Chair of Civil and Company Law

Since 2011, the chair is managed by Professor Dr. Janine Wendt. Her teaching and research focuses on business-related civil law, company law, financial market law and the law of artificial intelligence.

Civil law is the term used to describe those legal provisions that are applicable to legal relations between private individuals. The Chair is particularly concerned here with business-related private law. In addition, research and teaching is also carried out in the field of commercial law, i.e. those regulations that amend and supplement general civil law provisions for commercial legal transactions.

In company law, the focus is on the law governing limited companies and stock corporations, in particular those legal provisions which regulate the relationship between the company and its bodies and the shareholders on the one hand and creditors and other stakeholders on the other. Main focus of the department's research is on how to solve conflicts of interest between the aforementioned groups and how to ensure compliant action.

In financial market law, the Chair is primarily interested in the regulatory objective of investor protection. It is necessary to critically examine the information model and to look for alternatives. In doing so, the characteristic interrelation between the legal bases located in civil law and supervisory law and the effects of the public law regulation of banks and other investment service providers on their organizational and financial constitution is also taken into account.

In cooperation with the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 805, the department is investigating the law of digitization, examining whether autonomously changing technical systems in development and production can be integrated into existing legal frameworks or whether liability gaps can arise which require a conceptual solution. Additionally, the question will be investigated whether the current product safety regulations should be extended by a sabotage resistance (security). The department is working on the above-mentioned questions in close cooperation with departments of mechanical engineering and mathematics.

The classical legal dogmatics is supplemented by comparative law aspects in all fields of work.

The courses of the Chair aim to impart the knowledge required in the above-mentioned fields, including legal methods, taking into account current case law and legal developments. A wide range of e-learning offerings and the use of activating teaching strategies, for example in the form of pilot projects for discursive, problem-based learning, support the learning success of the students. Building on the basic subjects, interdisciplinary in-depth courses and seminars on current issues in the fields of law covered are offered, which convey the ability to work independently and scientifically.

Guest lectures from practice as well as cooperations with international (guest-)professors expand the teaching offer of the department and offer the possibility to implement joint research projects.

Prof. Dr. Janine Wendt

Welcome to the Chair of Civil and Company Law!

Picture: Sergej Falk