Translation “Perspectives of Legal Sholarship in Germany” available online now

The German Council of Science and Humanities and the programme Rechtskulturen, an initiative of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin/Institute for Advanced Study and its project Recht im Kontext at the Forum Transregionale Studien, are pleased to present the

Perspectives of Legal Scholarship in Germany. Current Situation, Analyses, Recommendations

to you. The Council, a major science policy advisory body that reports to the federal and state governments on the structure and development of higher education and research, adopted the German original paper on the occasion of its fall sessions in November 2012.

The recommendations are preceded by empirical and quantitative descriptions that provide information on the current situation of legal study and research in Germany. The report is led by the idea that structural changes in the law present challenges to the subject matter and current structure of legal research and study. In order to actively engage with these challenges, the report considers it necessary to strengthen legal scholarship in Germany with regard to both, research and teaching. In particular, this entails strengthening the foundational subjects, intensifying exchanges within and outside the discipline and opening up legal scholarship towards a more internationalised and diversified way of studying and researching.

The programme Rechtskulturen pursues two objectives, the relevance of which the German Council of Science and Humanities emphatically highlights in its recommendations: an opening up to the international academic community as well as a stronger cross-linkage between disciplines within the academic legal studies field in Germany. As Rechtskulturen promotes innovative research questions and brings together scholars from all over the world, the programme is a unique and exemplary initiative in the German academic legal studies field. By making the Council’s recommendations accessible for transnational discourse on law, legal research and education, the translation takes part in Rechtskulturen’s endeavour to approach the challenges of internationalisation and responds to the necessity to understand law in its particular cultural contexts. As such, the text is meant to introduce German legal scholarship to a broad audience and to engage in a discussion with legal scholars internationally. We would like to see the publication serving as a working instrument that provides ideas to develop legal studies and research.

Please find the translation on the Council’s website. The German original can be downloaded here. Printed copies are available shortly. On request, the head office of the Council (post@wissenschaftsrat.de) is glad to send you one.