Joachim Herz Doctoral School of Law

In the winter semester 2023/24 (beginning: 01 October 2023), the newly founded Joachim Herz Doctoral School will start its structured Ph.D. programme on Law and Transformation at Leuphana University Lüneburg. This project is funded by the Joachim Herz Foundation.

The Ph.D. programme deals with fundamental questions in jurisprudence that arise from societal transformations and – connected to this – from the transformations of law itself. Phenomena such as digitalisation, constant social change as a result of demographic changes, as well as various crises and conflicts, such as the Corona pandemic, the climate crisis, or the Ukraine war, pose immense challenges to the law. They not only require an adaptation of the law, but also lead to a change of its role.

Against this background, the Joachim Herz Doctoral School funds research projects on the following topics:

•  Digitalisation / Digitality and Law
•  Climate Change / Decarbonisation and Law
•  (Inter-)national Conflicts and Law
•  Law as a Decisive Factor in Transformations

The focus of the research programme on these issues serves the goal of making a sustainable contribution to the future viability of democratic societies and determining the role of law in dealing with pressing contemporary issues and the permanent demands of transformation.