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August Reinisch (born 29 January 1965 in Vienna) is an Austrian public international lawyer.
He obtained Master’s degrees in law (1988) and in philosophy (1990) as well as an LL.M. from NYU Law School (1989) and a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna (1991). [1] He is admitted to the Bars of New York and of Connecticut (since 1990). [1] In 1994, he obtained the Diploma of the Hague Academy of International Law. [2] In 2024, he delivered a special course on “The Settlement of Disputes Involving International Organizations” at The Hague Winter Academy. [3] [4]
He received his venia docendi (right to teach as a professor of international and European law) at the University of Vienna in 1998. At this university, he has been Head of the Section International Law and International Relations since 2005 and Director of the LL.M. Program in International Legal Studies since 2006. [5] From 2004 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2016, he was Dean for International Relations of the Law School of the University of Vienna. Since 2010, he has been professor of international law with a focus on international economic law and the law of international organizations. From 2016 to 2019, he served as a Member of the Academic Senate of the University of Vienna.
August Reinisch has served as arbitrator in investment cases mostly in disputes under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment and UNCITRAL Rules, and provided expert opinions in the field. [6] [7] He is a Member of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Panels of Conciliators and of Arbitrators [8] and of the Court of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. [9] He has served for 20 years pro bono on the In Rem Restitution Panel according to the Austrian General Settlement Fund Law in Vienna/Austria (2001 – 2021), dealing with Holocaust-related real property claims.
He has been a member of the International Law Commission since 2017 and since 2022 he has been serving as the Commission’s Special Rapporteur on the topic “Settlement of disputes to which international organizations are parties.” In this capacity, he has submitted three reports in 2023, [10] 2024 [11] and 2025. [12] He is a membre of the Institut de droit international [13] and corresponding member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, [14] president of the Austrian Branch of the International Law Association [15] and former President of the German Society of International Law. [16]
2021 Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class