University of Vienna
Who did Karl Korinek work for from 1995 to 2003?
Karl Korinek Karl Korinek ( 7 December 1940 – 9 March 2017 ) was an Austrian constitutional scholar and educator . Korinek taught law at the University of Graz , the Vienna University of Economics and Business , the University of Vienna , and the Danube University Krems . In 1978 , Korinek was appointed to the Austrian Constitutional Court ; he served as the president of the court from 2003 until his retirement in 2008 . Although a member of the Austrian Peoples Party and an outspoken conservative in private life , Korinek was considered non-partisan in his jurisprudence . He clashed with Wolfgang Schüssel on health care and immigration reform and with Jörg Haider on minority protection matters ; he received praise from political opponents for his firm stance on human rights issues in general . Korinek has authored several books and more than 250 scholarly papers . Respected across party boundaries , he is widely regarded as one of the most influential legal scholars in recent Austrian history . Early life . Karl Korinek was born on 12 December 1940 in Vienna as the son of Franz Korinek , a lawyer and future politician , and his wife Viktoria . Korinek grew up Catholic . The family was conservative ; Korineks father joined the Austrian Peoples Party after the end of World War II and went on to become General Secretary of the Austrian Economic Chamber , the national entrepreneurs and industrialists advocacy group ; he later also served as the minister of finance for a term . Korinek received his secondary education at the Gymnasium Mariahilf , a school with special emphasis on the classical humanities . Career . Following his graduation from the gymnasium in 1958 , Korinek enrolled at the University of Vienna to study law , receiving his doctorate in 1963 . He spent the next year working as a trainee at various Viennese courts . In 1964 , he went to work as an in-house legal consultant for the Austrian Economic Chamber . In addition to his day job in the bureaucracy , Korinek continued to pursue an academic career . In 1970 , he submitted his habilitation thesis to the Faculty of Legal and Political Science ( ) at the University of Salzburg . In 1973 , he left the Chamber to accept an appointment to full professor of public law ( ) at the University of Graz . After three years in Graz , Korinek returned to the capital to become a professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business , a position he held until he moved on to the University of Vienna in 1995 . Starting in 1997 , he also taught at the Danube University Krems . In addition to his academic commitments , Korinek held a considerable number of extramural positions . From 1986 to 1992 , Korinek was president of Austrian Standards International ; from 1987 to 2002 , he also sat on the board of the Deutsches Institut für Normung . In 1999 , he became a member of the board of directors of the Vienna State Opera . He also served on the boards of directors of a number of publicly traded companies and NGOs , most notably the Uniqa Insurance Group and the ERSTE Foundation . In 1998 , he was invited to join the Austrian Academy of Sciences . In 1978 , Korinek was appointed to the Austrian Constitutional Court . He was promoted to vice president of the court in 1999 , to president in 2003 . Korinek retired from his university positions and from most other responsibilities when he assumed the presidency . He kept his seat on the board of the State Opera , a side job that was particularly dear to him . In early 2003 , the cabinet of then-Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel launched the Austria Convention ( ) , a conference of legal scholars and public intellectuals tasked with drafting a new constitution for Austria . The existing constitution , exceptionally bulky and difficult to navigate , had been posing serious technical challenges to legislators and constitutional justices for decades . The Convention was charged with exploring reform . Korinek was a member of the Convention from its launch to its conclusion in 2005 . Effective May 2008 , Korinek retired from the court , citing health reasons . Over the course of his career , Korinek wrote several books and more than 250 scholarly articles . Death and legacy . Korinek died on 9 March 2017 after a protracted struggle with heart disease . Korinek is acknowledged as having been one of the Constitutional Courts most influential members during his tenure ; he may in fact have been one of the courts most influential members in the institutions entire history . Even before he was appointed president of the court , Korinek has had more impact on the courts jurisprudence than would have been typical for a regular member . Commentators credit Korinek with having played a significant role in modernizing the tribunals jurisprudence on constitutional rights questions ; the court itself agrees . Korinek is also credited for the fact that the court , under his leadership , has softened its traditional commitment to judicial restraint and has grown more assertive , protecting human rights principles more energetically and striking down laws more often . Korinek has also been noted for his impact as an educator . Commentators have called him one of the greats of Austrian legal instruction . Korinek is said to have played a prominent role in shaping the minds of several generations of Austrian jurists . He has been called the doyen of Austrian legal scholarship and one of the most distinguished personalities in the countrys legal history . Politics . Korinek was regarded as a committed conservative . Like his father before him , he joined the Austrian Peoples Party ; he remained a card-carrying supporter when he was appointed to the Constitutional Court and only withdrew from membership when he was promoted to president . He also was a member of the Cartellverband . Throughout his life , Korinek remained a devout Catholic . He was active in the Vienna Catholic Academy ( ) and in the Association of Catholic Graduates ( ) . Korinek credited his Christianity in general and Thomas Aquinas in particular with having materially influenced his legal philosophy . Korineks promotion to president of the Constitutional Court was part of an attempt by then-Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel to move the court to the right . His outspoken conservatism and the circumstances of his promotion nonwithstanding , Korinek quickly acquired a reputation for integrity and non-partisan jurisprudence ; he came to be widely respected across party lines . During Korineks tenure as its president , the Constitutional Court overturned several key pieces of Schüssels legislative agenda . Also during Korineks presidency , the court sided with Slovenian minority right activists in the , a long-running dispute about Slovenian language rights that Jörg Haiders Freedom Party had been using to stoke populist resentment . The decision , easily the most controversial in the institutions history , earned Korinek Haiders and the Freedom Partys lasting enmity . Korinek became known for a number of signature positions that received praise from both sides of the political spectrum . He advocated for transparency in government , called for an overhaul of Austrias outsized and convoluted constitution , and demanded that legislators put craftsmanship before ideology in drafting statutes . He also took a firm stance against government encroachments on constitutional rights . After his retirement , he became a vocal critic of online surveillance , especially of government-mandated online data retention . His criticism of Austrias data retention program proved well founded when , in 2014 , the European Court of Justice declared it illegal under European human rights rules . Korinek supported Andreas Khol in the 2016 Austrian presidential election . Personal life . Korinek was married for most of his adult life . He was survived by two children . Korinek was passionate about music . He sang in the Vienna State Opera choir in his student days ; he remained involved in State Opera life throughout his career and well into retirement . Starting in 1999 , he served on the board of directors of the opera , one of a handful of positions he did not retire from even when he was made the president of the Constitutional Court . Korinek authored books on the relationship between government and the arts , on Joseph Haydn , and on the , a comic opera by Richard Strauss . In an interview , Korinek compared the work of a legislator to that of a composer : both are striving to combine clarity with harmony , a parallel that Korinek claimed used to be widely discussed and acknowledged in the past . Korinek also published a book on the life and times of Julius Raab , which became a local bestseller . Selected awards . - 2000 : Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St . Sylvester - 2001 : Grand Decoration of Honor in Silver with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria - 2003 : Honorary Doctorate of the University of Salzburg - 2005 : Honorary Doctorate of the Vienna University of Economics and Business - 2006 : Honorary Doctorate of the University of Graz - 2006 : Commanders Cross with Star of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the State of Lower Austria - 2006 : Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Star for Services to the State of Styria - 2006 : Grand Decoration of Honor in Gold with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria - 2007 : Defensor Libertatis Award of the Austrian Big Brother Awards - 2007 : Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with Star and Sash - 2015 : Cardinal Innitzer Award for Scholarly Achievement of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna