What is § JurLecture?

As part of the Faculty’s internationalization strategy, among other things, the aim is to further advance the internationalization of scholarship.

To this end, the lecture series § JurLecture was developed by the International / German as a Foreign Language (DaF) team. What makes this series special is that each lecture is delivered by an international visiting scholar themselves. In this way, the experts’ knowledge is intended to be made accessible to the rest of the faculty as well as to an interested general public, and to serve as a basis for a broader academic discourse.

In addition, § JurLecture is also meant to provide the visiting scholars who deliver the talks with a platform to present themselves beyond their host chair and to foster further exchange and discussion.

Opening event of the visiting scholars’ lecture series § JurLecture on 23 January 2023

By Prof. Dr. Carolina Riveros Ferrada from Chile

Prof. Dr. Carolina Riveros Ferrada conducts research on the protection of human rights for older persons and is a member of the “Advisory Committee of the National Authority for Older Persons of the Ministry of Social Development (Chile)”, making her an expert on the lecture topic “Older persons in the digital space—how can they be protected?”

As part of her talk, Ms. Riveros examined the legal situation regarding the protection of older persons in the virtual world, focusing in particular on the “Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons” dated 15 June 2015 and the so-called “Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020–2030” strategy of the United Nations.

The second visiting scholars' lecture of the lecture series § JurLecture on 12 June 2023

By Prof. Dr. Ádám Fuglinszky, ELTE University Budapest

Mr. Fuglinszky, a professor of civil law at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest and a visiting scholar at the chair of Prof. Dr. Gössl, delivered a talk on the topic “Legal transplants in the focus of comparative law—curse or blessing?”He began by introducing the subject matter through an explanation of the starting point of legal transplants, including terminological ambiguities and imprecisions, as well as the fundamental possibility of legal transplants. He then discussed six key theses and pitfalls of legal transplants. To illustrate his explanations, he used clear examples drawn from the varied legal history of Central and Eastern Europe.

The third visiting scholars’ lecture of the lecture series § JurLecture on 23 April 2024

By Prof. Alan Vogelfanger, LL.M., University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Prof. Vogelfanger is a lawyer and Professor of Human Rights at the University of Buenos Aires. He received his LL.M. at the University of Washington. He is currently conducting research as a visiting scholar at the Institute of International Law with Prof. Dr. Stefan Talmon. His talk addressed the topic “Recent developments in the Inter-American human rights system in relation to climate change.”

The already important subject was made particularly accessible to the audience through Prof. Vogelfanger’s engaging and interactive presentation style. He discussed interesting facts, comparisons, and issues that affect people especially in Latin America. This also made clear to participants living in Europe what risks and negative consequences climate change poses for the population in Latin America. The interested, curious audience was further rewarded with candies distributed when answering questions. A lively discussion also continued after the lecture, rounding off the evening.

The fourth visiting scholars’ lecture of the lecture series § JurLecture on 20 June 2024

By Prof. Dr. Wim Decock, Professor of Roman Law, Legal History and Comparative Law, UCLouvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

In his talk, he argued that concepts such as “capitalism,” “liberalism,” and “meritocracy”, contrary to popular assumptions, are closely connected with Christian scholasticism and religious discourses. Especially in the age of the Reformations, a normative justification structure for the modern economic order emerged, with the language of Roman-canonical law and natural law playing a central role. The engaging presentation then sparked a lively discussion with the audience.