Svenja Behrendt

Svenja Behrendt is currently a Junior Professor for Public Law at Mannheim University's Faculty of Law. She previously held positions as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law (2023–2024) and the University of Konstanz (2022). Her career includes legal clerkships at the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf (2019–2021) and research roles at HHU Düsseldorf’s Criminal Law department (2013–2019).

Behrendt earned her Dr. iur. (summa cum laude) from HHU Düsseldorf in 2021 with a thesis on the foundations of fundamental rights, supervised by Professors Morlok and Frister. She completed law studies at the University of Passau and HHU Düsseldorf (2007–2013), followed by a First State Examination (2013) and Second State Examination (2022).

Her research focuses on public law, digitalization’s legal implications, AI governance, and constitutional theory. Notable awards include the 2021 Best Dissertation Prize and the 2022 Excellence Fellowship from the Düsseldorf Law Faculty Association.

Her professional network includes traineeships at Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court and Ministry of Justice, alongside roles at an international law firm and leadership in legal education.