Graduation 2008
9 October 2008 was graduation day for the first LL.M. class of students of the University of Vienna’s new International Legal Studies Program. In his Commencement Speech, the Austrian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Hans Winkler, a graduate of the Vienna Law School himself, underlined the practical relevance of international law in international relations and diplomacy – an experience repeatedly confirmed during his long career as a diplomat and legal adviser in the Austrian Foreign Ministry. In the presence of the entire teaching faculty of the LL.M. program and of Professor Straube, the director of the Center of Advanced Legal Education at the University’s Law School, the LL.M. diplomas were handed to the students by the vice-rector of the University of Vienna, Professor Christa Schnabl, and the director of the LL.M. program, Professor August Reinisch. Following the University’s string quartet and a forceful "Gaudeamus igitur", the traditional university graduation song, Elizabeth O’Brien and Finnur Magnusson, two freshly graduated students, extended their gratitude on behalf of the entire class of LL.M. students to the university and the faculty. In his concluding remarks, Professor Reinisch stressed the high academic achievements of the 2008 LL.M. class considering the heavy demands made upon them stemming from a broad area of international economic law as well as human rights and international organizations law. He expressed his hope that the rich program that, in addition to the regular curriculum, offered study trips to Geneva and The Hague as well as a number of lunch time lectures with high-profile speakers will attract many more future LL.M. students.
