Research

• Research at the Institute for Legal and Constitutional History

The Department for Legal and Constitutional History at the University of Vienna is an institution dedicated to both teaching and research on the European constitutional state and its legal system’s historical foundation. Thus, the declared aim is to foster understanding – in particular amongst students, and in the scientific community as a whole – for the complex and intertwined legal and societal prerequisites that shaped the concept of the (nation) state of today. In addition, the state’s malfunctions and inherent misperceptions shall be laid out systematically through historical analysis, including the danger this may pose for society and the stability of the state.

• Research focus

Furthermore, the Department analyzes in depth the main elements of the modern, Western-European transatlantic legal and judicial system by detailing their genesis and subsequent development, primarily through comparative research. With the help of such comparative analysis, the specific elements and characteristics that the present European legal systems have in common shall be investigated.

For further information on ongoing research projects, please access the respective researchers’ websites.