Stefan Kadelbach

Projects and positions at the research center
Principal Investigator

Funding period 2019-2021
Project management: The State as Arbitrator – From Fundamental Rights as Defense Rights to a Strengthening of the Objective Dimension of Fundamental Rights | Research focus 4 – Overstretched Orders: Global Governance between De- and Renationalization
Project management: The State as Arbitrator of Disputes – From Fundamental Rights as Defensive Rights to a Strengthening of the Objective Dimension of Fundamental Rights | Research focus 1 – Contested Orders: The Future of Democracy

Funding period 2012-2017
Project management: Legitimation through International Law and Legitimization of International Law | Research Field 3
Coordination Research Field 3

Funding period 2007-2012
Project management: The Normativity of Law in Transition | Research Field 1

Fields of study
Law

Main areas of research
Public law, European law, international law

  • Biografische Angaben

    Prof. Dr. Stefan Kadelbach, LL.M., has been a university professor at the Faculty of Law of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, Chair of Public Law, European Law and International Law; Co-Director of the Wilhelm Merton Centre for European Integration and International Economic Order since winter semester 2004/05.

    Curriculum vitae:
    Born 1959.
    1979-84 Studied literature, then law in Tübingen and Frankfurt am Main.
    1986 Hague Academy of International Law; Hochschule für Verwaltungswissenschaften in Speyer.
    1987/88 University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
    1984-87 Legal clerkship.
    1991 Dr. jur., 1996 Habilitation in Frankfurt.
    1997-2004 o. Professor of Public Law, International and European Law at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.
    Since 2004 at Goethe University.
    Visiting professorships and lectureships at the University of Virginia (1999), the European University Institute in Florence (2000), the Institute for State and Law in Moscow (2002/03) and Chuo University in Tokyo (2004), among others. Since October 1, 2004 Professor of Public Law, European Law and International Law and Managing Director of the Wilhelm Merton Center for European Integration and World Economic Order at the University of Frankfurt am Main.

    Other activities:
    Dean of Studies (2005-2007).
    Member of the Board of Directors and Coordinator of Research Field 4 of the Cluster of Excellence 243 (Formation of Normative Orders).
    Liaison Lecturer of the German National Academic Foundation.
    Managing Director of the Institute for Public Law.

News from the research center

Event
20.04.2026 | Brussels

Militärische KI verantwortungsvoll nutzen und Regulierung neu denken

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Künstliche Intelligenz findet im Militär immer breiteren Einsatz, von Logistik und Training über Missionsplanung und Zielidentifikation bis hin zu autonomen Waffensystemen. Gleichzeitig wächst die Bedeutung von Mikroprozessoren immer stärker, der Zugang zu seltenen Erden und Chips wird zur zentralen Ressource. KI kann das Kampfgeschehen beschleunigen und damit destabilisierend wirken. Der Wettlauf um neue Fähigkeiten birgt jedoch auch Eskalationsrisiken. Wir laden Sie ein, diese Themen im nächsten Crisis Talk gemeinsam mit unseren hochkarätigen Podiumsgästen zu diskutieren.

more information ›
Event
28./29.05.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Global Health Justice: Principles and Practice

Conference

Following the research focus of the Global Health Justice Postdoctoral Programme, the "Global Health Justice: Principles and Practice" conference places a particular emphasis on themes such as the human right to health, political activism and health justice issues, and problems of structural injustice and vulnerable populations in health care. Keynote lectures by Jonathan Wolff and Kanchana Mahadevan.

more information ›
Publication
26.03.2026 | Monograph

The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective

Duve, Thomas; Herzog, Tamar (eds.): The Cambridge History of Latin American Law in Global Perspective, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024 (portugiesisch 2025; spanisch 2026).

more information ›
Publication
26.03.2026 | Monograph

Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika

Duve, Thomas; Egío, José Luis  (2023): Rechtsgeschichte des frühneuzeitlichen Hispanoamerika, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023.

more information ›
Event
18.04.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Das Prinzip Donald Trump und die Verrohung der Welt

Panel Discussion, Lecture

Ein neuer Politikstil macht international Karriere. Er ist gekennzeichnet von Vulgarität, Verrohung und erklärter Rechtsfeindschaft. Machtinteressen werden nicht mehr juristisch bemäntelt. Stattdessen wird das angebliche Recht des Stärkeren zur Staatsdoktrin gemacht – innenpolitisch wie außenpolitisch. Treibende Kraft hinter dieser Verrohung der politischen Sitten ist ein US-Präsident, der nicht nur die amerikanische Gesellschaft und Kultur, sondern auch die globale Ordnung nach seinen Vorstellungen und Interessen umgestaltet. Die Römerberggespräche wollen diesen Politikstil verstehen.

more information ›
Event
14.07.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Democracy Over Time and the Climate Crisis

Lecture Series

Vortrag von Anja Karnein (Binghamton). Die Vortragsreihe untersucht Fragen der Klimakrise als Herausforderungen für demokratische Gesellschaften und konzentriert sich auf Themen wie politische Legitimität, Widerstand gegen fossile Brennstoffe und die Interessen künftiger Generationen. Sie wird organisiert von Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf und Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.

more information ›
Event
10.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Capital Investment, Inequality, and State Power in a Time of Climate Emergency

Lecture, Lecture Series

The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.

more information ›
Event
13.05.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Failed States and Cloudy skies: Tipping Points, Overshoot and Permanent Emergency, after America

Lecture Series

The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic
societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests
of future generations.

more information ›
Event
22.04.2026

Political Legitimacy, Authoritarianism, and Climate Change

Lecture, Lecture Series

Lecture by Ross Mittiga (SOAS London). The lecture series examines questions of the climate crisis as challenges for democratic societies and focuses on issues of political legitimacy, fossil fuel resistance, and the interests of future generations. It is organized by Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf and Dr. Lukas Sparenborg.

more information ›