The Person of Merit award is given by the JU Senate following a proposal by the University’s Rector in recognition of a great strength of character, outstanding achievements, contributions to the academic community as well as personal interest in the affairs of the Jagiellonian University. On 24 June, the award was presented to Prof. Rett Ludwikowski and Prof. Walter Rechberger.
Prof. Rett Ludwikowski was awarded for laying the foundations for the cooperation between the JU Faculty of Law and Administration and the Catholic University of America, his many years of work toward the development of joint study programmes between these two institutions and raising several generations of young lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic.
‘Prof. Ludwikowski has been working with the Jagiellonian University for almost 60 years. He is an exemplar of the University’s spirit, not only because of his contributions to research and teaching, but also the innovative nature of his studies’, said Prof. Piotr Szwedo from the JU Faculty of Law and Administration in his laudatory speech.
Rett Ryszard Ludwikowski graduated from the JU Faculty of Law and Administration in 1966. He received a double PhD in Law and Political Science in 1971. Until 1982, he was the head of the Department of Contemporary Movements and Political Thought at the JU Faculty of Law. In 1982, he left Poland and developed close ties with the Catholic University of America (since 1984).
Prof. Walter Rechberger was awarded for his long time efforts to strengthen the collaboration between the Jagiellonian University and the University of Vienna, in particular when it comes to establishing and supervising the first Polish School of Austrian Law, researching Austrian and European civil and arbitration proceedings as well as teaching activities in Europe, the US, South America, China and South Africa.
‘Today’s award for Prof. Rechberger is presented not only for his contributions to the Jagiellonian University, but also for his role in building the idea of a European university, a community of lawyers that will make certain European states are governed according to the rule of law’, said Prof. Fryderyk Zoll.
Walter Rechberger is a distinguished specialist in the area of civil proceedings and Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Law of the University of Vienna. He is the author and co-author of more than 300 books and papers published worldwide, including Austria, the US, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Hungary and Poland.
The award ceremony hosted in Collegium Novum provided an opportunity to the graduates of the School of American Law and School of Austrian Law.
