Institute of Customs and International Trade Law at the University of Münster
The Institute of Customs and International Trade Law (ICTL) is an autonomous institute of the University of Münster, Germany, supported by the AWA Außenwirtschafts-Akademie GmbH.
Welcome to the Institute of Customs and International Trade Law
The University of Münster has been researching and teaching multidisciplinary issues of customs and foreign trade law since 1995. In 2016 the Institute of Customs and International Trade Law (ICTL) became an independent institution under the joint auspices of the University of Münster and the AWA Foreign Trade Academy.
Today, the ICTL is the only academic institution at a German university specialising in customs and foreign trade law at the global, European and national levels.
The co-editorship of the World Customs Journal is an important task of the Institute.
The following pages provide an overview of the activities and research projects of the Institute of Customs and International Trade Law. We hope you will find them of interest: please contact us if you would like to know more!
Professor Wolffgang moderates 15th Foreign Trade Theme Day
On October 15 and 16, 2025, the 15th Foreign Trade Theme Day took place in Cologne. The topic was current developments and innovations in the field of foreign trade. Professor Wolffgang moderated this year's (...)
Professor Wolffgang moderates panel at the 17th World Customs Law Meeting
The 17th World Customs Law Meeting took place in Porto from 3rd to 5th September. As part of the panel discussion “Harmonization and Integration: Geopolitical and Trade Policy Instability,” Professor Wolffgang moderated an interactive session (...)
Professor Wolffgang takes part in discussion on custom reform and VAT
On the 18th of June 2025, Professor Wolffgang participated in a high-level debate hosted by the Universidade Católica Portuguesa as part of its course on import and export VAT. He was joined by distinguished experts (...)
prof. Dr. Hans-Michael Wolffgang
Head of the Institute of Customs and International Trade Law at the University of Münster
“There is a widespread opinion that customs is no longer an issue because of the open EU borders, but that is a very truncated view. You have to look at the whole world, not just Germany and its neighbouring countries.“
University of Münster
The University of Münster is one of the largest universities in Germany with a rich and time-honoured tradition. It enjoys an outstanding reputation in the region and far beyond. Fifteen faculties with 120 degree programmes and some 30 research centres comprise the institutional backbone of the University.
