August 19, 2010
This summer, St. Mary’s University School of Law’s Institute on World Legal Problems commemorated 25 years of legal education in Austria. The City of Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck and the Austrian government applauded St. Mary’s for their long and prosperous partnership and honored St. Mary’s Professor of Law Gerald S. Reamey.
Reamey, co-founder and co-director of the program held each summer at the University of Innsbruck, was awarded the Culture Medal of Honor (or Kulturehrenzeichen in the native language) from the City of Innsbruck at an award dinner hosted by the City of Innsbruck and the State of Tyrol in the state capitol building. In another ceremony, the University of Innsbruck and St. Mary’s University School of Law exchanged gifts to celebrate their collaboration.
Reamey and Vincent Johnson, also a professor at St. Mary’s School of Law, founded the Institute of World Legal Problems, an intense five-week summer session attended by as many as 130 students annually from law schools around the country. With specialized courses, world-renowned guest speakers and a campus nestled in the picturesque Austrian Alps, the program just ended its 25th session more successful than ever.
“The Institute of World Legal Problems and Professor Reamey are deserving of the attention they’ve received on this 25 year milestone,” said Charles E. Cantú, St. Mary’s University School of Law Dean. “The Institute has grown into a robust program attracting hundreds of law students and top visiting scholars throughout the years. Professor Reamey has nurtured the relationship between St. Mary’s School of Law and the City and University of Innsbruck, which has been beneficial for all involved.”
Innsbruck City Council member for cultural affairs, Patrizia Moser, M.D., and Tyrolean Legislature President, Herwig van Staa, Ph.D., presented the medal to Reamey for his personal contributions toward retaining a student atmosphere in Innsbruck’s summer months and imparting esteem for Innsbruck to his students. van Staa made note of the number of students who have been introduced to Innsbruck over the years through St. Mary’s summer program.
“Many come back with parents and others,” said van Staa. “Their presence brings a cultural exchange and an important impetus for tourism in Innsbruck and the Tyrol.” As part of the academic exchange, eight Innsbruck University students are allowed to participate in the program at no cost each year and Reamey served as a Visiting Professor on the law faculty of the University of Innsbruck in 1993.
Reamey graduated from Trinity University and earned both his Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. At St. Mary’s, Reamey teaches primarily in the area of criminal law and procedure and has acted as a supervising attorney in the St. Mary’s clinical program along with serving as co-director of the Institute on World Legal Problems in Innsbruck and St. Mary’s Center for International Legal Studies.
St. Mary’s Innsbruck program is unique in the fact that seven members of the Supreme Court of the United States have participated in the program as Distinguished Visiting Jurors, who teach a course during the session and interact with students. This summer’s Distinguished Visiting Jurist was Judge András Sajó of Europe’s highest court, the European Court of Human Rights, which sits in Strasbourg, France.