Teaching

1. Responsible teachers

Prof. Dr Alexander Graser, LL.M.
Dr Cornelia Grünewald
Prof. Dr Thorsten Kingreen
Prof. Dr Jürgen Kühling, LL.M.
Prof. Dr Alexander Tischbirek

2. Content and Concept

Specialisation Area 4 (SP 4) has two main objectives:

• It deepens the knowledge required for the compulsory modules in constitutional, administration and european law. In our lectures, we take care to repeatedly highlight cross-references to the public law lectures covered in the first four semesters. Even – and especially – if you have not yet ‘warmed to’ constitutional, administrative and european law, our courses offer the opportunity to understand the significance of these compulsory subjects within a specific context.
• It broadens your perspectives. Social law, health law, migration law and anti-discrimination law address important socio-political issues, such as distributive justice between the rich and the poor, between the healthy and the sick, and between people who live here and those who immigrate. In each case, we place emphasis on the overarching question of how the law ensures social cohesion. We also open up perspectives on the diverse career paths available: from social and administrative justice, through legal practice, to work in associations, companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It is therefore a great advantage that Dr Cornelia Grünewald, a judge at the Regensburg Administrative Court, is responsible for the lecture on migration law.

3. Lectures

a) In your first specialisation semester (usually the winter semester), you will attend

• the lecture on Social and Health Law I. This covers the fundamentals of social law and, above all, the many legal affairs affecting our healthcare system. Member of the teaching staff: Prof. Dr Thorsten Kingreen
• the lecture on Migration Law. Here, you will examine the key issues relating to residence and asylum law. Member of the teaching staff: Dr Cornelia Grünewald

b) In your second specialisation semester (usually the summer semester), the following are offered:

• the lecture on Social and Health Law II, which covers the main features of the law governing the provision of services in health insurance (in particular the main features of the law relating to contracted doctors and hospitals), as well as long-term care insurance law and accident insurance law. Member of the teaching staff: Prof. Dr Thorsten Kingreen
• the lecture on the Law of Poverty Policy, which focuses in particular on the tax-funded minimum income benefits under Books II, IX and XII of the Social Code (SGB) and the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act. At the same time, insights into the structure of SGB III (employment promotion) and VI (old-age provision) are provided as background. Member of the teaching staff: Prof. Dr Alexander Graser, LL.M
• The lecture on Anti-Discrimination Law, which aims to familiarise you, through a close focus on case studies and in a discursive format, with the legal concepts of the European anti-discrimination directives, the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), and also the constitutional prohibitions on discrimination under Article 3(2) and (3) of the Basic Law (GG). At the same time, anti-discrimination law will be examined in its historical, sociological and philosophical contexts. Member of the teaching staff: Prof. Dr Alexander Tischbirek

We deviate slightly from this sequence during free semesters; nevertheless, we ensure that you can attend all lectures within two semesters. You may also begin your specialisation studies in the summer semester. This is because the first sessions of the ‘Social and Health Law II’ lecture series (= summer semester) provide a concise revision of the material covered in the ‘Social and Health Law I’ lecture series (= winter semester). This then enables you to follow the lecture on the law of poverty policy.

In most of these lectures, we also offer a special service: we group the sessions together in the first half of the semester so that they can be completed in full once again in the run-up to the oral examination, right up until the time of the examination.

4. Scientific Decision-Making Laboratory

The specialisation also includes the discourse-based courses in the Academic Decision-Making Laboratory led by Prof. Dr Thorsten Kingreen and Prof. Dr Jürgen Kühling. Each course comprises one SWS in the winter semester (focus: the relationship between european law and German law) and in the summer semester (focus: constitutional law). Both courses follow on from the corresponding modules in the compulsory subject and can therefore, where appropriate, be attended even before commencing the specialisation programme, and may also be attended more than once.

The course is called the ‘Decision-Making Laboratory’ because we analyse (current) court rulings. The Decision-Making Laboratory is intended to be ‘academic’ because it is designed to prepare you for academic work in seminars and term papers, as well as for oral examinations. In terms of methodology, we depart from the lecture-based approach commonly used in Germany and, following the teaching style in the Anglo-American world, structure the course as much as possible around discussion with you (‘Socratic method’). In doing so, we take particular account of your preferences and the difficulties you encounter when dealing with legal affairs. We announce the case law to be discussed in advance so that everyone can work through it (‘reading assignment’) and discuss it before the session begins. At the same time, we provide examples of how a relevant topic might be addressed in a seminar paper or independent study project. The marking of seminar papers and student research papers shows that students repeatedly encounter difficulties in independently identifying recent developments in case law – for example, through current judgements – and in subsequently contextualising them. Furthermore, students often lack the courage to engage in critical evaluation. This course aims to deliberately break away from the often predominant approach to legal problems via secondary literature (‘reading commentaries’ rather than ‘reading judgements’) and to encourage critical discourse, which is frequently neglected in the ‘traditional’ lecture. As Kant put it: ‘Have the courage to use your own understanding!’

5. Seminars

The preparatory seminar can be completed as early as after the fourth semester, i.e. before the start of the specialisation programme. If you wish to make use of this opportunity, you will be assigned a topic from the compulsory public law lectures of the first four semesters.

Each semester, you have the opportunity to write your term paper on one of the topics within your specialisation. Even during research-focused semesters, we ensure that at least one seminar is always offered, in which all interested students are guaranteed a place.

6. Legal Practice

Our specialisation also includes optional practical sessions designed to give you an insight into potential career fields and perhaps even your first contacts within the profession. These may include, in particular, three formats which we offer depending on our capacity:

• Field trips (costs are, in line with past practice, predominantly covered by the faculty)
  • to the Regensburg Social Court or the Munich Regional Social Court (one-day)
  • to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Nuremberg (one-day)
  • to key players in refugee policy in Berlin, e.g. the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, various NGOs (lasting several days)
  • to the Federal Anti-Discrimination Office in Berlin and other key players in anti-discrimination work at state and federal level
• Lectures by practitioners (often former students for whom attending SP 4 marked the start of their professional careers in social, health, migration and anti-discrimination law)
• the Refugee Law Clinic, where students offer legal advice and support to refugees (and, as part of the Strategic Litigation Unit, also assist with court proceedings of greater significance).

7. Any questions?

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us by email (Alexander Graser (opens your email program); Cornelia Grünewald (opens your email program); Thorsten Kingreen (opens your email program) or Alexander Tischbirek (opens your email program)).

7 January 2020

Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and Seufert Rechtsanwälte und Partner

On 17 December 2019, the now traditional excursion organised by the Chair of Public Law, Social Law and Health Law took place, with students from the Social and Health Law lecture course visiting the Regional Social Court in Munich.
In the morning, the students were welcomed by the Vice-President of the Bavarian Regional Social Court, Mr Jürgen Michels. The main topics discussed were career prospects in the social courts and the worrying neglect of social law at many Faculties of Law.
The students then attended several oral hearings before the Health Insurance Law Division of the Bavarian Regional Social Court. Afterwards, the entire senate, chaired by Stephan Rittweger, answered the students’ questions regarding the cases and the senate’s working methods.
Following a lunch hosted by the law firm Seufert und Partner, the participants were welcomed to the firm’s offices by Dr Christoph Seiler, a partner at the firm. Together with his colleagues, Dr Seiler presented the firm’s main areas of practice and answered questions about employment conditions very candidly.

13 December 2018

Excursion to the Munich Regional Social Court and to Seufert Rechtsanwälte und Partner

On 11 December 2018, the now traditional excursion organised by the Chair of Public Law, Social Law and Health Law took place in Munich with students from the Social and Health Law lecture course.
In the morning, the students were welcomed by the Vice-President of the Bavarian Regional Social Court, Mr Jürgen Michels. The main topics discussed were career prospects in the social courts and the worrying neglect of social law at many law faculties.
This was followed by a visit to several oral hearings of the Health Insurance Law Senate at the Bavarian Regional Social Court. Afterwards, the entire senate, chaired by Stephan Rittweger, answered the students’ questions regarding the cases and the senate’s working methods.
Following a lunch hosted by the law firm Seufert und Partner, the participants were welcomed to the firm’s offices by Dr Christoph Seiler, a partner at the firm. Together with his colleagues, Dr Seiler presented the firm’s main areas of practice and answered questions about employment conditions very candidly.

Excursion to the Munich Regional Social Court and to Seufert Rechtsanwälte und Partner

On 9 December 2015, the department’s now traditional excursion to Munich took place with students from the Social and Health Law lecture course. The morning’s programme included attending several oral hearings of the Health Insurance Law Senate at the Bavarian Regional Social Court in Bavaria. Following this, the entire senate, chaired by Stephan Rittweger, answered the students’ questions regarding the cases and the senate’s working methods. The participants were then received by the Vice-President of the Bavarian Regional Social Court, Mr Jürgen Michels. The main topics of discussion here were career prospects in the social courts and the worrying neglect of social law at many law faculties.

Following a lunch hosted by the law firm Seufert und Partner, the participants were welcomed to the firm’s offices by Dr Christoph Seiler, a partner at the firm. Together with his colleagues, Dr Seiler presented the firm’s main areas of practice and also answered questions about working conditions at the firm very candidly.

We rounded off the thoroughly successful excursion at the Christmas market in Munich’s Residenz.

Career profiles and fields of work in social and health law (BSG)

- Information on specialised training in social and health law -

On 1 July 2003, the Act on the Reform of Legal Training came into force, which reformed key aspects of the legal training system as set out in the German Judges’ Act (DRiG). Subsequently, the amended Regulations on Legal Training (JAPO) came into force.
A key element of the reform is the replacement of the state legal examination by the first examination, which consists of a university specialisation examination and a state compulsory subject examination (Section 5(1), second sentence, DRiG). The mark for the specialisation examination will account for 30 per cent of the overall mark for the first examination. The specialisation areas, to be established by the universities under their own responsibility, replace the previous elective subject groups, which were prescribed by law. The areas of specialisation serve to complement the compulsory curriculum and to deepen the understanding of any related compulsory subjects, as well as to convey the interdisciplinary and international dimensions of law (Section 5a(2), fourth sentence, of the DRiG). They enable universities to sharpen their profile and are also intended to make a significant contribution to making legal education more career-oriented.

The specialisation programme in social and health law therefore consists not only of traditional courses, but also incorporates the potential career profiles and professional fields within social and health law (BBSG) through field trips and lectures by practitioners. The aim of these practice-oriented elements is to highlight the significance of social and health law in everyday legal practice and to give students an idea of potential fields of work at a time when specialised qualifications are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, they are intended to facilitate contacts with the professional world, particularly for internships.
Students from other specialisation areas are also warmly invited to attend these events. The events, some of which are organised in cooperation with the Universities of Munich and Passau, are announced on the website of the Chair of Public Law, Social Law and Health Law.

To date, the following events on career profiles and career fields in social and health law have taken place:

• Field trip to the Agricultural and Forestry Social Insurance Office for Lower Bavaria/Upper Palatinate and Swabia in Landshut on 25 May 2004.
• Field trip to the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law in Munich on 30 November 2004: event organised in collaboration with AOK Bavaria on the topic of ‘medical tourism’.
• Lecture by Mr Heinz L. Furtmayr, a solicitor from the law firm Furtmayr & Elsberger GmbH, at the University of Regensburg on 13 December 2004.
• Field trip to the Regensburg Administrative Court on 11 January 2005 with Dr Christoph Seiler, a solicitor from the law firm Seufert: attendance at a hearing concerning a matter of hospital law.
• Field trip to the BMW Company Health Insurance Fund in Munich on 9 June 2005.
• Field trip to SwissRE Reinsurance in Munich on 14 December 2005.
• Lecture by Mr Lars Lindenau, a solicitor from the law firm Rödl und Partner, at the University of Regensburg on 9 February 2006.
• Presentation by Waldeck Rechtsanwälte (Frankfurt am Main) on 20 June 2007 at the University of Regensburg.
• Field trip to the Süddeutsche Zeitung (business desk) on 28 June 2007.
• Field trip to the Federal Social Court on 6 May 2009.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 11 December 2012.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 17 December 2013.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 9 December 2015.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 13 December 2016.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 5 December 2017.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 13 December 2018.
• Field trip to the Munich Regional Social Court and a visit to the law firm Seufert und Partner on 17 December 2019.

We welcome suggestions for further events.