The Ambassador of the State of Israel to Austria, H.E. Talya Lador-Fresher, visited the University of Innsbruck and AIANI for the third time during her term in office. The visit included a reception at the “Salon des Rektors” where the Ambassador was welcomed by Rector Tilmann Märk and Vice-Rector Ulrike Tanzer. Also attending were the head of the International Services, Dr. Barbara Tasser, the head of the „Transferstelle Wissenschaft“, Dr. Sara Matt-Leubner and the AIANI-Team.

In celebration of “70 Years of the State of Israel” and “5 Years AIANI”, the Ambassador gave a guest lecture later that day on “Israel @ 70: celebrating Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship”. Numerous well-known guests were present, including the mayor of Innsbruck, Georg Willi, Dr. Esther Fritsch, honorary president of the Jewish Community for Tyrol and Vorarlberg, as well as members of the university council, the different faculties and representatives from the industry and economy of the region.

The Ambassador talked about Israel and its development over the last 70 years and also emphasized how important it is to continue to strengthen the relationship between Austria and Israel.
H.E. Lador-Fresher stated that this year the Israeli embassy puts particular emphasis on further developing academic ties between the two countries, as well as science and academia in general. The evening came to a closing with a discussion panel with the Ambassador, moderated by Dean Prof. Dirk Rupnow and Prof. Noam Zadoff from the Indiana University in Bloomington. The audience was invited to ask questions. Presentations, book tables and a small reception allowed for an informal get-together and networking.

Prof. Celia Wasserstein-Fassberg from the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem came as AIANI-Fellow to the University of Innsbruck to give three very interesting guest lectures in January 2019.
The topics of the guest lecture series included “Property in Private International Law”, “Israeli Law as a Mixed Legal System”, as well as “Choice of Law Terminology in the Context of Non-Contractual Obligations”. Prof. Wasserstein-Fassberg was invited by Prof. Dr. Gregor Christandl from the Institute for Italian Law and Prof. Dr. Kristin Nemeth from the Institute for Civil Law.

In her first talk of the series, Prof. Wasserstein-Fassberg discussed the one universal choice of law rule, namely, the rule that property rights are subject to the lex situs (§31 IPRG). The discussion focused on the rationale of the rule and its implications in situations where the situs of movable property changes. It investigated and challenged the traditional assumption that giving priority to the lex situs at the time of the transfer protects vested rights.

Prof. Celia Wasserstein-Fassberg grew up in England and Jerusalem. She obtained a Ll.B. degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an S.J.D. degree at Harvard Law School. After clerking at the Israeli Supreme Court she became a member of the Israeli Bar Association. Prof. Wasserstein-Fassberg is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Hebrew University, where she holds the Judge Harry M. Fisher Chair in Private International and Inter-Religious Law. Her primary area of research and teaching is Private International Law. In 2016 she was awarded the Justice Shneor Zalman Cheshin Prize for Academic Excellence in Law. She has been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School, Georgetown Law School, Columbia Law School and UNIDROIT. She is a member of the International Association of Procedural Law and Vice-President of the World Society of Mixed Jurisdiction Jurists.
 
AIANI and the Faculty of Law of the University of Innsbruck were delighted to have Prof. Wasserstein-Fassberg as a lecturer in Innsbruck!
Her stay was supported by the Land Tirol.