(2005 - 2009) des ZAR - Zentrum für Angewandte ...

XII. English Summary
1. The Center for Applied Legal Studies and the
Institute for Information and Economic Law
1.1 History
In the middle of the 1990s, Members of the Faculties for both
Informatics and Economics as well as the President of the Karlsruhe
University became convinced that the technical, legal and political
questions raised in the information society can no longer be answered
by the expertise of individual faculties alone. Moreover, the opinion
was formed that the University of Karlsruhe (TH) should educate
students who are able to confront the issues raised by the then new
internet economy. These students should be competent in all the
disciplines necessary in order to shape, and act within, the
information society.
Consequently, beginning with the winter term 1997/98, the University
of Karlsruhe (TH) established the new study course of “information
economy” or “information management and engineering”
(Informationswirtschaft). It is the goal of this new study course to
educate students’ right from the start in computer science, economics
and the law. The course in information management and engineering
can be seen as a reaction to the increasing necessity to act in a
networked way. Also, the acquisition of fundamental knowledge in
more than one discipline rather than a too deep specialization seems
to be an appropriate strategy in view of the ever decreasing time in
which specialized knowledge can be used. In theoretical terms, the
new discipline is a reaction to the issues raised by digital information
technology which can no longer be answered by individual disciplines.
In order to achieve this, the existing Law Institute under the direction
of Prof. Dr. Schulte had to be reinforced. Initially, the creation of a true
law faculty was favoured notably by Dr. Klaus Kinkel, former German
Minister of the Exterior, in order to complete the city of Karlsruhe as
the “Residence of the law”. These plans, however, didn’t materialize.
Instead, the Center of Applied Legal Studies (Zentrum für
Angewandte Rechtswissenschaft (ZAR) was founded. It now is
comprised of three professors who are all members of the faculty of
informatics.
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