45,000 students and 8,000 employees in teaching, research and administration, all working together to shape perspectives for the future – that is the University of Münster. Embedded in the vibrant atmosphere of Münster with its high standard of living, the University’s diverse research profile and attractive study programmes draw students and researchers from throughout Germany and around the world.
Prof James Fowkes, LLM, the Chair for Foreign and International Law in the Department of Public Law at the University of Münster, Germany, is seeking to fill the position for a
Doctoral Research Associate
Wissenschaftliche/r Mitarbeiter/in
(salary level TV-L E 13, 65 %)
from 1 April 2024 (or later) until 31 March 2027. The regular weekly working time for a full-time position is 39 hours and 50 minutes. The teaching load for a full-time position is 4 hours per week during the semester. It is anticipated that this part-time position (65% FTE) will be offered for 3 years. There is one position available.
Your tasks
This position is tied to working towards a doctorate. However, Prof Fowkes currently only supervises doctoral projects written in English. Applicants invited for an interview can discuss their options in this regard with the professor. However, applicants need not be at the beginning of their doctoral research to apply.
Applicants will also be involved in the Chair’s academic activities, including conference organization, teaching support and marking, academic exchange, as well as active involvement in the Chair’s research.
Our expectations
Applicants should have a Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws or an equivalent degree in another relevant social science discipline, such as political science or history. Non-law students should demonstrate experience or interest in applying their discipline to legal issues andinstitutions.
Applicants should be qualified to undertake legal doctoral research, either in Germany or their local system. Applicants from both within and without Germany are expressly welcome.
The working language of the Chair is usually English and applicants who are invited for an interview will be interviewed in English. Applicants should be comfortable working professionally in English. Applicants who are not mother-tongue speakers should provide details of their formal qualifications or previous work and study experience in those languages. Competence in other languages relevant to the Chair’s work, especially German but also including French and Spanish, is an advantage but is not required.
Most of the Chair’s work is in comparative public law and legal history, with a particular focus on constitutional law, human rights, and judicial review. The Chair’s research is global: its research work concerns both national and supranational legal systems, within and without Europe, and includes both Common law and Civil law countries. South Africa is a particular focus of some of the Chair’s work. The Chair’s other projects concern differences between common law and civil law, African constitutional legal history, or address broader comparative issues from a global perspective or from the perspective of select Global North and South jurisdictions.
Applicants are not expected to have existing expertise or experience in comparative work but they should be interested in doing such work across a range of jurisdictions. Experience in more than one legal system, region and/or legal family is, however, an advantage. Therefore, please include relevant details in your application in full, in addition to outlining your experience and interest in comparative work, legal history, or both.
The University of Münster strongly supports equal opportunity and diversity. We welcome all applicants regardless of sex, nationality, ethnic or social background, religion or worldview, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity. We are committed to creating family-friendly working conditions.
We actively encourage applications by women. Women with equivalent qualifications and academic achievements will be preferentially considered unless these are outweighed by reasons which necessitate the selection of another candidate.
Applications should include a full CV, your full academic transcript and a cover letter of no more than 3 pages explaining your interest in and suitability for the position. Applications should be sent by email to Prof James Fowkes at fowkes@uni-muenster.de. Please submit your application as one in .doc, .docx., or .pdf format.
The deadline for applications is 31 January 2024. Questions should be directed to Prof James Fowkes (fowkes@uni-muenster.de).
PROF. DR. JAMES FOWKES
Institut für internationales und vergleichendes öffentliches Recht
Universität Münster
Universitätsstr. 14 - 16
49149 Münster