Faculty Perspectives
(Excerpt from the development plan of the faculty 2005 - 2010)
The Faculty of Law of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen is the oldest, largest and most renowned faculty of law in Lower Saxony. Since it was founded in 1737, it has been committed to the unity and freedom of research and teaching. Its top position in Northern Germany has been confirmed by positive teaching (2008) and research evaluations (2002) in the past. The faculty's objective is establishing itself as a centre of excellent legal research and teaching in Germany.
The faculty has long been characterised by exemplary and wide-spread research and teaching in the core subjects of civil law, public law and criminal law and in the area of basic subject (history of law, philosophy of law and theory, as well as comparison of laws). Based on this, it has established innovative research projects on cross-subject topics and special areas. With the cross-subject and interdisciplinary research focuses of
- Europeanisation and Internationalisation
- The Individual in Medical Sciene and Family
- Economic and Social System
the faculty targets increased profile sharpening and further networking with economic and social sciences. In the scope of generation change, the faculty renewed its staff, creating the prerequisites for development of the new research focuses based on its successful research in the core areas. This profile is supported by many structural and organisational measures, including in particular the new faculty structure. Under research aspects, the following nine institutes, one centre and three external institutes connected to the faculty have been set up:
Excellent research and teaching require the corresponding working conditions and in particular adequate literature supply. The faculty has - in interaction with the Lower Saxony state and university library - a great stock of literature on all areas of law. All important databases are available for researchers and students at the worksites as well as via the Göttingen wireless LAN.
The faculty offers its students - based on its research produced - both comprehensive scientific training in the mandatory area of legal studies and intensification unique in this large bandwidth in the following curricular focus areas:
- Historical and Philosophical Basics of Law
- Private and Public Economic Law
- Civil Law and civil justice
- Private and Public Media Law
- International and European Public Law
- Criminal Law, Law of Criminal Proceedings and Criminology
- Labour and Social Law
- Medical Law
- Public Law - Governance, Regulation and Administration
Additionally, German students may achieve the title of Magister Legum Europae/ Magistra Legum Europae in connection with a stay abroad via the EU's Erasmus programme and successful participation in the supplementary studies "Legal Integration in Europe". Foreign graduate students may achieve the title of Master of Laws (LL.M.) in the scope of agraduate course of studies. The Göttingen Faculty of Law offers a great environment for the young law scientists. It strives to continue to increase its attractiveness for doctoral students. The faculty is one of the founding faculties of the Göttingen graduate school for social sciences (Göttinger Graduiertenschule Gesellschaftswissenschaften; GGG).