The Law Department's field of research concentrates on commercial law, i.e. the part of the legal system concerning issues relevant to the business community. The research is characterised by an approach based on real business problems, often combining the legal and economic points of view.

Legal research is differentiated from economics research in that it is very much bound to the language of jurisdiction in question. Despite the fact that rules of law in languages other than Danish are increasingly relevant to Danish commercial law, naturally a significant part of commercial law research still concerns the Danish legal system. Nevertheless, there is a clear tendency towards growing international influence on the Danish legal system, especially as a result of the Danish EU membership, which increases the relevance of and interest in publication of research results concerning Danish and comparative law in languages other than Danish.

Highlights of 2005

In the spring of 2005, CBS was granted specific exemptions by the Ministry to accept theses for assessment with a view to awarding the doctoral degree in law. Such an exemption has not been granted before.

Associate professor Thomas Riis' doctoral dissertation "Enerettigheder og vederlagsrettigheder – håndhævelse af immaterialrettigheder i økonomisk perspektiv" (Exclusive rights and remuneration rights – enforcement of intellectual property rights from an economic point of view) was accepted in 2005, and he will be awarded the doctoral degree in law in 2006 – in many ways a remarkable feat. This is the first time CBS awards a doctoral degree in law and the first time a person holding an MSc. in Business Administration and Commercial Law will be awarded the degree in Denmark.

In continuation of an initiative that was launched in 2004, the Department applied for and received private funds for the partial funding of a fixed-time professorship. The professorship in international commercial law, including arbitration, will be advertised in the spring of 2006. Several enterprises, including the five biggest law firms in Denmark, are among the sponsors.

In November 2005, the Department held yet another international public procurement conference, the theme of which was the implementation and enforcement of the EU procurement rules in the Nordic countries. The conference attracted 100 attendants. To follow up on the conference, the Department will publish a work edited by professor Jens Fejø, LLD, and department director Steen Treumer, PhD, both project managers. The Law Department received financial support for the conference from the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Academic profile

The Department's areas of strength include especially IT law, contract law, competition and market law, public procurement law with particular focus on the EU procurement rules, labour law, tax law, intellectual property law, international private law and law of procedure as well as media law. In addition, a number of researchers study the interplay between law and economics in particular.

In general, the influence of EU law on the Danish legal system is a central area of research in relation to the above-mentioned areas of strength. This is an area of growing significance and it therefore demands special attention. In the field of EU law the Department is among the leading Nordic research institutions, and this position is supported by international publication, international conferences and networking.

Research strategy

The Department's objective is to sustain and develop a high level of research by publishing research results that are among the best both nationally and internationally. Particular efforts are made to increase the quantity and quality of the Department's English language publications.

Research results

As appears from the figure below, foreign language publications, the vast majority of which are in English, constitute approximately one fourth of the Department's publications.

The total number of publications amounts to 109 this year, which is an increase of approximately 10% or more compared to 2004, as the statistics do not include publications in December due to a change in the registration period.

It should be noted that almost all the Department researchers published their results internationally as opposed to the year before, when a relatively limited number of researchers published in a foreign language. Thus, the increased focus on international publication quickly yielded results.

Research at the Law Department is characterised by an approach based on real business issues, often combining the legal and economic points of view.

As mentioned above, the Department applied for and was promised partial sponsoring of a professorship by private enterprises, including the five biggest law firms in Denmark. In connection with the professorship, courses and seminars in this field will be arranged on a regular basis for individual sponsors or groups of sponsors. This will create the basis for continuous competence development for the sponsors and their staff for the benefit of Danish export businesses and their legal advisers.

In the autumn, the Department, led by associate professor Christina Tvarnø and in cooperation with several external parties, arranged an international conference on public-private services in relation to mobile services – an obvious example of targeted contributions to partnerships with the business community. The conference was organised to provide the participating enterprises with specific results, and this was reflected in the angle of the researchers' presentations, which were based on a specific assessment of the legal issues in connection with various innovative projects presented at the conference.

As previously mentioned, the Department held a public procurement conference with the participation of 100 people. The participants in the public procurement conference illustrate the relevance to practice: two members of the Department's academic staff were among the presenters, while the audience, with a few exceptions, was made up of representatives of public authorities and private enterprises, including law firms, regularly dealing with the rules in practice.

Furthermore, the Department researchers participated as presenters at a large number of conferences and seminars aimed at practitioners among others, and that during the course of the year several members of the Department staff featured in various media, including the daily press.

It should also be mentioned that Danish arbitration legislation was amended in 2005 on the initiative of associate professor Peter Arnt Nielsen, LAW, who made the proposal in 2002 that the General Council of the Danish Bar and Law Society should work on a reform of the Danish Arbitration Act. Taking note of this, the Council established a task force and appointed him chairman. The task force presented its report to the Danish Ministry of Justice, which prepared the bill. It was subsequently passed.

Professor Peter Møgelvang-Hansen contributed to recommendations to the legislator on the legal effects of the E-signature and on the revision of the Danish Marketing Practices and Price Labelling Acts.