Teaching

Wednesdays, 10-12 a.m., c.t., Astoria lecture theatre, Unterm Markt 8

The Basic Law opens up the German legal order to European and international law in many ways and integrates the legal sources of European and international law into the German legal order. Following an increase in the importance of these sources of law in recent decades, we are currently in a phase of change, reorganisation and increasing tensions, which are reflected in international, European and constitutional law.

The course will provide an overview of the international and European law aspects of state and constitutional law - in particular Articles 23-26, 32 and 59 of the Basic Law. The inclusion of international and European law in the national legal system, integration authorisation norms, the domestic distribution of competences of foreign powers, cross-border effects of fundamental rights and judicial control of foreign and European policy actions will be dealt with. Furthermore, the constitutional requirements for German integration into international organisations, in particular the European Union, and finally the constitutional requirements for military action, foreign missions of the Bundeswehr as well as potential alliance defence, are addressed. These questions will be explained using examples and cases.

Literature:

• Sauer, Staatsrecht III - Auswärtige Gewalt, Bezüge des Grundgesetzes zu Völker- und Europarecht, 8th ed. 2024
• Paulus, Constitutional Law III with References to International and European Law, 2nd ed. 2021
• Geiger, Constitutional Law III, 7th edition 2018
• Calliess, Constitutional Law III - References to International and European Law, 4th ed. 2022
• Schorkopf, Constitutional Law of International Relations, 2017
• Krajewski, Public International Law, 3rd ed. 2023.

Please register for the course in FriedolinExternal link.

(This lecture will take place in German.)

Tuesdays, 2-4 p.m., c.t., location to follow

We are currently witnessing a change in the international order and international legal system: New actors, tensions and a backlash against liberal democracy and against international organisations are creating challenges for international problem solving through law. In order to better understand the current shifts, we will briefly recapitulate the foundations of international law (subjects and sources), and then look more closely at the political and legal institutions which the international legal system offers for the solution of today's political problems.

Subsequently, we will look at several substantial areas of international law and the way in which they are structured: the law of international organisations, international dispute settlement, the law of international responsibility, the law(s) of peace and war, international trade law, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international climate protection. Students will be invited to participate actively by presenting current developments as well as participating in mini-moot courts for each unit.

The lecture is open to students of the International Legal Studies Certificate, international (Erasmus) students, students of political sciences, students of the focus areas Public Law as well as International Law (7 and 8), and generally everyone with an interest in international law.

Literature:

• Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 8th ed. 2019.
• Hurd, International Organisations: Politics, Law, Practice, 4th edition, 2020
• Klabbers, International Law, 4th ed, 2024
• Klabbers, An Introduction to international organisations law, 4th edition, 2022
• José Alvarez, International Organisations as Law-makers, 2009

Please register for the course in FriedolinExternal link.

Thursdays, 9 am - 1 pm, location to follow

In the review course, exam-relevant matters of special administrative law and administrative procedural law are repeated and deepened on the basis of selected cases. Areas such as police and regulatory law, road law and municipal law are assigned to the four (subject) areas of intervention administration, service administration, planning and internal administration and are thus dealt with comprehensively. The review course is offered by Prof. Dr Knauff in the first half of the semester and by Prof. Dr Ley in the second half.

Literature: Recommended literature will be announced in the review course.

(This course will be held in German.)

In the summer semester 2026, Prof. Dr Isabelle Ley will hold a practice and exam seminar on "The role of international courts in the crisis of international law". Certificates can be obtained for specialisation areas 1, 7 and 8 as well as for the International Legal Studies degree programme. The application deadline for seminar papers (to be written at home) is 28 February 2026. All further information on the seminar can be found here.

A field trip|study trip to The Hague is planned during the seminar. The number of participants is limited, so places will be allocated according to the order of the registration date.

The preliminary seminar discussion will take place on 14 April 2026, 4-6 p.m. c.t., Room 2.43, C.-Z.-Str. 3.

Registrationpdf, 122 kb · de for exam candidates (until 28 February 2026 - cut-off deadline!)

Registrationpdf, 120 kb · de for practice candidates (until 7 April 2026)

The international community is facing cross-border, global challenges: Wars, climate change, resource exploitation, terrorism, pandemics, migration. States cannot meet these challenges on their own, but must co-operate. International law provides legal forms, institutions and substantive guidelines for this. At the same time, this area of law is probably more dependent on the political and economic context than any other and is characterised by strong conflicts of interest between the actors involved. The further development and enforcement of international law is currently facing unprecedented challenges, insofar as the major central powers are currently not clearly committed to the international legal order, but on the contrary condone, threaten or themselves commit violations of the rules. What this means for the international legal order will be discussed repeatedly in the lecture.

In addition, the subjects of international law, sources of law, the creation of law, fundamental substantive principles such as state sovereignty and the prohibition of the use of force, the legal framework of central institutions (in particular the United Nations), the legal consequences of violations of international law and the legal mechanisms of conflict resolution will be dealt with.

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Reading
- v. Arnauld, International Law, 5th ed. 2023.
- Krajewski, International Law, 3rd ed. 2023.
- Peters/Petrig, International Law, 6th ed. 2023.
- Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 8th ed. 2019.
- Klabbers, International Law, 4th ed. 2023.

Please register for the course in FriedolinExternal link. (This lecture will be held in German.)

The lecture deals with the theoretical foundations and dogmatic core problems of European constitutional law. The European constitutional system is developed from the interaction of supranational and member state constitutional law. Central individual topics are the structure of the EU institutions in view of the standards of the rule of law and the principle of democracy, law-making in the EU, the doctrine of competences, the protection of fundamental rights and European citizenship.

Reading
von Bogdandy/Bast (eds.), Union Constitutional Law, 2025.
Bieber/Epiney/Haag/Kotzur, European Law, 7th ed. 2023.
Schroeder, Basic Course in European Law, 8th ed. 2024.
Schütze, European Union Law, 4th ed. 2025.

Please register for the course in FriedolinExternal link. (This lecture will be held in German.)

In the winter semester 2025/26, PD Dr Isabelle Ley will hold a practice and exam seminar on "Foreign Relations and Defence Constitutional Law in Transition". Certificates can be obtained for the focus areas 1, 4 and 6 as well as for the International Legal Studies degree programme . The application deadline for seminar papers (to be written at home) is 31 July 2025. All further information on the seminar can be found herepdf, 190 kb · de.

The introductory course with the distribution of topics to the candidates will take place on 15 October 2025, 2-4 p.m. c.t., SR 308, C.-Z.-Str. 3.

Registrationpdf, 122 kb · de for exam candidates (until 31 July 2025 - cut-off deadline!)

Registrationpdf, 119 kb · de for practice candidates

Tuesday, 10-12 a.m., c.t. in HS 3, CZS 3

The Basic Law opens up the German legal system to European and international law in many ways and integrates the legal sources of European and international law into German law. Following an increase in the importance of these sources of law in recent decades, we are currently in a phase of change, reorganisation and increasing tensions, which are reflected in international, European and constitutional law.

The course will provide an overview of the international and European law aspects of state and constitutional law - in particular Articles 23-26, 32 and 59 of the Basic Law. The inclusion of international and European law in the national legal system, integration authorisation norms, the domestic distribution of competences of foreign powers, cross-border effects of fundamental rights and judicial control of foreign and European policy actions will be dealt with. Furthermore, the constitutional requirements for German integration into international organisations, in particular the European Union, and finally the constitutional requirements for military action, foreign missions of the Bundeswehr as well as potential alliance defence, will be addressed. These questions will be explained using examples and cases.

Literature:

• Sauer, Staatsrecht III - Auswärtige Gewalt, Bezüge des Grundgesetzes zu Völker- und Europarecht, 8th ed. 2024
• Geiger, Constitutional Law III, 7th edition 2018
• Calliess, Constitutional Law III - References to International and European Law, 4th ed. 2022
• Krajewski, Public International Law, 3rd ed. 2023.
• Schorkopf, Constitutional Law of International Relations, 2017
• Schweitzer/Dederer, Constitutional Law III - Constitutional Law, International Law, European Law, 13th ed. 2024
• Paulus, Constitutional Law III with References to International and European Law, 2nd ed. 2021

Please register for the course in FriedolinExternal link. (This lecture will be held in German.)

Tuesday, 2 PM - 4 PM, SR 121, Carl-Zeiss-St. 3

We are currently witnessing a change in the international (legal) system: New actors, tensions and a backlash against liberal democracy are creating challenges for international problem solving through law. In this situation, new venues for the solution of political problems are being explored. In order to better understand the current shifts, we will briefly recapitulate the foundations of international law (subjects and sources), and then look more closely at the political and legal institutions which the international legal system offers for the solution of today's political problems.

Subsequently, we will look at several material areas of international law and the way in which they are structured: the law of international organisations, international dispute settlement, the law of international responsibility, the law(s) of peace and war, international trade law, international human rights law, international criminal law, and international climate protection.

The lecture is open to students of the International Legal Studies Certificate, international (Erasmus) students, students of political sciences, students of the focus areas Public Law as well as International Law (4 and 6), and generally everyone with an interest in international law.

Literature:

• Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 8th ed. 2019.
• Klabbers, International Law,^4th ed., 2024
• José Alvarez, International Organisations as Law-makers, 2009
• Klabbers, An Introduction to international organisations law,^4th edition, 2022
• Hurd, International Organisations: Politics, Law, Practice,^3rd edition, 2017

Please apply for the course in FriedolinExternal link.

We are currently witnessing a change in the international (legal) system and in world order: New actors, tensions and a backlash against liberal democracy are creating challenges for the international legal system. In this situation, new venues for the solution of political problems are being explored. In this combined Jena-Berlin research seminar, held together with Prof. Dr Christian Marxsen and students from Humboldt University, we will look at different actors, policy and legal areas in order to understand how the power shifts in world order affect legal institutions and instruments. Topic suggestions by students are highly welcome.

The seminar will take place in blocked form on 27/28 of June, 2025 together with students from Humboldt University in Berlin - in case the application for external funding to cover travel costs is successful. Otherwise the seminar will take place in Jena on the same date.

Research papers can be written in German or English. Students enrolled in specialisation areas 1, 4 and 6 can receive a "Probeseminarschein" or write their "Wissenschaftliche Hausarbeiten" in this seminar. Those enrolled in the International Legal Studies programmes can obtain a certificate for their respective programme as well.

The seminar will also cover interdisciplinary questions and is open for students of political science and sociology.

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International law is currently in a phase of transition. Age-old centres of power are eroding, new actors and alliances are preparing to change even the fundamental functional principles of international regulations. Legal mechanisms are funds for the transformation of international regulations. Fundamental lines of conflict are evident in the concrete disputes over the creation of new legal instruments, in the application of existing funds and also in the conflicts over the preservation or transformation of existing legal structures and mechanisms.

The seminar will examine a number of current problems in international law and will also pursue the overarching question of whether and to what extent more fundamental conflicts are also articulated here.

The seminar will probably take place as a cooperative event between the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Humboldt University Berlin.

Possible topics:

Foundations of the international legal order

1. Theoretical and conceptual approaches in law and political science to capture the changing constellation of world order

International Court of Justice

1. New relevance of advisory opinions in "mega political cases" before international courts and tribunals
2. Public interest litigation before the ICJ

Criminal prosecution of individuals - international criminal law

1. International criminal law and the Russian war against Ukraine since 2022: institutional venues, approaches and doctrinal issues of admissibility
2. International criminal law and the conflict in Gaza since Oct 7, 2023: Jurisdiction, possibilities and limitations of a possible trial
3. Interaction and judicial dialogue between the ICC and the ICJ

Question of general international law

1. The role of the UN in current conflicts
2. Weapons deliveries in times of war: legality and political implications from an international point of view
3. Acts of sabotage and their interception under international and constitutional law

Self-determination of peoples and human rights

1. Right to statehood in difficult times: the cases of Chagos Islands, Palestine, West Sahara Africa
2. "Gender apartheid" in Afghanistan and the role of international institutions: Discussion of the concept and of the role of UN institutions and a possible law suit of Germany et al. against Afghanistan before the ICJ

Please register and sign up for research topics in the secretariat (room 1.49) or via email to Tim Niendorf (tim.niendorf@uni-jena.de) starting now.

The deadline for registrations of seminar papers (to be written at home) is 28 February 2025.

Please also register in FriedolinExternal link to get access to the course material on Moodle once course applications are open (Exam candidates should register for both the Übungs-External link and ExamensseminarExternal link in Friedolin).

Tuesday, 10-12 a.m., c.t. in HS 8, CZS 3

The international community is facing global, cross-border challenges: Wars, climate change, resource exploitation, terrorism, pandemics, migration. States cannot meet these challenges on their own, but must co-operate. International law provides legal forms, institutions and substantive guidelines for this. At the same time, this area of law is probably more dependent on the political and economic context than any other and is characterised by strong conflicts of interest between the actors involved. The sources of law, the creation of law, the subjects of international law, fundamental substantive principles such as state sovereignty and the prohibition of the use of force, the legal framework of central institutions (in particular the United Nations), the legal consequences of violations of international law and the legal mechanisms of conflict resolution are dealt with.

Literature:

• v. Arnauld, International Law, 5th ed. 2023.
• Krajewski, International Law, 3rd ed. 2023.
• Peters/Petrig, International Law, 6th ed. 2023.
• Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law, 8th ed. 2019.

Please register for the course in FriedolinExternal link. (This lecture will be held in German.)

Tuesday, 14-16, c.t. in SR 306, CZS 3

The lecture deals with the theoretical foundations and dogmatic core problems of European constitutional law. The European constitutional system is developed from the interaction of supranational and member state constitutional law. Central individual topics are the institutional structure of the EU in view of the standards of the principle of democracy, law-making in the EU, the doctrine of competences as well as the protection of fundamental rights and European citizenship.

Literature:

• von Bogdandy/ Bast (eds.), Europäisches Verfassungsrecht, 2nd ed. 2009.
• Haltern, Europarecht - Dogmatik im Kontext, vol. I: Entwicklungen, Institutionen, Prozesse, 3rd ed. 2017.
• Schütze, European Constitutional Law, 3rd ed. 2021.
• Bieber/Epiney/Haag/Kotzur, European Law, 7th ed. 2023.

Please register for the event in FriedolinExternal link. (This lecture will be held in German.)

For a long time, Germany has been ranking high on the list of arms exporting states. In recent years, exports to Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Israel raised attention to the legal framework governing arms trade. In reaction to geopolitical challenges and in particular the war in Ukraine, EU member states and institutions are trying to build a common industrial base in armaments and other military goods. In this seminar, we will explore the political background and legal framework of arms trade, arms export control and defence cooperation in Europe from the perspective of German administrative and constitutional law, EU and international law.

Students enrolled in specialisation areas 4 and 6 can receive a trial seminar certificate or write their academic seminar papers (to be written at home) in this seminar. Those enrolled in the International Legal Studies programmes can obtain a certificate for their respective programme as well. The seminar is open to students of law and political science.

Seminar papers can be written on the following topics, inter alia:

1. Arms trade and the laws of war: Can a state supplying weapons to a belligerent party become a co-party at war under the jus ad bellum or jus in bello?
2. Legal framework and political feasibility of UN, EU and other arms embargos
3. Art. 6 and 7 of the Arms Trade Treaty and its relationship with the prohibition on the use of force, International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law
4. The role of NATO, EU and informal settings like the so-called Ramstein format in coordinating military support to Ukraine: institutional setting, legal framework, judicial control
5. The preliminary orders in the ICJ case South Africa v. Israel for arms export to Israel: political and / or legal implications?
6. Rules for the export of EU common defence projects (like the Future Combat Air System or the Euro drone): regulatory framework, legal and political challenges
7. EU Common Position on the export of military goods: Historical background, content, legal status and judicial control
8. Towards a common market of defence goods? The framework of EU legislation for arms trade among EU member states
9. Arms export control regimes in Europe: constitutional comparison between the systems in France and Germany
10. The EU and the military support of Ukraine since February 2022: EDIRPA, ASAP, European Peace Facility i.a. - analysis from the viewpoint of EU constitutional law
11. The institutional framework of arms export decisions, in particular the constitutionality of the Federal Security Council under Art. 26 (2) German Basic Law
12. The role of Parliament in control of arms export decisions and employments of the armed forces: a comparison under German constitutional law
13. The role of courts in the control of the export of dual use goods, war weapons and military equipment: full control or judicial self-restraint?
14. Extraterritorial reach of human rights: Scope and judicial control with regard to arms exports
15. Public interest litigation by NGOs with regard to arms export licences? Comparative experiences from other countries, arguments in favour and against the introduction of public interest litigation with regard to arms export licences into the German system of arms control

You are welcome to approach me with your own ideas for other research topics. Please register and sign up for research topics in the secretariat (room 1.49) or via email to Tim Niendorf(tim.niendorf@uni-jena.de) starting now. Registrations for seminar papers need to be done until 31 July 2024. Please also register in FriedolinExternal link to get access to the course material on Moodle once course applications are open (Examen candidates should register for both the Übungs-External link and ExamensseminarExternal link in Friedolin).

We will have a first introductory meeting on Monday, October 21, at 2 p.m. in SR 385, Carl-Zeiss-Str. 3.

The seminar will be taught in blocked form in December 2024.