Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz

21335 Lüneburg, Universitätsallee 1, C11.225
Fon +49.4131.677-2804, valentin.schatz@leuphana.de

Werdegang

Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz ist seit September 2022 Juniorprofessor an der Fakultät Nachhaltigkeit und dort am Institut für Nachhaltigkeitssteuerung (INSUGO). Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz ist zudem assoziiertes Mitglied der Leuphana Law School und Mitglied des Leuphana Center for European and International Law (CEIL).

In der internationalen Fachwelt engagiert sich Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz derzeit unter anderem als Mitglied der IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law, als Mitglied des Vorstands der International Foundation for the Law of the Sea (IFLOS) und als deutsches Mitglied im International Law Association (ILA) Committee on Protection of People at Sea.

Die Forschungsschwerpunkte von Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz liegen im internationalen, europäischen und nationalen Umweltrecht und Seerecht. Ein aktuelles Verzeichnis seiner Veröffentlichungen und Vorträge finden Sie hier.

Die Juniorprofessur misst dem Wissenschaftstransfer besondere Bedeutung zu. Im Rahmen seiner Forschungsschwerpunkte berät Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz NGOs (etwa zum Meeresumweltrecht, zur nachhaltigen Fischerei und zur zivilen Seenotrettung), staatliche Behörden (etwa zur Offshore-Windenergie und zur umweltgerechten Schifffahrt)  und Think-Tanks (etwa zu hybriden Bedrohungen für die maritime Sicherheit) und fertigt regelmäßig rechtliche Gutachten und Expertisen an.

Zu den Seiten der Juniorprofessur für Öffentliches Recht, Europarecht und Völkerrecht, insbesondere Umwelt- und Seerecht geht es hier.

Lebenslauf/Werdegang:

  • seit Juni 2025: Juniorprofessur (W1 mit Tenure Track auf W2) für Öffentliches Recht, Europarecht und Völkerrecht, insbesondere Umwelt- und Seerecht, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
  • September 2022 – Juni 2025: Juniorprofessur (W1 mit Tenure Track auf W2) für Öffentliches Recht und Europarecht mit Schwerpunkt Nachhaltigkeit, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
  • 2021 – 2022: Postdoktorand, Fakultät Rechtswissenschaft, Universität Hamburg
  • 2020 – 2022: Rechtsreferendariat am Hanseatischen Oberlandesgericht Hamburg, 2. Staatsexamen
  • 2021: Promotion (Dr. iur.) mit einer Dissertation zum Thema "Access to Fisheries within National Jurisdiction" (summa cum laude) an der Fakultät Rechtswissenschaft der Universität Hamburg
  • 2018 – 2021: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter und Doktorand am Lehrstuhl für internationales Seerecht und Umweltrecht, Völkerrecht und Öffentliches Recht (Prof. Alexander Proelß), Universität Hamburg
  • April 2017 und März 2018: Gastwissenschaftler, University of Adelaide, Australien
  • Dezember 2016 – Februar 2017: Gastwissenschaftler, Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law
  • 2016 – 2018: Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter und Doktorand am Lehrstuhl für Öffentliches Recht, inbesondere Völker- und Europarecht (Prof. Alexander Proelß), Universität Trier
  • 2012 – 2013: ERASMUS Studium, University of Dundee, Schottland
  • 2010 – 2016: Studium der Rechtswissenschaften an der Universität Passau, 1. Staatsexamen

Publikationen

Bücher und Anthologien

  1. Workshop on impacts of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on fisheries and aquaculture in the EU: Part I: Legal aspects
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Alexander Proelss (Autor*in) , 2021 Brüssel , 72 S.

    Publikation: Bücher und AnthologienStudien- und UnterrichtsmaterialTransfer

  2. Rechtliche Vorgaben zum Umgang mit Schiffsabwasser: Völker-, unions- und nationalrechtliche Anforderungen an Einleitungen von Scrubber-Abwasser, Ballastwasser und häuslichem Abwasser durch Schiffe
    Alexander Proelss (Autor*in) , Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , 2019 Dessau-Roßlau , 129 S.

    Publikation: Bücher und AnthologienStudien- und UnterrichtsmaterialTransfer

Beiträge in Zeitschriften

  1. International regulation of commercially exploited sharks: challenging the notion of shark “bycatch” in tuna RFMOs
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Daniel Kachelriess (Autor*in) , 01.03.2026 , in: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 26, 1 , S. 1-18 , 18 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschung

  2. Die unionsrechtliche Regulierung von Hafenauffangeinrichtungen für Schiffsabfälle durch die PRF-Richtlinie
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Laura Wanner (Autor*in) , 01.01.2025 , in: Natur und Recht, 47, 1 , S. 13-19 , 7 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

  3. Rechtsrahmen und Zuständigkeit für die Überwachung der Vorwäsche im Rahmen von Anlage II des MARPOL-Übereinkommens
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Johannes Ipsen (Autor*in) , 01.01.2025 , in: Zeitschrift für das Recht der Transportwirtschaft, 2025, 6 , S. 202-208 , 6 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschung

  4. Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen der Einleitung von häuslichem Schiffsabwasser in der Arktis und Antarktis
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Johannes Ipsen (Autor*in) , 01.01.2025 , in: Zeitschrift für Europäisches Umwelt- und Planungsrecht, 23, 4 , S. 409-426 , 18 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschung

  5. Zur völker- und verwaltungsrechtlichen Einordnung der zivilen Seenotrettung
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Aziz Epik (Autor*in) , 01.01.2025 , in: Archiv des Völkerrechts, 62, 4 , S. 445-465 , 21 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschung

Beiträge in Sammelwerken

  1. Decolonizing RFMOs: The Case of The United Kingdom’s IOTC Membership on Behalf of the Chagos Archipelago
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , 14.10.2024 London , S. 17-33 , 17 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in SammelwerkenKapitelForschungbegutachtet

  2. Artikel 9 Umweltziele
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Miriam Köster (Autor*in) , 01.01.2024 1. Aufl. München , S. 165-174 , 10 S.

    Publikation: Beiträge in SammelwerkenBeiträge in KommentarsammlungenForschung

  3. Planung/Zulassung von Energieanlagen Seeanlagengesetz (Rn 1-17) Einführung
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Emma Bartmann (Autor*in) , 01.01.2024 München

    Publikation: Beiträge in SammelwerkenBeiträge in KommentarsammlungenForschung

  4. Seeanlagengesetz (SeeAnlG)
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Emma Bartmann (Autor*in) , 01.01.2024 1. Aufl. Baden-Baden

    Publikation: Beiträge in SammelwerkenBeiträge in KommentarsammlungenForschung

  5. §§ 9 -13 WindSeeG (Zentrale Voruntersuchung von Flächen)
    Valentin J. Schatz (Autor*in) , Emma Bartmann (Autor*in) , 01.09.2023 München

    Publikation: Beiträge in SammelwerkenBeiträge in KommentarsammlungenForschung

Auszeichnungen

  1. Promotionspreis 2020-2022
    Valentin J. Schatz (Empfänger/-in) ,

    Auszeichnung: Externe Preise, Stipendien, Auszeichnungen, ErnennungenForschung

Lehrveranstaltungen

Jelena Bäumler, Johanna Croon-Gestefeld, Jens Gerlach Burchardi, Till Holterhus, Valentin Schatz, Alexander Stark, Jörg Terhechte
Nächster Termin:
Dienstag, 16.06.2026 um 16:00 Uhr
Valentin Schatz
The sea is often described as a “lawless” frontier of human society as most of it lies beyond the sovereignty of individual States. While this description is incorrect from a legal perspective, it is true that the realities of human activities at sea render people particularly vulnerable to harm. The nature of these activities, the circumstances under which they are undertaken, and the legal framework governing conduct in ocean space pose significant challenges to the prescription, enforcement and adjudication of laws that aim to protect humans. Against this background, this seminar will explore the role of law – particularly international law – in the protection of humans at sea, which may be classified as an aspect of social sustainability.

The content of the course will at least partially draw on the programme of work of the newly established International Law Association (ILA) Committee on “Protection of People at Sea” (https://www.ila-hq.org/en_GB/committees/protection-of-people-at-sea), of which Prof. Dr. Valentin Schatz is a member.

To quote from the mandate of the Committee:

“The protection of people at sea has long escaped the attention of international lawyers, notwithstanding the intrinsic international character of the sea and the different nationalities of the people to be found on board vessels and platforms. While death, abuse, and excessive use of force have always been common at sea, it is only in the last 15 years that the often systematic violations of fundamental human rights at sea have attracted the attention of stakeholders and the general public. Intergovernmental organisations, civil society, and the media have started documenting abuses, ranging from slavery and forced labour in the field of fisheries, to overly long detention in police operations, to breaches of the right to seek asylum of maritime migrants, up to the lack of rescue for people in distress at sea. […] Confronted with this picture, it has become evident that international law, as it is currently interpreted and applied by States and international organizations, does not effectively protect people at sea. Apart from lack of political will and limited resources, a major obstacle in ensuring protection has been due to the fact that people at sea fall at the intersection of two branches of international law, which have, so far, rarely been combined: the law of the sea and international human rights law. […] In the emerging field of international law for the protection of people at sea, there are still many unresolved questions. Given the fact that most of the sea does not fall under the sovereignty of any State, which is the State or States that bear the obligation to ensure protection of people at sea? Do these duties vary depending on the maritime zones, the activity, the flag, or other circumstances? What is the exact content of these duties? What protection should be afforded to people at sea? What action (positive/negative, preventive/follow up, individual or collaborative) is required? What avenues are there for enforcing these duties? What duties, if any, do non-State actors bear? Who should enforce them?”

Unlike the Committee, however, this seminar will explore these issues not from the perspective of highly specialized legal experts, but in a manner that is suitable for students without a legal background. This means that we will also be interested in political and factual contexts as well as empirical studies or examples. Some examples and stories are drawn from the book “The Outlaw Ocean” written by Ian Urbina in 2019 (https://www.theoutlawocean.com/the-outlaw-ocean-by-ian-urbina/).
Nächster Termin:
Donnerstag, 30.04.2026 um 10:15 Uhr
Jelena Bäumler, Lars Berster, Johanna Croon-Gestefeld, Jens Gerlach Burchardi, Axel Halfmeier, Till Holterhus, Suzan Denise Hüttemann, Alexander Schall, Valentin Schatz, Claus-Thomas Schomerus, Alexander Stark, Jörg Terhechte
Im Kolloquium stellen Promovierende ihre Forschungsvorhaben vor.
Nächster Termin:
Mittwoch, 03.06.2026 um 14:00 Uhr
Who owns the Moon? Or Antarctica? Can Denmark cede territorial sovereignty over Greenland to the United States of America? The law of which State applies on board of a civilian airplane? Are the high seas a lawless space? Who can exploit the resources of the North Pole? Which laws govern shipping through the Arctic Ocean once it has become ice-free? What does it mean to ‘decolonize’ territory formerly controlled by a colonial power? Can an upstream State stop the flow of a river and monopolize its waters? Is it possible to create new States on artificial islands in the world’s oceans? What happens to island States threatened by sea-level rise? How can States protect nature through area-based management tools such as protected areas?
These are just some of the questions that we will ask in this course, which explores the many ways in which humanity (and in particular the international community of States) has regulated spaces through public international law. It begins by providing a general introduction to the functioning of public international law (German: Völkerrecht), meaning the law that applies between States and other subjects of international law. Thereafter, this course analyzes how the international legal regime regulates various physical spaces and their relationships with human societies through general and specific rules, instruments (in particular treaties) and institutions (in particular international organizations): territory; oceans and the seabed; rivers, aquifers and lakes; airspace; outer space (including the Moon); and the Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctica). While these spaces (and environment, ecosystems and resources found therein) are a physical reality, the way the law conceptualizes and regulates them is largely a social construct of human civilization (power, interests, economics, culture, religion, etc.). Legal notions such as ‘sovereignty’, ‘borders’, ‘jurisdiction’ (i.e. the lawful power of States to prescribe, enforce and adjudicate law in a certain space or over a person or thing) or ‘marine protected areas’ are excellent examples of such ‘normative spatialities’.
The objective of this course is to examine spatial perspectives on international law – asking not only ‘how’ but also ‘why’ the international legal regime has developed this way (and what the future might bring in the contemporary world order). It does so through a primarily ‘traditional’ (i.e. positivist) doctrinal approach. However, the seminar will also occasionally make reference to critical perspectives and approaches informed by the social sciences, such as Legal Geography and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).

These are just some of the questions that this seminar seeks to address. It begins by providing a general introduction to the functioning of public international law (German: Völkerrecht), meaning the law that applies between States and other subjects of international law. Thereafter, this seminar analyzes how the international legal regime regulates various physical spaces and their relationships with human societies through general and specific rules, instruments (in particular treaties) and institutions (in particular international organizations): territory, oceans, rivers and lakes, airspace, outer space, and ecosystems. While these spaces (and environment, ecosystems and resources found therein) are a physical reality, the way the law perceives and regulates them is largely a construct of human civilization (power, interests, economics, culture, religion, etc.). Legal notions such as ‘sovereignty’, ‘borders’, ‘jurisdiction’ (i.e. the lawful power of States to prescribe, enforce and adjudicate law in a certain space or over a person or thing) and ‘military occupation’ are excellent examples of such ‘normative spatialities’.

The objective of this seminar is to examine spatial perspectives on international law – asking not only ‘how’ but also ‘why’ the international legal regime has developed this way (and what the future might bring in the contemporary world order). It does so through a primarily ‘traditional’ (i.e. positivist) doctrinal approach. However, the seminar will also occasionally make reference to critical perspectives and approaches informed by the social sciences, such as Legal Geography and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).
Nächster Termin:
Mittwoch, 29.04.2026 um 10:15 Uhr