Angelika Helene Anna Nußberger (born 1 June 1963 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) is a German professor of law and scholar of

Slavic studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or ...

, and was the judge in respect of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2019; from 2017 to 2019 she was the Court's vice-president. She had previously been Vice-Rector of the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

. Currently she is Director of the Institute of Eastern European Law and Comparative Law of the

Early life

Nußberger was born in

and studied

slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...

as well as

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...

at the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

from 1982 to 1987 and Law from 1984 to 1989 at the same university. She passed the first state exam in Munich in 1989 and the second state exam in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

in 1993. In the same year, she was awarded a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

by the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

for a dissertation on Soviet constitutional law during the transition period.

Career

From 1993 to 2001, Nußberger worked at the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

Institute for International and Comparative Social Law, including a period as visiting researcher at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

from 1994 to 1995. From 2001 to 2002, she worked as a legal adviser at the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. In 2002, Nußberger achieved her ''

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

'', the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve in Germany, with a thesis on

public international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. In October 2002, she was appointed Professor at the Faculty of Law of the

and as Director of the Institute of Eastern European Law. In 2009, she was elected Vice-Rector (deputy to the Rector) of the university with the newly created position of Vize-Rector for Academic Careers, Diversity and International Affairs. She has been a member of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

's Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations from 2004 to 2010, and a deputy member of the

Venice Commission The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...

from 2006 to 2010. In 2010, she was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, the Schader Award in 2015 and an

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu The Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (Romanian language, Romanian: ''Universitatea "Lucian Blaga" din Sibiu'') is a public university in Sibiu, Romania. It is named after the philosopher, poet, and playwright, Lucian Blaga. It was founded in 19 ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in 2019. On 22 June 2010, Nußberger was elected by the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

judge on behalf of Germany at the

, succeeding Renate Jaeger, previously judge of the

Federal Constitutional Court of Germany The Federal Constitutional Court ( ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme court, supreme constitutional court for the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, Basic Law ...

. Nußberger has been elected as vice-president of the Court in February 2017. In January 2020 Nußberger was appointed as member of the

for Germany. In February 2020, she was appointed by the

ECtHR The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

to succeed to

Giovanni Grasso Giovanni Grasso (11 November 1888 – 30 April 1963) was an Italian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1910 and 1955. He was born and died in Catania, Sicily, Italy. Born into a family of marionettists, he was ...

as international judge to the

Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Ustavni sud Bosne i Hercegovine, Уставни суд Босне и Херцеговине) is the interpreter and guardian of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It ...

and in July 2020 as member of the "Commission de réflexion sur la Cour de cassation 2020-2030" to elaborate on reforms regarding the French

Court of Cassation (France) The Court of Cassation (, ) is the supreme court for civil and criminal cases in France. It is France's highest court. It is one of the country's four superior courts, along with the Conseil d'État (France), Council of State, the Constitutiona ...

Research

Nußberger's research interests focus on German and European

fundamental rights Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...

and

International Human Rights International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, agr ...

in addition to

Comparative The degrees of comparison of adjectives and adverbs are the various forms taken by adjectives and adverbs when used to compare two entities (comparative degree), three or more entities (superlative degree), or when not comparing entities (positi ...

Constitutional Law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

and the impact of

International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

on the legal development of Central- and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

Other activities

* Association of German Jurists, Member of the Board * Schader Foundation, Member of the Senate * Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Member of the Board of Trustees * Association of German Constitutional Law Professors, Member * Gesellschaft für Rechtspolitik (GfR), Member of the Presidium * International Academy of Comparative Law, Member * Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, Alumna

Recognition

* 2010 Honorary Doctorate,

* 2015: Schader Award * 2019: Honorary Doctorate,

, Romania * 2019: Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts * 2019: Laureate of the Arthur-Burkhardt-Award * 2019: Laureate of the Honorary Certificat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan * 2019: Member of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* 2020: Honorary Bencher at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

* 2022: Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

Publications

Monograph

* ''The European Court of Human Rights'', Oxford 2020, * ''Sozialstandards im Völkerrecht. Eine Studie zu Entwicklung und Bedeutung der Normsetzung der Vereinten Nationen, der Internationalen Arbeitsorganisation und des Europarats zu Fragen des Sozialschutzes'' (''Social standards in public international law: a study of the development and significance of the standards set by the United Nations, the International Labour Organisation and the Council of Europe with regard to social protection''), Berlin 2005 * ''Das Völkerrecht: Geschichte, Institutionen, Perspektiven'',(''Public International Law. History, Institutions, Outlook'') München 2009, . * ''Das System Putin. Gelenkte Demokratie und politische Justiz in Russland'' (''The Putin System: controlled democracy and political justice in Russia''), (with Margareta Mommsen) Munich 2007, . * ''Verfassungskontrolle in der Sowjetunion und in Deutschland. Eine rechtsvergleichende Gegenüberstellung des Komitet Konstitucionnogo Nadzora und des Bundesverfassungsgerichts'' (''Constitutional controls in the Soviet Union and in Germany: a comparative study of the confrontation between the Komitet Konstitucionnogo Nadzora and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany''), Baden-Baden 1994, .

Publisher

* ''Einführung in das russische Recht'', (''Introduction to Russian Law'') München 2010, . * Bewusstes Erinnern und bewusstes Vergessen. Der juristische Umgang mit der Vergangenheit in den Ländern Mittel- und Osteuropas, (''Conscious remembrance and conscious oblivion. The legal approach of handling the history in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe''), (with Caroline von Gall), Tübingen 2011, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nussberger, Angelika 1963 births Harvard University alumni Judges of the European Court of Human Rights Living people Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences Members of Academia Europaea Academics from Munich Slavists University of Würzburg alumni Academic staff of the University of Cologne 20th-century German educators 21st-century German judges 21st-century German women judges German judges of international courts and tribunals Jurists from Bavaria German women non-fiction writers