Johannes W. Pichler is Professor of European Legal Development. Since 1994 he has been Chair of the Institute of European Legal Development in the Faculty of Law, University of Graz, and since 1987 Director of the Austrian Institute for European Law and Policy at Salzburg/Vienna. His postdoctoral qualification was on the function of necessity in law, Necessitas (1983). Since 2008 he has been working on European Citizen Participation Rights (Art. 11 [1–4]) of the European Union Treaty in the Lisbon Treatyversion, in particular on the European Citizens’ Initiative and Civil Dialogue. He has published widely on these topics. One of his research areas focuses on the Convoco 2012 theme: Acceptance of law. For example, Rechtsakzeptanz. Eine empirische Untersuchung zur Rechtskultur aus dem Blickwinkel der Ideen, Werte und Gesinnungen, vols. I and II (1993); ‘Rechtsakzeptanz’ in W. Barfuß (ed.), Österreichs Rechtstheorie und Rechtspraxis um die Jahrtausendwende (Vienna 1994), Rechtsakzeptanz. Genügt der Befund oder gibt es auch eine Aufgabe? (1996); Rechtsakzeptanz und Handlungsorientierung (1998).