WU is always glad to welcome new professors, whose internationally recognized expertise strengthens WU's research and teaching. Starting on March 1, Erich Vranes will be WU's new Professor of European and Public Law.

Erich Vranes' research focuses mainly on European law (particularly the protection of fundamental rights in Europe, European business law and the EU's external economic relations), basic international law and international business law, legal theory, and methodology. "In today's increasingly fragmented international systems, a new approach is required to deal with traditional law and legal theory-related issues", says Vranes. "I am particularly interested in the fault lines between the various international subsystems, between European law, international, and national law."

Studies, research and academic career

Erich Vranes has spent time at both the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Harvard University, in addition to studying at the Universities of Graz, Lausanne, and Geneva, as well as at the Institute of International Studies in Geneva and the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law in Lausanne. He obtained his venia docendi in European law, international law, and international business law in 2006, and his professorial dissertation was published by the Oxford University Press. He has published in many leading journals, and is frequently invited to act as referee for international publishers and national and international journals. Among other research distinctions, he was awarded the WU Best Paper Award in 2009 and 2010.

Research and teaching at WU

Professor Vranes is not unfamiliar with WU; he has been teaching European law and international business law here since 2007. He has also taught in a number of WU's postgraduate programs, at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, the Danube University Krems, and in a joint study program organized by HEC Paris, Bocconi University and WU. In his new position at WU, Vranes is looking forward to strengthening the European and international aspects of the law and business programs in both research and teaching. In his teaching, he plans to focus on the legal foundations of European and international economic integration and the theoretical dimension of current legal issues.

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