Martin Spitzer, professor of civil law and the law of civil procedure at WU Vienna, has been appointed judge of the Supreme Court of the Principality of Liechtenstein by Hereditary Prince Alois, acting on behalf of Prince Hans-Adam II, and he was sworn in on December 1. Spitzer is the latest in a series of WU professors appointed to serve as supreme court judges, and the first to hold such a high-ranking judicial office outside of Austria. 

The Princely Supreme Court is Liechtenstein’s highest court in civil, criminal, and administrative matters. Following the entry into effect of far-reaching judicial reforms, the Supreme Court will be restructured in 2026. Going forward, it will comprise two senates, each of them consisting of three judges. Martin Spitzer is the first Viennese law professor to become a supreme court judge in Liechtenstein. The court itself was only transferred to Liechtenstein in 1922. Before that, the Austrian Imperial Court of Appeal for Tyrol and Vorarlberg, based in Innsbruck, served as the appellate court for the Principality of Liechtenstein as part of a shared judicial system that was in place for Austria and Liechtenstein. 

To date, no fewer than seven WU law professors have been appointed to such high-ranking judicial positions, and Martin Spitzer is first professor from the ranks of WU to be named supreme court judge in a country other than Austria.