Department of Civil Procedure

The research and teaching activities of the Department cover all areas of civil procedure law in a broad sense. This includes its interrelations with private and public law as well as the historical and philosophical foundations of procedure law. A special emphasis is also placed on the practical relevance and the internationality of the research.

The department’s research focus lies on litigation, enforcement, insolvency, European and international civil procedure as well as international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution. Questions with economic, business-related, and international aspects are of specific interest.

Professors at the department act as editors and authors of leading Austrian treatises, commentaries, and textbooks on all parts of the field and are actively involved in national, European, and international academic discourses. The department is responsible for teaching the core subject “Civil Procedure Law” (“Zivilverfahrensrecht”) as well as several elective courses, including courses on “Mediation” and the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court. The annual Austrian Arbitration Academy, organized in cooperation with the University of Vienna’s summer school, is part of the Department’s activities in the field of continuing education.

In addition to the work of its full-time professors and research and teaching assistants, the department has a long-standing tradition of also including renowned practitioners, in particular judges, in its teaching activities.

The Department of Civil Procedure Law of the University of Vienna boasts a long and proud history: Former professors include, inter alia, Julius Glaser, Emil Schrutka von Rechtenstamm, Anton Menger, Franz Klein, Georg Petschek, Hans Sperl, Hans Schima, Winfried Kralik, Hans W. Fasching, and Walter H. Rechberger.