Institute

Civil procedure law as a discipline

This discipline covers a wide range, including

• the law of judicial organization
• the relating to jurisdiction
• civil litigation
• non-contentious proceedings
• enforcement law and
• insolvency law.

The autonomy of the subject with respect to related fields of law (civil law, commercial law, labor) is a well-established principle in the Austrian study system. This has led to the fact that Austrian civil procedure enjoys a high standing abroad. The focus is set on the enforcement of justified claims and the defense against unjustified claims. Civil Procedure Law provides a legal framework for the access to justice. At the beginning, civil procedure law may appear rather dry, technical and difficult.

However, those who become familiar with this topic, especially in learning the art of thinking in process flows and figuring out connections between procedural and substantive law, will lay the foundation for their probation in the postgraduate practice. Particularly challenging are general questions regarding the doctrine of procedural law which are also relevant for other areas of procedural law. Relations to foreign and international law (“Law of international civil procedure”) are becoming more and more important due to the rapidly progressing Europeanisation of civil procedure law.  

International Relations

The Institute maintains relations with several foreign universities . This serves both the teaching and the research enterprise . Particularly intense are the contacts with the universities of Maribor, Zagreb, Berlin, Helsinki and Vienna.
 

Teaching at the Institute for Civil procedure law

The Institute is largely engaged in the legal education. The field of work of the Institute is furthermore interesting for students of business administration, especially because of the emphasis on insolvency law.

Teaching portfolio

• Main Lecture on civil procedure law Part I and II: judicial organization, civil litigation including proceedings at a labour and social court, non-contentious proceedings, enforcement law, insolvency law

• Lecture on arbitration

• Courses on civil procedure law

• Review courses (tutorials) on civil procedure law

• The institute offers a wide range of special courses of great importance, e.g. seminars on international civil procedure law as well as developments and selected topics of Austrian law (e.g. arbitration, insolvency law), relations between procedural law and substantive law (combined subjects). A lot of courses are held in combination with excursions to give students a view of legal reality. Special emphasis is placed on fostering the students, inclination tointegrative, interdisciplinary and cross-border thinking. The aim is to provide a legal education which is close to practice.

• The institute also offers courses in English language. In particular, this includes the preparatory seminar for the “Willem C. VIS Moot Court” as well as the course “European Private International Law”.   

Service

All members at the institute are anxious to help students, to reduce worries and to eliminate barriers. However, we must ask for understanding that information can only be given during office hours due to the diversity of the Institute's work.