English

Welcome

Welcome to the English page of my website. Here I would like to provide you with basic information about my activities, especially my research work.

Contents of the German pages

Here are the contents of the German pages:

  • „Startseite“ is the first page with current information.
  • „Lebenslauf“ contains my CV in German – for an English version see „Curriculum vitae“ below.
  • „Lehre“ lists the courses especially of the ongoing semester.
  • „Prüfungen“ provides information concerning exams (preparation, modalities, times, and results).
  • „Dissertationen“ invites students to apply for writing their doctoral theses under my supervision.
  • „Forschungsschwerpunkte“ provides information about the main areas of my research – for an English version see „Research Information I – Main areas of my research“ below.
  • „Publikationen“ lists my publications (books and papers) – see „Research Information II – Publications“ below.
  • „ICHRPI“ concerns my activities in the „International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions“.
  • „Kontakt“ provides contact information (address, telephone, email) – for an English version see „How to contact me“ below.
  • „Mitarbeiter/innen“ is dedicated to thank all my former assistants for their valuable support.
  • „Archiv“ contains older information.

Personal Information – Curriculum vitae

Born 1965; 1989 Magister iuris (Vienna); 1993 Dr. iuris (Vienna).
Internship at the courts 1990 and 1991.
Since April 1991, working at the Department of Legal and Constitutional History (former Department of Austrian and European Legal History, former Department of Austrian and German Legal History), Faculty of Law, University of Vienna (1991 Research Associate, 1992 temporary Assistant Professor, 2001 tenured Assistant Professor).
Teaching since winter semester 1994/95.
1998 scientific director of the Exhibition Project „Poachers in the Alps – Rebels in the Mountains“ (St. Pankraz, Upper Austria), part of the decentralized Upper Austrian State Exhibition (together with R. Girtler).
2000 to 2002 Independent Researcher (in addition to reduced duties as a public servant), working especially on the project „Legal facts of the Austrian Stockwerkseigentum (old type of apartment ownership) since the end of the 19th century“ (Project-Nr. 8139 of the Jubilee Funds of the Austrian National Bank).
2003 appointed examiner for the subject „Austrian and European Legal History“.
2005 „Habilitation“ for the subjects „Austrian and European Legal History, including Constitutional History of the Modern Age“ and „European Private Law Development“.
2006 Associate Professor (public servant, tenured).
2009 appointed Deputy Head, Department of Legal and Constitutional History.

2015 elected Treasurer of the „International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions“.
2018 appointed member of the „Kommission für Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs“ [Commission for Austrian Legal History] of the Austrian Academy of Sciences; co-editor of the journal „Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs“.

Various other functions and memberships, e.g. member of the „Vereinigung für Verfassungsgeschichte“ (Germany, since 2006), president of the „Wiener Rechtsgeschichtliche Gesellschaft“ [Vienna Legal History Association] (2010/2011), Editorial Board member „Parliaments, Estates & Representation“, Scientific Councillor „Czasopismo Prawno-Historyczne“ (Poland), International Editorial Board „Vesnik Prawne Istorije“ / Herald of Legal History (Serbia).

Research Information I – Main areas of my research

  • History of Private Law (especially: Austrian General Civil Code; different types of apartment ownership; Hunting law; History of the Land Registration; Agricultural Communities).
  • Constitutional History (especially: History of the organisation of authorities and courts; position and training of judges; Vienna as a capital city; History of suffrage and parliamentarism).
  • History of jurisprudence (especially: legal culture of the 19th and 20th centuries – biographies and autobiographies; popular legal literature; law and language).
  • Empirical Legal Research based on the land register.

Research Information II – Publications

For a list of my publications in general, please see Publikationen.

Publications in English:

  • Hunting Law and Parliamentarism. The Problem of Hunting in the German National Assembly and in the Austrian Imperial Diet 1848/1849, in: Parlamentos: A Lei, a Prática e as Representações. Da Idade Média à Actualidade / Parliaments: The Law, the Practice and the Representations. From the Middle Ages to the Present Day, Lissabon 2010, 409-413.
  • Legal Historiography (German), in: A. Classen (ed), Handbook of Medieval Studies. Terms-Methods-Trends, I, Berlin-New York 2010, 788-806.
  • English constitutional law in Austrian popular legal literature of the nineteenth century, in: Parliaments, Estates & Representation 36/2 (2016), 167-182.
  • The Austrian land register – history, principles, perspectives, in: Mathias Schmoeckel (Hrsg), Übertragung von Immobilienrechten im internationalen Vergleich. Conference on real property law and land register (=Schriften zum Notarrecht 52), Baden-Baden 2018, 93-111.

How to contact me

Department of Legal and Constitutional History
(Institut für Rechts- und Verfassungsgeschichte)
University of Vienna, Faculty of Law
Juridicum, Schottenbastei 10-16
1010 Wien, Austria
Tel.: + 43 / 1 / 4277 – 34577
e-mail: gerald.kohl§§§univie.ac.at
(Please type @ instead of §§§.)