Univ.-Prof. DDr. Jürgen Pirker

In October 2023, an international conference in Klagenfurt addressed the questions: What do we understand by a minority/ethnic group? How do members of ethnic groups locate themselves in groups? What steps should be taken to recalibrate the protection of ethnic groups in view of the current challenges?
Jürgen Pirker was part of the organizing committee and moderated the panel on "Law and Politics" with Prof. Brigitta Busch (Vienna) and Prof. Dr. Petra Roter (Ljubljana), Chair of the Advisory Board of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

In May 2023, Jürgen Pirker inctructs a class at the Law School of Bar Ilan-University on: The Protection of Fundamental Rights in the European Multilevel Legal Framework. The course provides an overview of the development of human and fundamental rights protection in Europe and Austria and focus on landmark decisions and recent cases decided by the Austrian Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, VfGH), the CJEU and the ECtHR to analyze the interaction of the national and supranational systems of human and fundamental rights.

On May 15th a new edited volume on minoriy rights and minority politics in transition was presented at the Carinthian Parliament.

In April 2023, the recently published book "Minority Rights and Minority Protection Policy on the Move", edited by Gerhard Hafner, Karl Hren, Heinrich Neisser, Martin Pandel, Günther Rautz, Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle, Martha Stocker, Daniel Wutti and Jürgen Pirker, was presented at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna. 

The book offers a reflection on the current system of minority rights and minority protection - not as a relic of yesterday, but as an instrument for the coexistence of tomorrow. The contributions are devoted to the current situation of the ethnic groups, the needs and identities of their members, the political representation of the ethnic groups, bilingual education and the further development of minority rights. Specifically, the empirical results of a study on the current state of bilingualism in Carinthia, which was commissioned by the Federal Chancellery in spring 2022, are summarised. A look at other minority situations, such as those in South Tyrol and in the German-Danish border region, or the European perspective with the reporting system of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the "Minority SafePack" as a European citizens' initiative round off the informative contributions with different scientific and socio-political approaches and are intended to be the starting point for a constructive and solution-oriented dialogue.

All contributions and further presentations of the underlying conference of October 2022 can be found here in German and Slovenian.

On November 14th, Juergen Pirker will give a public talk on “Europe: United in Diversity? Means for Protecting Minority Rights and Languages”. The talk will deal with challenges and perspectives of the protection of minorities and regional- and minority languages within the framework of the Council of Europe.

Beiträge zur Rechtsgeschichte Österreichs 2/2022

Within the Paris Peace Order, the Treaty of Saint‐Germain‐en‐Laye provides the legal basis for the newly established Republic of Austria: it defines its borders and name, regulates the protection of minorities, the army, war guilt or reparations, establishes a system of international peace maintenance, and deals with consequences of the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire. Considering core elements of the treaty, central aspects of the Austrian‐Czechoslovak rela‐ tions become visible: the existence of Austria as an independent state, including its economic survival, the limitation of its military capability, or the protection of its minorities. They reveal one baseline of the interstate and international relations: Austria, which was ought to be the rest, should continue to exist in this form.

On the occasion of the Austrian national holiday on October 26th, Juergen Pirker visited the University of Minnesota's Center for Austrian Studies and gave a talk on “A Habsburg Legacy: The Protection of Identity Collectives and Collective Rights in Austria since 1848”“A Habsburg Legacy: The Protection of Identity Collectives and Collective Rights in Austria since 1848”.

At the “Korbel Research Seminar” of the Josef Korbel International School, Juergen Pirker presented a paper on “Collective Rights and Collective Identities between Law and Politics – in Austria since 1848” on October 6^th. The talk  provided insights into Austrian history and the development of essential instruments of minority protection that Phd students and members of the faculty then discussed.

On October 13^th,Juergen Pirker gave a guest lecture in the class of Prof. Timothy Sisk on “The Politics of Deeply Divided Societies” about “Memory Politics and Minority Rights – From Ethnic Conflict towards a Peace Region Alps-Adria”, presenting examples of interethnic conflicts and their regulation from Central Europe.

In the winter term 2022/23, Jürgen Pirker will spend a research stay at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver (Colorado, USA) and research the topic: United in Diversity? Overcoming Identity Politics through Integrative Conflict Resolution.

Minority policy always faces new challenges: The languages of the ethnic groups must be preserved, even in a world of increased mobility, networking, globalization and digitalization. From September 29 to October 1, 2022, a conference will be dedicated to the current situation of the ethnic groups in Austria and beyond, the needs and identities of their members, the political representation of the ethnic groups, bilingual education and the further development of minority rights. The conference aims to reflect on current ethnic group policy - not as a relic of yesterday, but as an instrument for tomorrow's coexistence. Specifically, for example, the results of the OGM study on the current situation of bilingualism and the needs of Slovene speakers in Carinthia, carried out in spring 2022 on behalf of the Federal Chancellery, will be presented.

Program: here.

The recognition of collective identities constitutes a challenge for contemporary cohesion policy; visible in debates about minority rights, integration or racism. The article deals with the protection of identity collectives, especially ethnic and religious minorities, through collective rights. In order to analyze their functions and the institutionalization of collectivity, the article develops a model of norm levels: from objective legal norms to cumulative (individual) and corporate rights. Their granting is based on different value premises - between individualism and collectivism. For identity collectives, collective rights fulfill protective functions, but these can only be exploited if dangers of assigning and fixing identities are avoided. An analysis of the jurisprudence of the highest courts on the rights of nationality and religion in the Basic Law of the State since 1869 shows how identity politics before and through the courts (co-)determine(s) the protection of identity collectives and the relationship of these collectives to the state and to each other. Three trends are revealed: collectivization, individualization, and pluralization. In order to ensure the protection of identity collectives in a pluralistic society without forcing identity politics through law, flexible instruments of institutionalization of collectivity are needed. They can contribute to the accommodation of exclusive identity politics that constitutes a threat to liberal democracy.

Article published in JRP 3/2021, 175-186 (German).

The article explores the tension between the autonomy of the family and public intervention on the basis of educational power and intra-family violence. It considers the constitutive functions of law for legitimate and illegitimate exercises of power and violence – in the context of the family and their historical development, using Austria as an example. As private social unit, the family can remain a “refuge” for corporal punishment and – domestic – violence. In order to exclude the use of violence, the "juridification" of power and violence relationships is not enough. It also requires the creation of a legal consciousness while maintaining a complementarity of autonomy and intervention.

Article published in Graz Law Working Papers 15/2021, 1-17 (German).

The year 2020 saw some movement in the protection of ethnic groups in Europe: many steps forward, some steps back. To the surprise of many ethnic groups in Europe, this first (!) citizens' initiative in the European Parliament "Minority SafePack - one million signatures for diversity in Europe" achieved a majority of 524 out of 694 votes in December 2020, but only one month later the European Commission rejected the package of measures for lack of competence. In Austria, 45 years after the Ethnic Groups Act came into force, the question is what adjustments are needed to meet the current needs of ethnic groups in a diverse Europe. The government program 2020-2024 aims at some projects in the modernization of the protection of the ethnic groups. How can such a modernization take shape? The conference addressed this question from a regional, national, European and international perspective. It wants to contribute to a current discussion in Austria and Europe and offer a platform to work out solutions for new steps in the national and European protection of ethnic groups in a constructive dialogue. Jürgen Pirker took part in the organization and moderated the kick-off panel on visible bilingualism and language prestige including a discussion among representatives of politics.

Program: here.

Press article (Austrian Public Broadcasting: here.

New Article on Memory Wars and Minority Rights: From Ethnic Conflict towards a Peace Region Alps-Adria? In drawing lessons from two initiatives in the Alps-Adriatic Region dealing with troubled pasts to counteract current forms of exclusive identity politics, the article proposes that effective minority protection depends on a conductive social environment that allows for the reflection of opposing narratives stemming from ethnic conflict and acknowledges diversity as enrichment.

Treatises and documents, issue 86/2021.

Since October 2020 Jürgen Pirker is head of the department "Global Governance" at the Institute for Legal Studies. Further information on the department's initiatives, research and teaching projects can be found on its new website: here. 

On 10 October Jürgen Pirker presented the book "Problems and Perspectives of the Protection of Ethnic Groups" to the Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and the President of Slovenia Borut Pahor, as well as to the Ministers Susanne Raab and Helena Jaklitsch and the Governor of Carinthia Peter Kaiser. On this occasion the editors Gerhard Hafner, Karl Hren, Heinrich Neisser, Martin Pandel, Jürgen Pirker, Günther Rautz, Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle and Martha Stocker were able to present the entire book series "skupno/gemeinsam 2020" to the presidents and ministers: "New and old minorities. Integration, Law and Politics" (2018), "Borders - Separation and Connection 1918-2018 "(2019) and "Problems and Perspectives of the Protection of Ethnic Groups. 100 years after the Carinthian Plebiscite".

Newspaper report (Sonntag) about the 100th anniversary of the Carinthian Plebiscite and the book presentation (German): here.

On 24 September 2020, Jürgen Pirker gave a speach about political and consitutional changes in the context of 10 October 1920 and their consequencesat the symposium "Work and Democracy" of the Carinthian Chamber of Labour.

Program: here.

The ethnic conflict has shaped Carinthia's recent history. The legacy of the past casts its shadow on the coexistence between the majority population and the ethnic group. At the same time, globalization, Europeanization, re-nationalization, migration or the emigration of members of ethnic groups pose new challenges for the protection of cultural diversity. 100 years after the Carinthian referendum, a conference from July, 2nd to July, 4th dealt not (only) with the past, but with the future: It was dedicated to dealing with the past and with old and new diversity, examined successful instruments of language preservation, necessary further developments of ethnic group law and the role of the diaspora in questions of minority protection / for the ethnic group. 

Program: here.

Interview: here.

Media announcement: here.

On May 2nd, Juergen Pirker gave a talk at the University of Minnesota on "Memory Politics and Minority Rights in Central Europe (1867-2019)". Presented by the Center for Austrian Studies and the Department for History.

On May 14th, Juergen Pirker spoke about "Minority Rights and Dialogue: From Ethnic Conflict towards a Peace Region Alps Adria" at the Conflict Resolution Institute of the University of Denver.

Recently published were the books "Alte und Neue Minderheiten: Integration, Law and Politics" and "Borders: Separation and Connection 1918-2018". The books were edited by Gerhard Hafner, Karl Hren, Heinrich Neisser, Martin Pandel, Jürgen Pirker, Günther Rautz and Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle as part of the series "gemeinsam/skupno/together 2020".

Borders: Content and Introduction (German).

Old and New Minorities: Content and Introduction (German/Slovenian).

From January to June 2019 Dr. Pirker is going to teach at the University of Minnesota (USA). The main topic of his teaching will be "Europe's Contested Borders, (Nation-)States and Peoples: Austria, the Alps and the Adriatic". 

On Friday, October 6th 2017, an interdisciplinary conference dealt with "New and Old Minorities: Integration, Law and Politics" and specifically deal with the functions of "classical" instruments of minority protection and the challenges caused by migration for the effective minority protection in ever more pluralistic societies.  

Program: here.

Information about the Conference Series: here.

Statement of the Carinthian Government: here.

In the Conference of the Austrian Commission of Jurists on the "Crisis of liberal Democracy" Prof. Eva Schulev-Steindl and Jürgen Pirker presented the Young Forum as new initiative of the Austrian Commission.