Thomas Riehm

Professor Thomas Riehm holds the Chair of German and European Private Law, Civil Procedure and Legal Theory at the University of Passau's Faculty of Law. He serves as speaker of the Institute for Digital Society Law (IRDG) and is a member of the Passau Institute for Digital Security (PIDS).

Professor Riehm's research focuses on the intersection of traditional legal frameworks and digital innovation. His primary areas of expertise include:

• Contract and liability law with emphasis on IT matters
• Digitalization of civil dispute resolution processes
• Legal implications of artificial intelligence in judicial systems
• Contract law for digital services
• Adaptation of legal form requirements to digital environments
• Contemporary applications of century-old civil code provisions

With a distinctive professional background spanning both IT and law, Professor Riehm previously worked as a network administrator, programmer, and database developer in government and business before becoming a jurist. This dual expertise informs his scholarly approach to interpreting historical legal frameworks for modern digital contexts. He emphasizes understanding the foundational principles of legal fields to identify underlying value judgments and apply them to contemporary economic realities.

Professor Riehm has engaged with media on these topics, appearing on Deutschlandfunk on October 26, 2023, to discuss the legal and ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence in court systems. His work represents significant interdisciplinary research connecting legal theory with practical digital transformation challenges.