Vienna
Study Abroad Vienna: June 29 – July 11, 2025
Seat of the Habsburg dynasty for more than 600 years and capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy until 1918, Vienna provides a rich and historic site for the program. A world-renowned center for art, architecture, music, and diplomacy, Vienna also served as a political nerve center of Europe for centuries. Located at the crossroads between East and West, Vienna has long been, and continues to be, the meeting place for diplomats, merchants, kings, and presidents. Vienna provides all of the trappings one would expect in an international city: palaces, monuments, gardens, museums, theaters, opera, and the university.
The University of Vienna Law School serves as the site of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law’s Vienna Summer Legal Studies Program. Class instruction will be complemented by visits to the Austrian Parliament, the Austrian Constitutional Court, the Austrian Supreme Court, and the Mauthausen Memorial (a former Nazi concentration camp). The program will also include a weekend trip to Prague, Czech Republic, where a three-hour lecture will take place at the Charles University, Faculty of Law.
Our Vienna, Austria program is currently ABA accredited.
If you have any questions, please contact the Vienna Teaching Assistants at viennaloyola@gmail.com.
The Vienna program will not run in 2025.
Comparative Legal Systems (1 credit hour)
Instructors: Robert A. Garda, Jr. – Fanny Edith Winn Distinguished Professor of Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law & Richard Gamauf – Professor & Doctor of Law, University of Vienna Faculty of Law
Class Dates: June 30–July 4 & July 7–11, 2025
Class Time: 9:00–10:10 AM
Location: University of Vienna School of Law
Final Exam: The final examination will be a take-home test due after the program has concluded.
This course will present a comparative view of the legal traditions and institutions of the United States and other EU countries (focusing particularly on the United States and Austria). It will provide a comparative examination of the differences between parliamentary and congressional governments and will also explore the differences in these countries’ judicial institutions. Finally, it will also compare some of the differences between common and civil law traditions.
Comparative Review of the Rights of Children (1 credit hour)
Instructor: Madeleine M. Landrieu – Dean and Judge Adrian G. Duplantier Distinguished Professor of Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
Class Dates: June 30–July 4 & July 7–11, 2025
Class Time: 10:20–11:30 AM
Location: University of Vienna School of Law
Final Exam: The final examination will be a take-home test due after the program has concluded.
This course will provide a comparative review of the political systems and regimes that led to the institutionalization of children orphaned due to war, disaster, epidemic, and poverty, beginning with Romania after the fall of Nicolae Ceauşescu. Students will review the social, financial, and ethical costs of institutionalizing children; the pros and cons of foster care as an alternative; and the current state of research in the area of childhood brain development, trauma, and attachment theory. The course will explore the US Constitution as it applies to children, why laws and policies should be informed by the science of brain development, and how to mitigate system imposed trauma.
Comparative Estate Law (1 credit hour)
Sandi S. Varnado – Kathryn Venturatos Lorio Distinguished Professor in Civil Law, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
Class Dates: June 30–July 4 & July 7–11, 2025
Class Time: 11:40 AM–12:50 PM
Location: University of Vienna School of Law
Final Exam: The final examination will be a take-home test due after the program has concluded.
Comparative Estate Law will assess the foundational legal principles of the substantive law of successions and donations at death by comparing the laws of the United States to those of Austria. In the realm of successions law, students will study the intestate rules of devolution, and in the realm of donations effective at death, subjects covered will include: (1) wills (the capacity to make wills, the vices of consent for wills, the forms of wills, and the amendment, revocation, and revival of wills), (2) deeds of inheritance, (3) gifts causa mortis, (4) the compulsory share, (5) maintenance, and (6) use of the family home.
The Vienna Summer Legal Studies program does not provide housing. However, we recommend the 25 Hours Hotel Museums Quartier, the Hotel Alpha, and other facilities that our students have enjoyed over the past 20 years. The Vienna Summer Legal Studies Program Handbook contains a list of the facilities, as well as candid student comments describing them. We recommend that program participants read this part of the Handbook carefully so as to make the housing choice that is best suited for their needs and budget. Many students have enjoyed the use of Airbnb in Vienna to get the authentic feel of living abroad. The Vienna program Handbook and the Vienna Teaching Assistant can offer assistance in selecting accommodations, but making the actual hotel reservations is the responsibility of the student. Major credit cards are accepted.
Vienna Mandatory Forms
Content forthcoming March 2025.
Vienna Handbook
Content forthcoming March 2025.