Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji UW

What Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji UW does

The Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego im. Marcusa Luttera (German Law School, abbreviated SPN / Deutsche Rechtsschule) is a non-profit academic educational program operated by the Uniwersytecka Fundacja 'Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego w Warszawie', a Polish public benefit organization (KRS 0000105600). It was founded in 1996/97 as a joint project of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, the Faculty of Law of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, and the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), and was named in 2021 after its co-founder, Prof. Marcus Lutter. The core product is a year-long, in-person intensive course in German and European law taught entirely in German by 20+ German university professors and 10 practicing lawyers, judges, and notaries (all on a voluntary basis), with a parallel 4-week online preparatory German language course for B1-level candidates. The school awards a co-signed UW-Bonn diploma and 12–16 ECTS credits to University of Warsaw students.

The business model combines tuition fees (2,800 PLN for active diploma-track participants and 1,750 PLN for passive/online participants in 2026/2027, plus 500 PLN for the language course), institutional grants and scholarships from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and the IRZ Foundation, corporate sponsorship from German and Polish firms (Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, Daimler, Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank Polska, Rödl & Partner, and others), individual donations via 1.5% income tax allocation, and unpaid faculty labor. Go-to-market is institutional and referral-driven: recruitment targets Polish law students, graduates, and practicing lawyers (B1+ German required) primarily through the University of Warsaw website, word-of-mouth among law students, and an Alumniprogramm jointly maintained with partner schools at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and the University of Białystok. Online participation via Zoom launched in 2024/2025, extending reach beyond Warsaw; the school maintains bilingual Polish-German websites.

Since inception, the school has educated nearly 1,000 graduates over more than 25 years, with on-campus classes held at Collegium Iuridicum II in Warsaw (Fridays 15:00–18:30, Saturdays 9:00–14:00). The program has no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML components, and operates with a small administrative staff of 5, supported by voluntary academic leadership from Scientific Director Prof. Wulf-Henning Roth (University of Bonn) and Director Maria Szpor (University of Warsaw). Top graduates are routed into DAAD-funded LL.M. scholarships at the University of Bonn and internships at major German corporates, creating a defined career-development pipeline.

Name

Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji UW

Legal name

Uniwersytecka Fundacja "Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego w Warszawie"

Website

https://spn.wpia.uw.edu.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego is a non-profit academic program jointly run by the University of Warsaw and the University of Bonn, offering a year-long intensive course in German and European law taught in German to Polish law students, graduates, and practicing lawyers. Founded in 1996, it has produced nearly 1,000 alumni and operates via tuition, DAAD/IRZ grants, and corporate sponsorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHAIAF

Specialty Law Schools (e.g., Tax, IP, International, Trial Advocacy)

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Law Schools

SECONDARYEDAHAIAE

Online / Hybrid Law Schools & Programs

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Law Schools

SECONDARYEDAHAIAC

LLM & Post-JD Graduate Law Programs

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Law Schools

Keywords

• Legal education programs
• German law courses
• Comparative law training
• European law studies
• Academic legal instruction

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition fees: Course fees charged to participants: 2,800 PLN for active participants seeking a diploma (2026/2027); 1,750 PLN for passive/online participants who attend but do not sit exams. Additional student fund contribution of 300–500 PLN.
2. Institutional sponsorship and donations: The school receives financial support from corporate sponsors (German corporations, law firms), the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), the IRZ Foundation, and the Polish-German Cooperation Foundation. Individual donors can contribute 1.5% of income tax (KRS: 0000105600). The founding University Foundation holds public benefit organization status.
3. Language course fees: A preparatory German language course is offered at 500 PLN, targeting B1-level candidates needing language support before the main course.
4. DAAD scholarships for top graduates: Top graduates can receive DAAD-funded scholarships for LL.M. studies in Bonn (650 EUR/month for 5 months + 200 EUR travel) and doctoral research stays (1,000 EUR/month for 3 months + 200 EUR travel), providing a pathway to German higher education.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego (German Law School) operates a year-long intensive academic course in German and European law taught entirely in German by over 20 German professors and 10 practitioners from Germany's leading universities, primarily the University of Bonn. The school offers supplementary preparatory German language training, online participation, DAAD-funded LL.M. scholarships at the University of Bonn, a lifelong alumni network (Alumniprogramm), and annual Polish-German academic seminars and conferences.

Product overview

Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego (SPN) operates as a joint educational programme of the University of Warsaw Faculty of Law and Administration, the University of Bonn's Faculty of Law, and the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation, administered by the Uniwersytecka Fundacja SPN. The core offering is a year-long intensive course in German and European law taught entirely in German by German academic professors and practitioners, complemented by a parallel intensive German legal language course. The school is named after Prof. Marcus Lutter and has trained nearly 1,000 graduates since its founding in 1997. Supplementary offerings include online participation options, DAAD-funded scholarships for LL.M. and doctoral studies in Bonn, a graduate alumni programme (Alumniprogramm), annual Polish-German student seminars alternating between Warsaw and Bonn, and periodic academic conferences on German and European law topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Roczny kurs prawa niemieckiego i europejskiego (Year-long Course in German and European Law) An intensive one-year academic course taught entirely in German covering German civil law, commercial law, constitutional law, administrative law, and economic law, with a primary focus on private and commercial law. Active participants receive 12–16 ECTS credits, a joint UW/Bonn diploma, and eligibility for DAAD scholarships.
• Intensywny kurs języka niemieckiego online (Intensive Online German Language Course) A 4-week intensive online German language course (September, 2 sessions/week, max 6 participants per group) focused on legal and economic terminology, designed to prepare B1-level candidates for the main German law course. Led by Natalia Spychalska-Zięba; priced at 500 PLN.
• Kurs online (Online German Law Course) Online participation format for the year-long German and European law course, delivered via Zoom live stream since academic year 2024/2025. Online participants receive lecture recordings and materials but no diploma or ECTS credits; exams must be taken in-person. Priced at 1,750 PLN.
• Alumniprogramm (Alumni Programme) Lifelong alumni engagement programme spanning three Polish universities (UW, UJ, UWB) that maintains connections for graduates through annual alumni conferences co-organized with partner schools and ongoing networking opportunities.
• DAAD Scholarships (Stypendia DAAD) DAAD-funded scholarships for top SPN graduates providing a pathway to German higher education: LL.M. scholarship at University of Bonn (650 EUR/month for 5 months plus 200 EUR travel allowance) and doctoral research scholarships (1,000 EUR/month for 3 months plus 200 EUR travel allowance).
• Polsko-niemieckie seminaria (Polish-German Seminars) Annual Polish-German academic seminars for students from Warsaw and Bonn on various legal topics, alternating between the two cities and culminating in a three-day joint meeting.
• Konferencje naukowe (Scientific Conferences) Periodic Polish-German academic conferences on German and European law topics organized by the school, including annual events on topics such as family foundations, the AI Act, and digitalization and competition law.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 1,000 graduates since 1996/97
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Uniwersytecka Fundacja 'Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego w Warszawie' (University Foundation 'German Law School in Warsaw')coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2002The foundation established on July 1, 2002, manages the school's Warsaw office organization and financing. It holds public benefit organization (OPP) status, enabling 1% tax donation capability (KRS: 0000105600). The foundation council includes Prof. Adam Szafrański (chair), Prof. Adam Opalski, and Prof. Wulf-Henning Roth.
• Wydział Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Warsaw)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996One of three founding institutions of the school. Provides administrative infrastructure, faculty facilities (Collegium Iuridicum II), and academic oversight through the Dean's office. The school's director (Maria Szpor) is appointed by the Dean of the Faculty.
• Rheinsische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (University of Bonn)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Partner university providing academic leadership, faculty (over 20 professors and 10 practitioners), and scientific oversight. Prof. Wulf-Henning Roth has served as scientific director since January 2010. The school's diploma is signed by the rector and dean of Bonn.
• Deutsche Stiftung für internationale rechtliche Zusammenarbeit (IRZ Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996One of three founding institutions. Provides institutional support and financial backing for the school's operations and programs from its Bonn headquarters.
• Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego (UJ, Kraków)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Alumniprogramm has been jointly organized since 2011. Both schools share a collaborative alumni network and co-organize annual alumni conferences.
• Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Uniwersytecie w Białymstoku (UWB)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoined the joint Alumniprogramm in 2017. Three-school alumni network (UW, UJ, UWB) provides lifelong engagement for graduates.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst): The German Academic Exchange Service is the primary funder of the school's scholarship pipeline (LL.M. and doctoral scholarships). Functions as an institutional partner and ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor, but is central to the program's value proposition.
• Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Scholarship Foundation): Germany's largest scholarship organization, supporting talented students and operating in the same institutional academic sponsorship space as DAAD. Comparable as an ecosystem partner supporting top-graduate mobility in German academia.

Direct peers

• College of Europe (Collège d'Europe): Premier European postgraduate institution in Bruges/Warsaw offering specialized LL.M. and master's programs in EU and international law. Highly comparable in mission — training lawyers in cross-border European legal expertise — though serving a broader, more international cohort.
• Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Uniwersytecie Jagiellońskim (UJ, Kraków): The sister German Law School at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, jointly participating in the tri-university Alumniprogramm since 2011. Offers the same model of German-language legal education in Poland and is the most directly comparable peer.
• Europa-Institut der Universität des Saarlandes: One of Germany's oldest post-war legal education institutions offering European law and German law programs for foreign jurists. Directly comparable in mission (German law taught to foreign lawyers) and similar specialization in cross-border legal training.
• Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Uniwersytecie w Białymstoku (UWB): The third German Law School in Poland, at the University of Białystok, which joined the joint Alumniprogramm in 2017. Operates the same model of German legal education and is a direct peer program.
• Szkoła Prawa Francuskiego i Europejskiego (École française de droit) na WPiA UW: A sister "Foreign Law School" at the same University of Warsaw Faculty of Law, offering French and European law. Directly comparable as it operates the same model (year-long foreign-language law course, partner university in France, similar fee structure) at the same institution.
• Szkoła Prawa Amerykańskiego (American Law School) na WPiA UW: Another sister Foreign Law School at UW Faculty of Law offering US legal education. Same institutional model of one-year intensive foreign-law course taught in foreign language by visiting professors, with similar pricing and positioning.

Emerging players

• Bucerius Law School: A private German law school with international focus and select foreign-language programs. Comparable as a specialized, internationally-oriented German legal education institution, though it operates as a full undergraduate/graduate school rather than a year-long certificate program.

Broad incumbents

• Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht (Hamburg): Premier German research institute for comparative and international private law. Comparable in the German-Polish comparative law space and supports academic exchanges, though it focuses on research rather than teaching degree students.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spnwpiauw

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Szkoła Prawa Niemieckiego na Wydziale Prawa i Administracji UW