Max-Emanuel Geis

Prof. Dr. Max-Emanuel Geis is a distinguished Professor of Public Law at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), where he has held a chair since the winter semester of 2002/03. He also serves as Director of the Research Centre for Science and Higher Education Law at FAU and holds significant administrative roles including Head of the Juridicum in Erlangen since 2013. Notably, he is a Member of the Bavarian Constitutional Court, having been re-elected in 2024, demonstrating his continued prominence in constitutional jurisprudence.

His educational background includes studies in Augsburg and Freiburg, followed by a doctorate from the University of Regensburg in 1990 with the dissertation "Cultural State and Cultural Freedom: An Investigation of Ernst Rudolf Huber's Concept of the Cultural State from a Constitutional Perspective," for which he received the East Bavaria Cultural Prize. He completed his habilitation in Regensburg in 1994 on "Public support for social self-help – constitutional foundations and administrative law design," earning venia legendi in constitutional and administrative law, legal philosophy, and social law.

Prof. Geis's research spans multiple dimensions of public law with particular emphasis on constitutional law, administrative law, and higher education law. His scholarly work demonstrates a consistent engagement with the relationship between state and culture, the constitutional foundations of academic freedom, and the legal frameworks governing public institutions. His recent publications reveal an increasing focus on interdisciplinary scientific reflection, AI in academia, and comparative constitutional responses to authoritarianism. His scholarship bridges theoretical legal analysis with practical implications for governance and public administration.

His extensive publication record shows a clear evolution from foundational work on cultural constitutionalism to contemporary challenges in higher education governance, constitutional democracy protection, and spatial planning law. The breadth of his scholarship encompasses monographs, handbook contributions, encyclopedia entries, and numerous journal articles addressing both theoretical and applied aspects of public law.

• East Bavaria Cultural Prize for his dissertation

Throughout his career, Prof. Geis has held numerous leadership positions including Dean of Research of the Faculty of Law (2014-2019), Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law and Economics (2011-2012), and various committee roles including Chairman of the Commission for Conflict Resolution in Scientific Workplaces (2003-2007). His external engagements include service on the Accreditation Committee of the German Council of Science and Humanities, Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Research Institute for Public Administration, and membership on multiple evaluation committees.

Prof. Geis leads the Research Centre for Science and Higher Education Law at FAU, which focuses on the legal frameworks governing academic institutions and research activities. His work with the FAU Competence Center for Interdisciplinary Scientific Reflection (of which he is Spokesperson since 2022) represents a significant institutional commitment to examining the ethical and governance dimensions of contemporary research practices.