Professor for Roman Law and Civil Law, director of the Institute for Roman Law and Comparative Legal History (Univ. Bonn). Born 02.04.1963, Attnang-Puchheim (Oberösterreich/Austria), study of Law (1981-1985), Political Theory and Communication Science (1982-1987) at the Paris-Lodron-Universität (Salzburg), magister iuris 1985, doctor iuris 1991 (Universität Salzburg), Habilitation 1995 (Roman Law, German Civil Law and History of Legal Ideas). Professor extraordinarius at the Universität Salzburg (1997), 1998-2005: Professor ordinarius at the WWU Münster (Civil Law and Roman Law), since 2005: Professor ordinarius at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. Premio Internazionale „Gérard Boulvert“, Napoli 1993, Humboldt-Fellowship, 1993/94, member of the Nordrhein-Westfälische Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste (since 2007), member of the Comitato scientifico of the Consorzio Interuniversitario “Gérard Boulvert” and member of the jury of the "Premio Romanistico Internazioale 'Gérard Boulvert' (since 2009), fellow of the Käte-Hamburger-Kolleg “Recht als Kultur” (Bonn, 2011/2012), member of the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (since 2018).