WU Vienna Awards Honorary Doctorate to Legal Scholar Peter M. Huber

On July 2, 2026, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business awarded an honorary doctorate to Peter M. Huber, professor of public law at LMU Munich, a longtime justice at the German Federal Constitutional Court, and former minister of the interior of Thuringia. With this honorary doctoral degree, WU recognizes Huber’s outstanding scholarly achievements and his seminal impact on academia, the judiciary, and policy. An honorary doctorate is the highest academic distinction awarded by WU.

Peter M. Huber is one of the most influential German-speaking scholars in the field of constitutional and European law. After completing his studies, earning his doctorate, and obtaining his habilitation at LMU Munich, he served as a full professor of public law in Augsburg, Jena, and Bayreuth before returning to Munich in 2002. His main research interests center around constitutional and administrative law and European law. Huber has had a lasting impact on the scholarly discourse through numerous publications in leading journals.

Paying tribute to a bridge-builder between academia, government, and the judiciary

At the conferral ceremony, Christoph Grabenwarter, a WU professor and president of the Austrian Constitutional Court, delivered the laudatory speech in honor of Peter M. Huber, following welcoming remarks by Rector Rupert Sausgruber and an address by the Deputy Chairman of the Senate, Martin Spitzer. Grabenwarter said, “With Peter Huber, we honor a distinguished scholar who has profoundly shaped the development of public law for decades. His dedication to democracy, the rule of law, and European integration has established him as a prominent figure in contemporary legal scholarship.”

“WU: The Top Choice for Constitutional Law Professors”

In addition to his academic work, Peter M. Huber has also held key positions in government and the judiciary. For example, he has chaired the German Law Faculties Association (DJFT) and the Commission on Concentration in the Media (KEK), and he has been a member of the board of directors of the Association of German Constitutional Law Professors (Vereinigung der Deutschen Staatsrechtslehrer). In the years 2009/2010, Peter M. Huber served as minister of the interior of the German Free State of Thuringia. From 2010 to 2023, he worked as a justice at the German Federal Constitutional Court. Peter M. Huber was visibly honored to receive this high academic distinction from WU Vienna. He said, “An honorary doctorate from WU Vienna surpasses all comparable honors. For us constitutional law scholars, WU Vienna is the leading institution in Austria. From the very beginning, WU has been the central hub for scholarly dialog between Austria and Germany – a beacon, so to speak. As a Munich native, I also feel especially at home here in terms of the mentality and the culture. Right from the get-go, when it comes to choosing an approach for addressing the issues at hand, there is an immediate mutual understanding that doesn’t require many words.”

Honorary doctorates are among the highest honors bestowed by universities, and they are only presented in rare, justified cases. Before Peter M. Huber, financial economist Toni M. Whited was the most recent scholar to receive a WU honorary doctorate, in May 2026.

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