معرفی
Karin Sein is a Professor of Civil Law at the University of Tartu, School of Law, where she has served since 2016. She also holds the position of Acting Head of the Private Law Department. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Civil Law at the Institute of Private Law from 2009 to 2015, and has held various leadership roles including Deputy Head of the Institute of Private Law since 2011.
Professor Sein earned her doctoral degree (dr iuris) from the University of Tartu in 2007, with her dissertation titled 'Foreseeability and the Purpose of the Obligation Theory as Grounds for Limitation of Damages in Contractual Relationships' supervised by Paul Varul. She completed her Master of Laws (LLM) at the University of Freiburg, Germany in 1999, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Law from the University of Tartu in 1997.
Her research focuses on civil law with particular expertise in contract law, consumer protection, digital law, and data protection. Professor Sein has chaired the Contract Law Working Group of the Council of Europe during Estonia's EU Presidency in 2017, where the group handled drafts of directives on digital content and consumer sales contracts. Her work bridges traditional civil law concepts with contemporary challenges in digital markets and consumer protection.
Professor Sein's recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate a strong focus on consumer credit regulation, debt collection practices, data protection in digital services, and the intersection of traditional civil law with emerging technologies. Her scholarship shows consistent engagement with European regulatory frameworks while maintaining a strong national perspective on Estonian law implementation.
- The Prize of Büchner Foundation, Germany, 1999
Professor Sein serves on multiple editorial boards including the European Review of Contract Law (since 2023), Journal of Intellectual Property, Information Technology and E-Commerce Law (since 2017), and Juridica (since 2013). She is a member of the European Law Institute (since 2012) and represents Estonia in UNIDROIT (since 2010). Her administrative roles include serving as Deputy Head of the Institute of Private Law and coordinating private law research at the University of Tartu.
