Overview

The increasing importance of European law, also on the national level, represents a great challenge for economic trade and lawyers operating in this field. To obtain information from data banks, magazines or other material is often too expensive and time-consuming. With the aid of funding by the Jean Monnet Programme a unique data bank has been established in the past years which provides free access to the German and European law of economics. The data bank focuses on European law, European private law, consumer protection law, company law, capital markets law, and competition law. It is being continually updated and, with more than 1 mio clicks per year, has become firmly established as a medium of information. Since German law is becoming increasingly Europeanised, lawyers are not only confronted with information problems but also with new challenges in respect of legal interpretation. Standard editions by Larenz, Bydlinski and Fikentscher on methodological teaching, due to their considerable age, provide only insufficient orientation. We are therefore in the process of preparing a holistic edition on methodological teaching which not only contains an introduction to the subject, but offers a deeper insight into methodological teaching by means of practical examples. In so doing, three goals shall be achieved:

• 1.Fast access to relevant examples of legal argumentation which serve to train legal reasoning and thinking
• 2.Overview of the historic roots of methodological teaching and creating awareness for contact points with constitutional law
• 3.Presentation of European and comparative legal methods

Methodology of comparative law, which represents an important aspect at the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELOS), also provides orientation in the interpretation and implementation of European law. By studying the legal systems of Germany’s neighbouring countries possible deficits of implementation by the national legislator may be revealed and excessive legislation avoided. In many cases, as for example in respect of the current financial crisis, it is worthwile to study the Anglo-American legal system as its laws often have a signal effect on European law, in particular in capital market law and law of limited liability companies (for example Sarbanes Oxley Act, etc). Studying foreign legal systems often makes evident that certain actions are required in national law making; for this reason the comparison of legal systems has gained increasing importance over the last years. Prof Möllers therefore intends to make his students familiar with this topic as early as possible. He offers an annual seminar on “Economic analysis of law” in cooperation with Prof Wendel of the University of Pepperdine (California). German and American seminar participants thus gain an insight into the German and the American legal systems, respectively, and will learn how to check legal regulations for their efficiency by applying economic criteria. Besides, the inter-cultural competencies of the German students are strengthened in the seminar as it will be held in English and attended by American guest students, too.

Maternity protection law has been an established field of occupational safety law for many years, however, it needs to be refined and developed further with respect to its significance for the equality of women in the working world. In doing so, attention must be paid to the possibility of negative impacts on the employment behaviour of companies. In the interest of a uniform examination of the matter social-legal regulations must be considered. The matter has been and will be scientifically accompanied by the Chair.

In a further field of work, i.e. questions of law on the establishment of work relations we particularly examine equality issues not only, but also with regard to the relationship of men/women, as well as controversial questions of data protection (particularly data collection in private law). Numerous publications have been released on the above theme-complex. We aim to carry on with our research work in this matter. The organization of future work relations is another issue to be dealt with. At present, due to impulses from social security law the professor holding this Chair is examining current contentious issues of self-employment/bogus self-employment/dependent work. The organization of work under new frame conditions of technology and global economy requires further scientific research.

The entire frame conditions of work and social law must to be adjusted to the requirements of the labour market and the labour policy. Thus, labour market reforms increasingly become the object of scientific research.

A further focus of the work of the holder of this Chair lies on tariffs law. This field of work aims to adjust the outdated system of the conditions of work based on tariffs contracts to the requirements of competition, while constitutional guidelines are complied with, and to co-ordinate it again with the competing regulatory instruments on enterprise level (enterprise contract, individual work contract). The “crisis of the regional tariffs contract” must not remain in stagnation. Suggestions for the development of the tariffs law have already been submitted and are currently being revised.