 25 doctoral students and postdocs from the Institute as well as professors Christoph Busch, Oliver Dörr, Thomas Groß, Mary-Rose McGuire, Hans Schulte-Nölke and Fryderyk Zoll. The lectures on European private law focused on the development of the digital single market.  From the field of European public law, a contribution on migration law in particular triggered lively discussions.

The subsequent anniversary ceremony was opened by the Director of the Institute, Prof. Dr. Thomas Groß, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr. Oliver Dörr, and the Vice President of the University, Prof. Dr. Andrea Lenschow. An initial highlight was the retrospective by the two founders of the Institute, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christian von Bar and Prof. Dr. Jens-Peter Schneider, now of the University of Freiburg, who reported on the development of the Institute and the achievements of its members. These include the Consumer Law Compendium, the Acquis Principles, the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) and the Handbook on State Liability in Europe, which are still important reference works for European private law today. The keynote speech was given by Prof. Dr. Pascal Pichonnaz, President of the European Law Institute based in Vienna, under the title "EU Digital Contract Law and its Disruptive Effect on Domestic Law". Prof. Dr. Thomas Groß concluded with an outlook on new projects in the field of European private law and European public law, with which the members of the Institute, with the support of young academics and in cooperation with academics from other member states, want to continue the tradition of the Institute.

In-house lawyer Götz Kaßmann (Schüco International KG) shares his experiences with students

12. December 2023

As part of Dr. Jochen Buckel and Prof. Dr. Lars Leuschner's event series "The Practice of the In-house Lawyer", Götz Kaßmann, long-standing Head of the Legal Department at Schüco International KG and Chairman of the Legal Committee of the DIHK (German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Berlin) and former President of the Association of Corporate Lawyers (BUJ), shared his practical experience with the students on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.

The very entertaining and interactive presentation began with an introduction to the structure of the legal department and the challenges of day-to-day practice. Kaßmann also introduced students to a positive understanding of the role of in-house counsel in a legal department (service provider and "facilitator") and conveyed the requirements profile that prospective in-house lawyers should have.
An additional focus was on good cooperation within the company organization and with external law firms ("make or buy").  Kaßmann also explained the analysis of business models and the resulting legal relationships and risks and conveyed the principles of compliance.

Using illustrative example scenarios, the students had to develop their own solutions for dealing with conflicts of interest, among other things. An excursion into the practice of antitrust compliance rounded off the event.

"Law Feminist - A Film Series for All" in the upcoming winter semester

10. October 2023

The team of the decentralized equal opportunity officers of the Department of Law and Prof. Johanna Wolff present in cooperation with CinemaUOS the film series "Recht Feministisch - Eine Filmreihe für alle".

Even though many people encounter feminist topics in their everyday lives, not everyone has the same level of contact with them. In order to offer an easy introduction to the discussion of feminism, an invitation is extended to watch one or more films in our film series that deal with feminist or women's rights issues.

A mix of feature films and documentaries will be shown on the following dates in Room 22/B01 - admission always begins at 8:00pm and screenings start at 8:15pm:

• 25.10.2023:  She said (Spielfilm)
• 08.11.2023: RBG – Ein Leben für die Gerechtigkeit (Dokumentarfilm)
• 22.11.2023:  Call Jane (Spielfilm)
• 06.12.2023: Überraschungsfilm (Ein Dokumentarfilm über Frauen im Bundestag)

Unlike going to the movies, our film series allows you to bring your own drinks and snacks. Admission is free for all.

We look forward to a large attendance and are happy to be available for an exchange about the films after the screenings!

Lecture on medical liability law by PhD student Lena Esser at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

21. September 2023

As part of her Erasmus Staff Mobility participation, Lena Esser, a PhD student and research assistant with Prof. Dr. Schulte-Nölke, gave lectures on medical liability in German contract law to second-year law students at the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela in Spain on September 20 and 21, 2023.

The focus of the lecture was on German treatment contracts. Specifically, Ms. Esser spoke about the contractual obligations of physicians under the German treatment contract, such as, among other things, that treatment must be provided according to medical standards and about the physician's duty to inform the patient. The goal was to explain relevant aspects of German contract law in the context of medical liability in relation to Ms. Esser's PhD project regarding health apps.

In addition, students were encouraged to participate in international mobility activities to develop new skills.

According to Ms. Esser, she became aware of the opportunity to teach at Erasmus partner universities last year through the ERASMUS program. With the support of Dr. Matthew LeMieux, she was able to find a suitable university. At the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, she received a very warm welcome and was fully integrated into the everyday life of the university by her supervising professors and the associated doctoral students.

Law Faculty Hosts Osnabrück's 2nd League Football Club

July 10, 2023

Prof. Dr. Lars Leuschner hosted a lively meeting with VfL Vice President Christoph Determann, with approximately 100 students and professors in attendance. The group took part in a rousing lecture featuring  controversial football business related topics. After a greeting by VfL President Holger Elixmann, Managing Director of the professional soccer team, Dr. Michael Welling took the audience on a ride through the regional economic significance, self-image and strategy of the club and its professional team. The evening wrapped up with an event hosted by Department's alumni association, "OsnaLex e.V.", at the Grüner Jäger.

Inaugural UOS Criminal Law Moot Court Team Has Success

June 28, 2023

The Law Department's first Criminal Law Moot Court team had successful debut coming in fourth place at the 2023 Criminal Law Moot Court in Cologne. Representing the Department in the first round was André Gantschnig and Rebekka Stahlhut (both 6th semester). They were followed in the second round by teammates Hannah Kosanetzki (6th semester) and Lev Tarasyuk (4th semester). Supervision for the team was provided by Professor Dr. Roland Schmitz at the Institute for Economic Criminal Law and the research assistant Antonia Vogt coached the team. More information in German can be found here.

Practical teaching: Lecture series "European Patent Law" - starting Monday, 22.05.2023!

May 22, 2023

On June 1, 2023, the European Patent Court will open its doors. From then on, patent disputes - i.e. disputes under private law - will be decided by a genuine European civil court according to uniform European procedural rules.

The patent community has closely followed the choice of court locations in Germany (Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Mannheim and Munich) as well as the appointment of the judges.

Infringement claims are, at their core, tort law. And invalidity proceedings also often involve issues of entitlement and ownership, contractual assignment, and assertion. Clearly, IP law is - once again - paving the way for European harmonization.

The event has attracted an impressive all women panel After an introductory session on the "Unified Patent Court" by Mary-Rose McGuire, all other sessions will be given by IP attorneys who will not only share their knowledge of the patent system, but also provide insight into what it's like to work in the field. In addition, career opportunities in patent law will be highlighted.

Lectures are weekly and in English, questions in German are welcome.

Lecturers: Dr. Nora E. Wessendorf, LL.M. (Taylor Wessing), Dr. Eva Maria Thörner (WILDANGER), Dr.med.dent. Antje Brambrink (Finnegan), Hetti Hilge, LL.M. (Norwich, UK), (rospatt osten pross), Miriam Kiefer LL.M. (KATHER - AUGENSTEIN), Miriam Gundt, LL.M. (Hogan Lovells), Dr. Bérénice Thom (LG Düsseldorf and EPG).  

47th Feminist Lawyers' Day

June 5, 2023

From May 12 to 14, 2023, the 47th Feminist Lawyers' Day (FJT) was held at its then founding venue in Frankfurt am Main. Several female academic staff and students expressed curiosity and, after a drawing from 480 interested participants, attended with financial support from the department.

Nele Ewald and Kristina Dierkes have recorded their impressions in a conference report: https://www.feministischer-juristinnentag.de/ (in German)

Jura in Osnabrück again at the top of the CHE Ranking

June 5, 2023

The University of Osnabrück has once again taken a top position in the CHE ranking for the study of law published on May 9, 2023. The overall picture is impressive in the three main categories of general study situation, initial study support and exam preparation. Here, Osnabrück belongs to the absolute top group of the top 3 of all German law schools. We are particularly pleased that we have improved even further in the categories "support by teaching staff" and "digital teaching". Also particularly pleasing: the Department of Law at the University of Osnabrück even scored above the average of the other faculties in all other of the 16 categories.

The CHE ranking has impressively confirmed: "Law in Osnabrück: always better!".

Welcome Prof. Dr. Markus Lieberknecht!

June 5, 2023

The University of Osnabrück welcomes Prof. Dr. Markus Lieberknecht, LL.M. (Harvard) to the Department of Law! As of June 1, Dr. Lieberknecht holds the assistant professorship for Civil Law and Civil Procedure in the Digital Transformation. In addition to the impact of digitalization on private law and the future design of litigation, his research interests include corporate law and conflict of laws. Welcome!

 Osnabrück to host the Young Property Lawyers' Forum (YPLF) in 2023

June 5, 2023

The YPLF is a worldwide informal network for young researchers in the field of property law, who are supported by experienced researchers and meet once a year. The YPLF network is an important discussion forum for young scholars. The current program includes lectures by Prof. Christian von Bar and Prof. Hans Schulte-Nölke as "keynote speakers". Prof. von Bar will also present the English version of his property law book. The theme of this year's conference is property law and its limits - illuminated from different perspectives. The conference is co-organized by the chair of Prof. Dr. Hans Schulte-Nölke, the PhD student Daria Kupczyńska and the International Jurists Association Osnabrück (IJVO).

French course visits Reims University - deepening linguistic and legal knowledge in France

25 April 2023

From February 27th March 3rd participants of the Foreign Law Program's French course traveled to France and were given the valuable opportunity to deepen their linguistic and legal knowledge.

Prof. Dr. Nathalie Baillon-Wirtz, lecturer for French private law in Osnabrück, organised a visit to the University of Reims, where she is a professor for notary studies. Through their visit, the participants were engage in comparative analysis of French notaries, both their workload and education, in comparison to Germany, as well as see firsthand the differences in studies and lectures at a French university.

An additional highlight was the visit to the Palais de Justice and a press conference by the Minister of Justice. Tourist activities such as a visit to the cathedral and the champagne cellars rounded off the programme. The participants were received with great hospitality by the notary students - making the exchange an unforgettable experience.

Markus Lieberknecht awarded the Gerhard Kegel Prize

20 March 2023

The German Society for International Law has awarded the Gerhard Kegel Prize to Dr Markus Lieberknecht, a member of staff at the chair of Prof. Dr Leonhard Hübner, MJur (Oxford), for his doctoral thesis on the international dimension of managerial liability. The thesis examines the extent to which board members must ensure compliance with foreign legal standards in cross-border activities.

In his doctoral thesis, Dr Lieberknecht deals with the so-called duty of legality from an international perspective. This requires the board of directors of a public limited company to ensure that the company's conduct complies with the law. Dr Lieberknecht develops solutions for two central problem areas - for conflicts of norms and the resulting conflicts of duties of the board of directors, as well as for dealing with legal ambiguity in a cross-border context. The work was already awarded the Südwestmetall sponsorship prize in 2022.

For further information

Dr. Markus Lieberknecht, LL.M. (Harvard)
Research Associate
Prof. Dr. Leonhard Hübner, MJur (Oxon)
European Legal Studies Institute
University of Osnabrück
Süsterstr. 28
49074 Osnabrück
markus.lieberknecht@uni-osnabrueck.de

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).