Faculty members, alumni and guests celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of Leibniz University Hannover’s Faculty of Law at a ceremony on 5 December 2024. Following opening remarks from the dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr. Jan Eichelberger, the president of Leibniz University Hannover, Prof. Dr. Volker Epping, also spoke. This was followed by speeches from Lower Saxony minister of justice Dr. Kathrin Wahlmann, Prof. Dr. Henning Radtke (a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court), and Thomas Klapproth (deputy mayor and member of the Hannover City Council), as well as from junior researchers and students in the Faculty of Law. Prof. Dr. Hermann Butzer (professor of public and social law) gave the keynote presentation, titled “Through the decades – 50 years of the Faculty of Law”.
In winter semester 1974/75, the Faculty of Law at what was then the Technical University of Hannover took up teaching operations, becoming the second legal faculty in the state. This year therefore marks the fiftieth anniversary of the teaching of law as part of the legal training offered at the University of Hannover. The founding of the faculty gave the then Technical University of Hannover – on its way to becoming a full university and, consequently, the University of Hannover – another faculty belonging to the classical canon of subjects taught at German universities. The point of departure for the new faculty was the Chair of Law, which had provided legal training to students in the engineering, architecture, economics and management, and teacher training degree programmes since the mid-1960s. The faculty was originally located on the premises of the Hannoversche Maschinenbau AG (Hanomag) company; since 1995 it has been housed at the Conti Campus at Königswerther Platz.
Today’s Faculty of Law has long since established itself as a nationally and internationally known research and teaching hub and contributes to training the much-needed next generation of legal professionals. Today, 21 professors and approximately 170 doctoral candidates carry out research and teaching in 10 institutes. More than 8,300 graduates have completed their studies here, and approximately 800 have completed doctoral studies. Approximately 2,000 students are currently studying at the Faculty of Law. The focal point is the degree in law, which culminates in the “first examination” (state examination) and will soon be offered in combination with an integrated bachelor of laws degree. Other potential courses of study include IT law, intellectual property law, European legal practice and a certificate of professional practice for lawyers.
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