Legal philosophy has a long tradition in Vienna, dating back to the days of the natural law theorists Karl Anton von Martini (1726–1800) and Franz von Zeiller (1751–1828). During the first half of the twentieth century, Viennese legal philosophy earned itself international acclaim when Hans Kelsen (1881–1973) and his collaborators developed a pronounced and much debated version of legal positivism, the so-called Pure Theory of Law. Owing to the initiative of Gerhard Luf, whose works have contributed considerably to the rehabilitation of practical reason in legal philosophy, the discipline became established as a separate Department in 1985.
In 2005, the Department of Legal Philosophy was merged with the Department of Law and Religion. It dated back to the founding of the Vienna law faculty and was home to many eminent scholars, such as Paul Joseph von Riegger (1705–1775), a defender of religious toleration, and Max Hussarek von Heinlein (1865–1936), a leading theorist of the legal relation between the state and religious communities. Under the stewardship of Richard Potz, the discipline was expanded into the comprehensive study of law and religion.
This fused unit has been given its current name in 2016.
Part of the interdisciplinary research of this faculty is the research unit "Hans Kelsen and his Circle", headed by Prof. Jabloner.
News – Publications – In the media
- 2024 02 29, Clemens Jabloner speaks about "Hans Kelsen und Rose Rand- Existenz und Logik" at the conference: "Helen Silving-Ryu – Der Aufstieg einer jüdischen Migrantin aus Wien zur „First Lady of US-Criminal Law“", Juridicum, Vienna
- 2024 02 23, Alexander Somek provides guest commentary together with Fabio Wolkenstein on “Vermessene Demokratievermessung”, diepresse.com
- 2024 02/08/09: Conference “Justice, Care, Responsibility: Rethinking the Family from a Legal and Philosophical Perspective" at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), organized by Michelle Cottier, Simone Zurbuchen and Anne Kühler.
- 2024 01 29, lecture by Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, about "Judicial Dialogue and Constitutional Disagreements: Bridging the Gap"
- 2024 01 10, Stefan Hammer talks about "Religionen und das Recht auf Öffentlichkeit", Religion ORF
- 2023 12 18, Workshop with Christoph Menke "Menke in Wien: Ein Dialog zur Theorie der Befreiung"
- 2023 12 13, public panel discussion “Integration in der Krise?"Moderation: Anne Kühler
- 2023 12 13, Alexander Somek pays last respect to his "Wohlwollenden Lehrer Theo Ölinger", diepresse.com
- 2023 12 08, Alexander Somek in the MPIL100-blog "On the very idea of transnational constitutional law"
- 2023 12 02, Stefan Hammer in an interview with the newspaper Oslobođenje:"Bosnien und Herzegowina sollte eine Verfassung ohne ethnisches Veto verabschieden"