In line with the research profile of the chair, I supervise dissertations in the areas of private and business law that I represent in my scholarly work. Potential topics for Ph.D.-theses must promise a fundamental and innovative contribution to scholarship in their field. I welcome comparative and interdisciplinary research approaches, particularly those situated at the intersection of law and economics (Economic Analysis of Law).
To ensure the adequate supervision of doctoral students, I generally confine the acceptance of Ph.D.-candidates to those who achieved results significantly above-average in the First State Examination or their comparable foreign law degrees. Applicants I do not know in person yet should have an articulate idea of a potential dissertation topic. In all cases, applicants will have to make sure to meet the general requirements for admission to doctoral studies at the Department of Law at Goethe University.
If you contemplate writing a dissertation under my supervision, your written application should not only include the usual documents (CV, photo-copies of diplomas, transcripts etc.) but also an outline of your research interests and your motivation for seeking to pursue them under my supervision.
The final acceptance as a Ph.D.-candidate will occur on the basis of a seminar-presentation of the contemplated research topic of the doctoral thesis or a comparably detailed research proposal.
Completed Dissertations
Lisa Pfaffinger – Unbeschränkte Gesellschafterhaftung und Gläubigerschutz - Eine ökonomische Betrachtung des Haftungssystems der Personengesellschaften [Unlimited Shareholder Liability and Creditor Protection – An Economic Analysis of Partnership Liability Law]
Philipp Scheibenpflug – Aktienrechtliche Vermögensbindung und Verhaltensrisiken [Capital Maintenance and Shareholder Opportunism in the German Stock Corporation]
Henriette Karoline Sigmund – Bindung durch Versprechen oder Vertrag - Untersuchung der Behandlung öffentlicher Belohnungsaussetzung im deutschen und englischen Recht aus dogmengeschichtlicher und rechtsökonomischer Perspektive [Binding Effect Created through Promise or Contract – A Comparative Analysis of Promises of Reward under German and English Law from the Perspectives of a Historical Dogmatism and a Law and Economics Approach]
Gerrit Tönningsen – Gemeinsame europäische Bankenaufsicht nach der Bankenunion - Der einheitliche Aufsichtsmechanismus als Modell für die effektive Überwachung transnationaler Kreditinstitute? [Banking Oversight in Europe post Banking Union: The Single Supervisory Mechanism as a model for the effective supervision of transnational financial institutions]
Theresa Kreft – Die Trennbankenregime im Vereinigten Königreich und Deutschland – eine rechtsvergleichende und rechtsökonomische Analyse [Banking structural reform in Germany and the United Kingdom - a comparative and economic analysis]
Alexander Friedrich – Die novellierte Debt Governance für Banken in der Europäischen Union [Amendments to the Debt Governance for Banks in the European Union]
