Information on PhD programmes

The requirements for a PhD are set out in the PhD regulations of the Faculty of Law at the University of Regensburg (external link, opens in a new window). If you have any queries regarding these requirements, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please enclose a detailed CV with your PhD application (which you are welcome to send by e-mail to martin.loehnig@ur.de).

Your enquiry should also demonstrate that you have already given some thought to choosing a research area that interests you, and that you have familiarised yourself with the current state of research in that field. However, it is not necessary to submit a fully developed research proposal: you will develop the topic of your thesis together with me through personal discussions and subsequently draft an exposé, which, following review and consultation, will form the basis for your further research work.

Once you have been accepted as a PhD student, I will support your research project through regular one-to-one meetings, which will be arranged flexibly according to your needs.

In addition, there are seminars for doctoral candidates at which all doctoral candidates regularly present on the progress of their research projects, their future plans and, where relevant, any difficulties they are encountering in carrying out their research, and take part in discussions. The seminars for doctoral candidates also offer an opportunity for informal discussion with other early-career researchers who are working or have worked in the same field.

Attendance at the seminars for doctoral candidates is compulsory as an integral part of your supervision, even if you are not presenting your own project at the seminar in question.

I am also happy to support you in building an academic network, attending conferences and publishing your research findings.

The University of Regensburg’s principles of good academic practice, as well as the supplementary guidelines and recommendations (external link, opens in a new window), apply at all times.

• Franziska Kraus, Civil Law Protection against Stalking: An Examination of the Civil Law Implications of Section 238(1) of the German Criminal Code (StGB), with Particular Reference to Journalistic Investigations, Berlin 2009 (Duncker & Humblot, Schriften zum privaten law).
• Stephanie Ostermann, The Clarification Proceedings under Section 1598a of the German Civil Code (BGB). The Context of Law of Descent and Constitutional Law, Berlin 2009 (Duncker & Humblot, Writings on Private Law).
• Rainer Rackl, The Right of Appeal under the FamFG, Frankfurt am Main 2011 (Publications on German and Foreign family and law of succession).
• Pia Gambke, The New Proceedings to Prevent Divorce under the FamFG, Frankfurt am Main 2011 (Publications on German and Foreign Family and Law of Succession).
• Peter Becker, The Legal Classification of Belgian ‘cohabitation légale’, Frankfurt am Main 2011 (Publications on German and Foreign family and law of succession).
• Florian Weichselgärtner, The AGG in Competitive Sport: Discrimination in Sport, Regenstauf 2011 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Susanne Weber, The Relationship between the Interim Order in Family Proceedings under Sections 49 et seq. of the FamFG and the Corresponding Main Proceedings, Frankfurt am Main 2012 (Publications on German and Foreign Family and Law of Succession).
• Marina Schäuble, The Obligation to Earn a Living in Maintenance for Care, Regenstauf 2013 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Franz Birndorfer, Day-to-Day Proceedings at First Instance from 1938 to 1949 Based on the Divorce Files of the Amberg Regional Court, Regenstauf 2013 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Rebecca Zeller, Limitations on Liability under the German Civil Code (BGB) – Function and Mode of Operation, Regenstauf 2013 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Dorothea Scheuermann, Mediation in Separation and Divorce: Legal Foundations and Their Practical Application, Frankfurt am Main 2013 (Publications on Mediation and Out-of-Court Conflict Resolution).
• Leonie Schwarzmeier, The Confiscation of Works of Art as a Result of Nazi Persecution and Their Restitution, Hamburg 2014.
• Sven Kaltenbach, The Criminal Law Protection of the Family, Berlin 2014 (Duncker&Humblot, Writings on Criminal Law).
• Dejan Markovic, “Unnecessary, excessive, bureaucratic and therefore misguided”? Restrictions on the right to dispose of agricultural land in Bavaria in the 20th century, Regenstauf 2014 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Andreas Pichlmeier, Overlaps and Interactions between Equalisation of Accretions and Maintenance: On the Problem of the Double Realisation of Assets, Regenstauf 2014 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Stefanie Scheuber, Disputes over the compulsory share during the testator’s lifetime, Bonn 2014 (zerb Series).
• Manuela Sonnenschein, Denazification of National Socialist Labor Law – The Case Law of North Rhine-Westphalian Labour Courts 1945–1949, Regenstauf 2014 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Mareike Preisner, The Statutory Joint and Several Liability Arising from Joint Parenting: A Contribution to Contemporary Family Law Doctrine, Tübingen 2014 (Mohr Siebeck, Studies in Private Law).
• Michael Schächinger, Human Dignity and the Dignity of Humanity: Purpose, Consistency and Justification of Criminal Law Protection of the Embryo, Berlin 2014 (Duncker & Humblot, Public Law Series).
• Andreas Gietl, Descent – Dogmatics of a Normative Category, Regenstauf 2015 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Christoph Hammer, Automated Control in Road Traffic, Frankfurt am Main 2015.
• Marina Schneider, The Constitutionality of Organ Allocation, Baden-Baden 2015 (Nomos).
• Philipp Paul Roeckl, History of Co-operative Legislation in the Kingdom of Bavaria, Regenstauf 2015 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Hartwig Maier, Commercial and Trade Jurisdiction in Württemberg, Regenstauf 2015 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Christoph Jerger, The Exclusion of Claims for the Return of Benefits Provided at the Expense of the Deceiver, Bielefeld 2016 (Gieseking).
• Edda Pauli, The So-Called Biological Father: A Comparison of Legal Developments in Germany and France, Tübingen 2016 (Mohr Siebeck).
• Andreas Miehler, The Need for Reform in the Adoption of Stepchildren, Relatives and Adults, Baden-Baden 2016 (Nomos, Schriften zum family law and law of succession).
• Ruth Schneider, Temporary Agency Work in Church Institutions, Berlin 2016 (Duncker & Humblot).
• Ina Plettenberg, Father, Father, Mother, Child – A Plea for Legal Multiple Paternity, Tübingen 2016 (Mohr Siebeck, Writings on private law).
• Manuela Ascher, The Application of Nazi Labor Law in the American Occupation Zone, Regenstauf 2017 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Julia Prenzyna, Family Responsibility versus Responsibility to the Common Good in Child and Parental Maintenance, Frankfurt am Main 2017 (Essays on German and Foreign Family and Law of Succession).
• Michael Beer, The Foundations of Contractual Non-Competition Clauses in German Labor Law, Baden-Baden 2017 (Nomos, Theory and Practice of Labor Law).
• Carolin Engler, Private Regulation, Berlin 2017 (Duncker & Humblot, Studies in private law).
• Kerstin Strohmaier, Day-to-Day Proceedings at First Instance between 1938 and 1950: An Analysis of the Divorce Files of the Ravensburg Regional Court in Relation to Sections 55 of the 1938 Marriage Act and Section 48 of the 1946 Marriage Act, Regensburg 2018 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Franziska Meixner, The Post-War Black Market in Nuremberg from a Legal Perspective, Regensburg 2018 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Iris Riege, Outreach Interventions by the GDR Youth Welfare Service in the 1960s to the 1980s, Berlin 2019 (Duncker&Humblot).
• Raphaela Etzold, Equality in the First Instance: A Comparison of East and West German Divorce Judgements of the 1950s, Tübingen 2019 (Mohr Siebeck).
• Antonia Schnitzler, Legal Adaptation to Social Change – A Comparative Study of Legal Cultures Regarding the Equality of Children Born Out of Wedlock, Tübingen 2019 (Mohr Siebeck).
• Lisa Beck, The GmbH as Executor – New Reflections on an Old Legal Institution, Frankfurt am Main 2019 (Publications on German and Foreign law of succession).
• Steffen Jaspert, The Valuation of Gifts in the Context of the Claim for a Supplement to the Statutory Share, Baden-Baden 2019 (Nomos, Writings on family and law of succession).
• Philip Egle, The ‘ex tunc’ nullity of continuing obligations, Berlin 2020 (Duncker & Humblot).
• Orsolina Fortini, German Influences on the Italian Codice di Commercio of 1882, Regensburg 2020 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Thomas Hornberger, Relocation of Registered Office While Preserving Legal Form, Mergers and Changes of Legal Form of Partnerships within the EU, Baden-Baden 2020 (Nomos, Writings on company law).
• Katharina Stöcklmeier, Status-Based Relationships versus Practical Solidarity: The Law of Succession for Stepchildren de lege lata and de lege feranda, Regensburg 2021 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik)
• Verena Niebler, The Origins of the 1877 Imperial Bankruptcy Code – Liquidation Rather Than Reorganisation?, Regensburg 2021 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Felix Flöck, Judicial Review of the Waiver of the Statutory Share and the Underlying Transactional Arrangement for the Protection of the Beneficiary of the Statutory Share, Frankfurt am Main 2022 (Publications on German and Foreign law of succession).
• Maximilian Kiemle, The Heirs of Inventors: A Legal-Historical and Comparative Law Study of the Heritability of Rights to Inventions, Tübingen 2022 (Mohr Siebeck, Intellectual Property and Law of Competition).
• Simon Naczinsky, The Restitution of ‘Aryanised’ Enterprises under Military Government Order No. 59 of the American Occupation Zone, Regensburg 2022 (Legal Culture and Scholarship).
• Marius Holdschik, The Duty to Give Notice under the ADHGB – On the Emergence of a Central European Law of Obligations, Regensburg 2022 (Rechtskultur Wissenschaft).
• Magdalena Naczinsky, Duties of Loyalty in Legal Transactions between Spouses and Family Members, Regensburg 2022 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Daniel Rottmann, The Intervening Party: Options for Action in Certificate of Inheritance Proceedings, Regensburg 2023 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik).
• Moritz P. Bach, The Law of Representation in the Judicial Practice of the Court of Appeal or Higher Regional Court of Colmar in the Years 1871–1900, Berlin 2023 (Duncker & Humblot, Schriften zur legal history).
• Marie Schiller, Mutual Representation of Spouses in Matters of Healthcare, Regensburg 2024 (Legal Culture: Dogmatics).
• Henry Deuschl, Ongoing Enforcement and Inheritance Inflows: Also a Contribution to the Legal Status of the Executor, Regensburg 2024 (Rechtskultur Dogmatik)
• Eray Gündüz, The Principle of Abstraction as a Theory of Property, Tübingen 2025 (Mohr Siebeck, Studies in Private Law).
• Paul Jüttner, Losses of Cultural Heritage as a Result of the Enforcement of Tax Claims in the GDR, Cologne 2025 (Böhlau, Writings on GDR Law).

The Department of Legal Studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Verona (external link, opens in a new window) and the Faculty of Law at the University of Regensburg (external link, opens in a new window) run a joint doctoral programme with mutual recognition of the degree, under the general theme: ‘European Private Law on Property Relations’. This topic is to be understood in the broadest possible sense and encompasses, in particular, the historical foundations of European private law.

As part of this three-year doctoral programme, in addition to writing a doctoral thesis on the general topic, students are required to spend time at the partner university, attending courses designed for doctoral students. Knowledge of Italian is required but is also encouraged.

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr Martin Löhnig.