CEU Department of Legal Studies

On February 27, CEU hosted a conference centered on the content of a special issue of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (ICON-S): “Women, Gender, and Constitutionalism in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).” The conference was presented by CEU’s Departments of Legal Studies and Gender Studies, and organized by co-editors: CEU Pro-Rector for External Relations and Professor Mathias Moschel, Associate Professor Barbara Havelkova (Oxford University), and Professor Anna Sledzinska-Simon (University of Wroclaw).

How are Constitutions Shaping Gender and Women’s Rights in Central and Eastern Europe? CEU conference presents findings from special issue of the International Journal of Constitutional Law.

What does international labor law look like when it steps off the printed page and onto the Vienna U1 subway line? The Labor Migration Law and Business class with Prof. Lena Riemer traded the theoretical frameworks of the UN Migrant Worker Convention and EU Directives for a pair of walking shoes. To better understand the "lived experience" of the legal structures we study, the class embarked on a field tour of Favoriten and the Vienna Central Station (Wien Hauptbahnhof), led by student presenters who linked specific urban landmarks to the complex story of migration in Austria.

Vienna Pathways Tour Vienna Pathways Tour – Out of the Classroom and into the Streets

📚 How do technocrats and politicians shape democracy?

Join us at CEU for the launch of Democracy on a Tightrope, a new book exploring how meritocracy, bureaucracy, and political power interact in shaping democratic governance in Brazil.

🗓 March 23, 2026
📍 Central European University, Vienna
💬 Discussion with the authors

🔗 Learn more & register:

Book Launch - Democracy on a Tightrope Book Launch Monday, March 23, 2026, 12:30 am – 1:30 pm The Pro-Rectorate of External Relations is pleased to invite you to the book launch of Democracy on a Tightrope: Politics and Bureaucracy in Brazil. The event will feature the authors Pedro Abramovay and Gabriela Lotta in conversation with Jul...

Join Prof. Kisilowski in his talks at the American Constitution Society at Yale (Nov 8 ) and at Princeton (Nov 6).

https://lisd.princeton.edu/events/day-after-overcoming-polarization-poland-and-elsewhere

https://yaleconnect.yale.edu/acs/rsvp_boot?id=2284523

The Day After: Overcoming Polarization in Poland and Elsewhere A day after yet another close election in which, according to many commentators, the future of American democracy was at stake, we should ask: Is there a way out? Are we stuck in a never-ending fight to save our democracies from the right-wing revolutionary predilections of a significant committed m...

Read Professor Tajti's latest publication on secured transactions law.

New publication on secured transactions law by Professor Tibor Tajti | Department of Legal Studies The new article of Professor Tajti devoted to the myriad issues related to secured transactions law reforms ongoing during the last decade in Africa and Central Asia, from Nigeria, Ethiopia to Caucasian Georgia. Relying on the related experiences, successes and failures, from the 1990s reforms in Ce...

Join this online guest lecture with Prof. Markus Böckenförde on Multilevel Constitutionalism Beyond the State at Jindal Global Law School on Oct 16.

Prof. Böckenförde participates in a seminar on 'Proactive Constitutional Review Processes | Department of Legal Studies On Thursday 11 July 2024, Markus Böckenförde participated in a seminar on 'Proactive Constitutional Review Processes', which was jointly organised by International IDEA and the Polish Ministry of Justice. In a discussion that included the Polish Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, the President of t...

👏 Congratulations to this year's recipients of the university’s annual Excellence and Academic Awards, which honor outstanding research, teaching and service.

For the full list ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/2s4kamtr
More photos ➡️ https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBvNwm

Image credit: CEU/ Elena Azzalini

Beny Saputra, our new doctoral (SJD) candidate from Indonesia to join our ranks in September, has just published a paper in the Indonesian Comparative Law Review under the title of ‘Strengthening ADR System in Indonesia: Learning from ADR Practices in Hungary.’ The paper examines strategies for strengthening Indonesia's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) system by drawing lessons from Hungary, which is characterized a well-developed legal framework, strong institutional back-up, and efficient enforcement of ADR awards. The article proposes that Indonesia should use comparable techniques, such as introducing a comprehensive legislative framework, fostering the emergence of specialised ADR organisations, in order to expand access to justice, decrease litigation expenses, and ultimately to improve the efficiency of resolving disputes.
Link to the article:

Strengthening ADR System in Indonesia: Learning from ADR Practices in Hungary | Saputra | Indonesian Comparative Law Review Strengthening ADR System in Indonesia: Learning from ADR Practices in Hungary

On June 3, 2024, Associate Professor, Mathias Möschel, presented on the Italian Constitution at the Italian Cultural Institute in Vienna in occasion of the Italian national holiday on June 2. On that day, in 1946, Italians voted to become a Republic instead of a monarchy. The referendum was also the first time that women were allowed to vote in Italy.

Congratulations to our SJD candidate Mark Warren for the publication of his article in the Journal of Banking Regulation! The paper focuses on the rise and fall of Silvergate Bank.

Silvergate had transitioned from a typical California commercial bank to a specialist bank for the crypto-asset sector in the preceding years. The normalization of interest rates during 2022 and the collapse of the crypto exchange FTX in November 2022 punctured Silvergate's new business model. The bank announced its intention to wind down its operations in March 2023. This was followed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation taking over Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank. However, unlike the other three banks, Silvergate did not require FDIC intervention and has repaid its depositors in full.

Mark's paper examines how Silvergate managed its balance sheet both in its rise and fall. It argues that "the Silvergate model" indicates how banks should be required to manage their exposure to depositors from the crypto-asset sector: matching its deposit liabilities to highly liquid assets.

With the banking industry still determining the regulatory lessons to be learned from the "US mini-banking crisis" in Spring 2023, the paper contributes to this important discussion.