Full Professor Rajko Knez, Ph.D.

• Judicial Protection in the EU (lectures and tutorials)
• Constitutional Procedural Law (lectures and tutorials)
• Environmental Protection Law (lectures and tutorials)

Dr Knez is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor. His main areas of academic and professional expertise are European Union law, constitutional law, environmental and nature conservation law, private law, and media law.

He holds the title of Jean Monnet Professor and has led and participated in numerous European and international research and educational projects, including the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence project. He completed two traineeships at the Court of Justice of the EU and has undertaken further professional training at several institutions in Europe and the United States. As a visiting lecturer, he has maintained close academic cooperation with the faculties of law at universities in Vienna, Graz, and Zagreb, and has lectured at numerous other European and international institutions. His scholarly and professional work includes numerous articles, monographs, and commentaries on legislation. His work has been cited in the opinions of Advocates General of the Court of Justice of the EU and in decisions of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia.

An important aspect of his professional work is the integration of academic scholarship and practical legal work. He has contributed to the preparation of Slovenian legislation, particularly in the transposition of EU law into the national legal order. His contribution to bridging legal theory, judicial practice, and legal education is also reflected in the Amicus Curiae project, which he designed to enable law students to gain direct insight into judicial proceedings and participate in the work of courts under the guidance of faculty mentors. Over time, the project expanded beyond the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor, and was adopted by other institutions as well.

From 2007 to 2011, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor, and has been a member of and contributor to numerous national and international professional and judicial institutions. Among other positions, he served as a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and of several other international and national professional and advisory bodies. From 2014 to 2017, he served as a Senior Judicial Adviser at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2017, he was appointed a Judge of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, serving as its President from 2018 to 2021.