The Faculty of Law at the University of Münster
I. Muenster
The city of Muenster is situated in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, near to the Dutch border. It has about 270,000 inhabitants, six universities and around 55,000 students. Muenster is thus one of the largest university cities in Germany.
The origins of the city can be traced back to a settlement of Saxons. Charlemagne had it replaced by a fortified settlement, which the missionary Ludger made the centre of an episcopate at the beginning of the 9th century. The city´s name originates from the monastery (Latin: monasterium) that he founded. The favou rable location at a crossing point of the river "Aa" furthered the development so that Muenster has been considered a city since the second half of the 12th century. It became a leading member of the Hanseatic League from 1494 onwards. In the period of the Reformation the Anabaptists dominated the city. During the Thirty Year´s War no major damage occurred and Muenster was one of the two places where the subsequent peace conferences took place which were concluded by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. In 1802 Muenster came under Prussian rule. From 1806 - 1813 Muenster was part of the Napoleonic Empire; following the withdrawal of the French, Prussia once again took control of the city between 1813 and 1815. From 1816 - 1946 Muenster was the capital of the province of Westphalia. During World War II 63 % of the city was destroyed.
After the war an attempt was made to recreate the original character of the city. The gothic city hall with its famous Peace Hall was rebuilt in 1958 according to the old plans, as were also the facades of the adjacent buildings on the "Prinzipalmarkt". In the narrow medieval town centre one finds many of the university´s institutes - including the Law Faculty. The former electoral palace - a work of the baroque architect J.C. Schlaun - was reconstructed between 1947 and 1953; today it houses the central administration of the university. In front of the romanesque-gothic cathedral in the centre of the old part of the town, the colourful activities of the outdoor market lure many citizens and visitors several times a week.
Today, the city is an important trade and administrative centre. A number of banks, insurance companies, authorities and courts (among others the Constitutional Court of North Rhine- Westphalia) are located here.
Muenster is the cultural centre of Westphalia. Numerous historical buildings, churches and museums are witnesses to the city's history. Several theatres, a symphony orchestra and a large performance centre offer a lively programme. Furthermore, the county of Muenster is the land of numerous moated castles (many of them former residences of nobility), of which more than 50 are situated close to the city.
Similar to the neighbouring Netherlands the numerous cyclists are an important feature of the town´s scenery. A widely spread network of cycle paths facilitate excursions into the green surrounds of Muenster.
The climate is moderate. The temperatures rise in the summer (June to August) rarely above 20 C and drop in winter (December to February) rarely under 0 C.
II. University
The Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet has a colourful history of more than 200 years. It was founded in 1780 by Franz of Furstenberg. In 1818, the university was closed; it was replaced by an academy. In 1902 the Faculty of Law was re-established and the Academy was once again promoted to a university. In 1907 the name "Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet" was bestowed upon it. After teaching had stopped in the winter term of 1944/45, it commenced again in November 1945. With around 40,000 students and over 130 fields of study it is Germany's fifth largest university and one of the foremost centers of German intellectual life. The WWU is the leading university in Germany in terms of CEO alumni in Top 500 companies.
The university´s main library holds over 2.1 million volumes and keeps about 8,000 periodicals.
III. Law Faculty
The Law Faculty is situated in the town centre by the banks of the small river "Aa", only a stone´s throw away from the cathedral square and the palace. Our campus provides a safe and convenient learning environment for all our students. The faculty, which is remarkable for its good reputation as one of the best law schools in Germany, was founded in 1780 and is thereby one of Germany's old-established law schools with a number of 5000 students, 30 law professors and 100 assistant lectures and research fellows. Several rankings verify the excellent quality of legal education and its position as a leading academic centre.
Research institutions
The diversity of research institutions gives the faculty a great national and international significance. Each of the eleven institutes and nine research centers has particular specialisations or research interests which attract the attention of international researchers from across the globe. A continual increase in external funding, investments in large clusters of excellence and international research projects as well as excellent results in university rankings highlight and demonstrate once again the quality of education. At the Faculty all the main areas of law are taught; for example, the German civil code, company and commercial law, labour law, social law, competition and cartel law, bank law, the law of accounting, insurance law, constitutional and administrative law, tax law, environmental law, economic administrative law, local community law, procedural law, criminal law, the history of law, jurisprudence and legal sociology, private international law and comparative law as well as public international law and the law of the European Union. Apart from that, there are smaller research centers specialized in the fields of Chinese law, European private law, foreign trade legislation, industrial property or advocate's law. The Institute for Information, Telecommunication and Media Law (ITM) aims to explore the legal framework conditions of the information society.
Libraries
Most of the research centers have their own library where you can find a large diversity of legal literature. The center law library (RWS I) for civil and public law is located in the main building of the faculty. This library has been renovated in 2010 and sports a new look right now. With 425 places to work and 419 laptop-working places equipped with WLAN the library provides perfect learning conditions for our students with a free access to most European legal databases. The convenient opening hours (8 am - 12 o'clock at night) are also a reason why so many students come every day studying in the faculty's library. Next to the main building you find the house of the criminal law institute which also provides a great library with a huge variety of criminal law literature.
Events
Each year the law school arranges some exciting events, especially to mention is the "JurStart-Messe", the "JuraForum" and the "JuWi-Fest". These are just a few examples but there are weekly fascinating lectures and congresses. The JurStart is a special carrier fair for law students. During one day, lots of international and national law firms present their work and you have the unique opportunity to get in contact with them. In advance you can apply for a traineeship and schedule an interview for this day. The law firms provide also a special Job Application Training for our students. Apart from that, students interested in LLM programs, can approach foreign universities offering LLM degrees within the "LLM Fair Europe". The juraForum is a symposium where reputable jurists and other academics come together in order to discuss current interdisciplinary issues in small groups. This event is an annual highlight because most of the invited speakers are working in other spheres so that the discussed issues go beyond the field of law.
Learning law requires leisure time. Münster has a high range of good restaurants, cinemas, music halls, theatres, pubs. During the study terms, several Parties are organized for law students, with the JuWi-Fest in summer as the most famous one. Famous bands perform on the faculty's area. This event is very popular because it gives students the occasion to come together and to meet each other.
IV. International study programs
The law school welcomes many international students each year and has formal links and partnerships with universities and institutions all over the globe e.g. with five universities in Japan, two in Russia, one in Lithuania and many more. Within the lifelong Learning Program of the European Union (ERASMUS), the faculty is also involved in strong collaborations with different law schools in Europe, particularly in GB, France, Spain, Italy and Poland. Its aim is to promote student mobility in Europe. If you are interested in spending a semester or full year at our law faculty, the international office provides some helpful information on its website http://www.uni-muenster.de/InternationalOffice/.
Master degree course in German law (Master "Deutsches Recht")
This postgraduate course has been accredited in 2008 and gives students the opportunity to receive a basic knowledge of German law. Thereupon the graduates are armed, not only for a doctorate in Germany but also for the processing of legal cases with references to German law and the law of their home country which is precisely interesting to recruiters in times of globalization. The programme can be commenced in the winter or the summer semester. The lectures take place in the winter semesters from mid-October to mid-February, and in the summer semester from mid-April to mid-July.
The programme is of two semester´s duration. During these two semesters a minimum of 20 credit hours must be achieved. The LL.M. student is free to put together his or her course programme, choosing from the traditional subjects of a German law degree as well as from the rich offerings of the Faculty with respect to international and foreign law. The course subjects chosen should be discussed with your supervisor, a Professor of the Faculty. Participation in an introductory course in civil, public or criminal law is compulsory, as well as the successful participation in a seminar. In each of the chosen subjects evidence of achievement must be provided, generally in the form of an oral examination lasting about 15 minutes, to be taken at the end of the semester. Seminars and written examinations (Uebungen) are subject to a different rule : here the normal requirements for all home and foreign students must be fulfilled. Should the candidate have already completed at a foreign university a course run by one of the lecturers at the Law Faculty of Muenster University, or should the candidate have studied law at Muenster ( e.g. as participant in the ERASMUS-Exchange Programme), up to 12 credit hours can be counted towards the student´s LL.M. degree.
The LL.M. has proven to be extremely popular. Graduates from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, England, Spain, Greece, the USA, Canada, Brasil, Argentina, Peru, Japan, China, Korea, Lebanon, South Africa and Australia have chosen this programme. Due to the broad variety of courses offered and the research facilities available in the legal libraries in Muenster, this number is likely to rise.
Doctorate degree
Foreign lawyers holding a degree equivalent to the German first state examination may be admitted to the Doctor iuris programme offered by the Faculty of Law. The decision as to the equivalence of the foreign law degree with the German first state examination is made by the Dean of the Law Faculty on the basis of a report from the office of the Conference of the Federal State Ministers of Education, which has to be obtained for each individual case. In order to be admitted to the Doctor iuris programme the applicant is normally required to have successfully completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the Law Faculty of Muenster Univesity. It is a particular requirement of the doctorate programme that the candidate submit a doctoral dissertation that shows his ability to do independent research and that constitutes a substantial contribution to legal science.
Other qualification programmes
Aside from the traditional law studies the faculty provides several double degree programs in cooperation with foreign universities e.g. a German-Dutch double degree as well as double degrees in collaboration with French, Italian or Spanish faculties. Equally there is the opportunity to pass a foreign law program (FFA) in order to acquire a basic knowledge of a foreign legal system and a foreign legal language. This exceptional program which is offered in common, French and Spanish law, is carried out in collaboration with our language centre. Generally all of our students have the possibility to take language courses with the intention to develop their language skills before spending a year abroad or just as a matter of interest. The language centre teaches a great number of different languages. The lectures within the "FFA"-program are mostly held by foreign guest lectures. Such as for this semester we were able to recruit two visiting professors from the highly prestigious University of Virginia. In summer 2011, these outstanding professors will lecture a bloc course on "Current Issues in American law".
The Faculty offers special qualification programmes in industrial property law, information and media law, journalism and law or insurance law.
