Verica Trstenjak

Professor of European law, University of Vienna & University of Ljubljana, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg

Professor Dr. Verica Trstenjak is a former Advocate General at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and a professor of European Union law. From 2004 to 2006, she served as a judge at the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg. From 2006 to 2012, she was an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice – the highest legal position in the EU. In this role, she handled cases concerning fundamental rights (such as asylum, social rights, judicial rights, and the right to property) and fundamental economic freedoms (including the free movement of goods, services, companies, and capital within the EU). Her work also covered cases involving consumer protection, intellectual property, state aid, and public procurement. She is a professor of European law in both Austria and Slovenia. She teaches at the University of Ljubljana on a part-time basis and at various LLM and other university programs in Austria, including the University of Vienna and Sigmund Freud University. Additionally, she lectures on European law at summer schools in Austria (University of Vienna in Strobl, University of Salzburg, and University of Innsbruck’s university course in Alpbach). Professor Trstenjak has written expert opinions for law firms and in arbitration cases on matters of European law and legal protection within the EU. She has authored several books and more than 300 articles, with some published in SSCI-indexed journals. She is a frequent lecturer at international and European conferences. In 2020, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen awarded her the prestigious Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class.

Research projects: Professor Trstenjak’s research interests are primarily focused on the law of the European Union, with a special emphasis on European constitutional and procedural law, as well as legal protection within the EU. Her work also extends to European civil law, consumer protection, EU copyright law, and fundamental rights. Other areas of her expertise include EU citizenship and civil law.