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
- 2023 12 18, Workshop with Christoph Menke "Menke in Wien: Ein Dialog zur Theorie der Befreiung". Organizers: Alexander Somek, Linda Lilith Obermayr, Oliver Marchart, Matthias Flatscher, and Fabio Wolkenstein. Speakers: Matthias Flatscher/Sergej Seitz, Linda Lilith Obermayr, Tatjana Sheplyakova, and Peter Anna Zeillinger. Bruno Kreisky Forum für internationalen Dialog, from 9:30 am.
- 2023 12 13, public panel discussion “Integration in der Krise?" with Sieglinde Rosenberger (Universität Wien), Maryam Singh (Beratungszentrum für Migranten und Migrantinnen Wien), Miriam Danter (Vereinigung für Frauenintegration), Christian Schmaus (lawyer, Asylum- and immigration law), 6 pm, at Kulturzentrum Spittelberg im Amerlinghaus Moderation: Anne Kühler
- 2023 11 24, Alexander Somek gives the lecture "Pragmatism and the CJEU", Jean Monnet Visiting Lecture Series, University of Zagreb
- 2023 11 07, as part of the ceremony "30 Jahre Bundesgleichbehandlungsgesetz im AMS", Elisabeth Holzleithner gave the lecture "Impuls: Das Recht als Phänomen gesellschaftlicher Wirklichkeit"
- 2023 11 07, Elisabeth Holzleithner provided the keynote on Asylum Day 2023: "Geschlecht und sexuelle Orientierung - Herausforderungen für das Asylrecht" with subsequent discussion
- 2023 11 05, Stefan Schima about the "Kanzelrede" of the federal president Alexander van der Bellen at the Lutherischen Stadtkirche on Reformationstag, ORF Orientierung
- 2023 10 25, Alexander Somek talks about "Constituting the Legal Relation" at the MUNI Legal Theory workshop, Masaryk Universität, Brno
- 2023 10 16, on the occasion of the 80th birthday of emer. Univ. Prof. Gerhard Luf: Alexander Somek about the Wegbereiter der Rechtsphilosophie an der Uni Wien, DiePresse. com
- 2023 10 20, Clemens Jabloner will give a lecture on "Hans Kelsen und die österreichische Wissenschaftskultur" in the rooms of the Verwaltungsgerichtshof as part of the conference "Hans Kelsen und die österreichische Schule der Nationalökonomie".
- 2023 10 03, Clemens Jabloner speaks at the OGH on the occasion of the handover of Heinrich Klang's library on the topic "Was uns die Restitution von Büchern über die Vergangenheit erzählen kann".
- 2023 09 22, Stefan Schima talks about "Synodalität versus Papstpyramide", oe1, Religion aktuell
- 2023 09 11, Anne Kühler launches the Call for Papers for the Workshop for Junior Researchers on the occasion of the Conference "Justice, Care, Responsibility: Rethinking the Family from a Legal and Philosophical Perspective", February 8–9, 2024
The Conference “Justice, Care, Responsibility: Rethinking the Family from a Legal and Philosophical Perspective" is organized by Prof. Michelle Cottier, Prof. Simone Zurbuchen and Prof. Anne Kühler on behalf of the Swiss Association of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy in Collaboration with the Centre for Legislative Studies (CETEL) at the University of Geneva.
Workshop for Junior Researchers:Call for Papers - 2023 08 29 new published: E. Holzleithners skriptum "Rechtsphilosophie - Einführung in die Rechtswissenschaften und ihre Methoden: Teil III", Manz Verlag, ISBN 978-3-214-25314-1
- 2023 08 23 A. Someks replication "Authoring, grounding and unknowing what the law is" to the reviews of his publication "Knowing what the Law is" in Jurisprudence
- 2023 06 15, Adrian Vermeule (Ralph S. Tyler Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School), "Who decides? Monstrous government and the dangers of private power".
- 2023 06 15, Jakob Rendl speaks about "Original Acquisition and Consent: On the Paradoxical Foundation of the Acquisition of Rights in Hugo Grotius",at the Legal Philosophy Forum at the UCL Faculty of Law, participation is also possible via zoom 4.00–6.00pm.
- 2023 06 01, Martin Loughlin (LSE Law School), "Enlightenment, Myth, and the Total Constitution".
- 2023 06 01, Clemens Jabloner is panelist at the dialogue forum "JustizDialog, Im Fokus: Strafverfolgung in modernen Demokratien".