The questions that concern us...
ZOR sees itself as a centre for Eastern European law in the tradition of German institutes specialising in Eastern European law. The term ‘Eastern Europe’ is understood here in a very broad sense: It encompasses the Eastern European countries in the narrower sense (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), the Central European states (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Baltic states) and the South-Eastern European countries (from Slovenia “southwards”); it also includes the states of the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
Since 2015, the Centre has always had at least one flagship project underway. The Centre’s flagship project for the years 2015–2018 was the translation of the *Handbook of the Russian Constitution*, edited by Prof. Bernd Wieser (http://www.verlagoesterreich.at/handbuch-der-russischen-verfassung-wieser-978-3-7046-6713-7) into Russian. The work was published by Infotropic Publishing House in Moscow at the end of 2018: http://infotropic.ru/kommentarij-k-konstitutsii-rossijskoj-federatsii/. Subsequently, between 2020 and 2022, the provisions of the Russian Constitution that were amended by the 2020 constitutional amendment were revised in the “Handbook of the Russian Constitution”. This work was published in 2022 as a supplementary volume to the 2014 handbook: https://shop.lexisnexis.at/handbuch-der-russischen-verfassung-ergaenzungsband-zur-novelle-2020-9783704688866.html
The first major work on Ukraine was the ‘Introduction to Ukrainian Law’, edited by Prof. Wieser together with the Uzhhorod professors Yaroslav Lazur and Oleksandr Bilash, which was compiled between 2018 and 2020 (https://www.beck-shop.de/wieser-lazur-bilash-einfuehrung-ukrainische-recht/product/31832767 ). This was followed in 2022 and 2023 by a textbook entitled “Special Administrative Law of Ukraine” by the same editors, joined by Tetyana Karabin, published in both German (https://www.verlagoesterreich.at/besonderes-verwaltungsrecht-der-ukraine/99.105005-9783704691316) and in Ukrainian (https://oldiplus.ua/osoblive-administrativne-pravo/). A “General Administrative Law of Ukraine” is currently being prepared.
The primary methodological approach is legal-theoretical analysis from a comparative law perspective. It goes without saying that this is not limited to a mere inventory of legal norms, but is conducted by examining the political, social, economic and cultural contexts. In principle, all traditional areas of law are considered; however, the focus is on issues relating to constitutional and administrative law. Geographically, Russia is the main focus of research interest; a further focus is to be established on Ukraine.
In principle, the Centre is open to all forms of academic work. Individual research is therefore carried out in the form of essays and monographs on the legal systems of Eastern European countries; anthologies are to be published and relevant undergraduate theses and doctoral dissertations are supervised. The Centre organises lectures and conferences and warmly invites visiting scholars and students for short or long-term stays. Naturally, the Centre’s staff also maintain extensive contacts with relevant institutions in Eastern European countries and coordinate research initiatives undertaken by members of the Faculty of Law. The Centre endeavours to secure external funding for projects and is available to provide legal advisory services.
