Lecture series Lecture series of the Tandem-Program: Falling stars
Every semester there is a lecture in the series “Falling stars - Europe is reorienting itself”.
On Tuesday 15 July in the 2025 summer semester, Prof. Dr Anne Sanders, who works at Bielefeld University, gave a lecture as part of the "Falling Stars? Europe Reorients Itself‘, on the topic of ‘Judicial Independence and the Resilience of the Constitutional State’. As well as family and company law, Prof. Dr. Anne Sanders addressed the current challenges to the rule of law within the EU in her lecture. The lecture offered an interesting perspective on the recent German elections for judges to the Federal Constitutional Court, and also examined the judges' movement in Poland as part of a wider European movement against authoritarian judicial reforms.
Insight
Our lecture and discussion series “Falling stars - Europe's new direction” is dedicated to current challenges in Europe and the EU. The topics range from the rule of law and democracy to the financial and climate crisis, the EU's foreign policy relations and much more. The lectures offer the opportunity to examine the legal background to frequently discussed problems and to discuss the future of Europe with experts.
Europe: Bigger and different? - On the prospects of EU accession for the West Balkan states"
In the winter semester 2024/25, the lecture in the series “Falling Stars? - Europe reorients itself” will take place under the topic “Europe: Bigger and different? - On the prospects of EU accession for the West Balkan states” on Wednesday, 15 January at 4 p.m. (c.t.) to 6 p.m. in the New University, Lecture Hall 1.
The Tandem team is delighted to invite VLR Dr Niels von Redecker (Federal Foreign Office, Berlin) to give a lecture. The speaker studied law as well as Eastern European history and is head of the ‘Western Balkans’ department. This background enables him to categorise current developments and provide exciting insights.
Rule of law in Europe - The role of the Venice Commission
In the summer semester 2024 Prof. Dr. Angelika Nußberger spoke on the topic of “Rule of Law in Europe - The Role of the Venice Commission”. Prof. Dr. Nußberger is a former judge and Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights and has been Vice-President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe since 2021. In her lecture, she informed us about current developments, especially in Poland, and gave us an insight into the work of the Venice Commission.
Not a toothless tiger - instruments to protect the rule of law in the EU
Prior to this, we had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Dr. Clemens Ladenburger, LL.M. (Chicago), Deputy Director General of the Legal Service of the European Commission. His lecture “No toothless tiger - Instruments for the protection of the rule of law in the EU” offered an exciting insight into the instruments for the protection of the rule of law in the EU.
Africa and the EU
When organizing our lecture series, we also pay attention to the diversity of the speakers. In addition to professors, we also regularly invite politicians. For example, Katja Keul, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office. Ms. Keul, herself a graduate of the Faculty of Law in Heidelberg, spoke on the topic of “Africa and the EU” and not only addressed the past, but also offered us an insight into current politics and the future.
