Legal Linguistics Meets Austrian Property Law: A Review of Florian Heindler’s Sachenrecht/Property Law (Linde 2023)

Florian Heindler, Associate Professor at Sigmund Freud Private University, has published the third edition of his textbook on Property Law. This review finds that the work provides an accessible introduction to Austrian property law which excels in clarity, systematics, conciseness, and practicality. It allows beginners to appreciate the aesthetics of the study of property law without becoming overwhelmed with the increasing complexity of interrelated concepts and processes (see also [9]). Heindler’s work is also of great significance as it bridges the domains of legal knowledge and linguistic understanding (see [2]). It clearly has the potential to inspire students by presenting property law as an engaging and fascinating field of study. The work also appears highly relevant to legal linguists and jurilinguists due to the critical role property plays in legal discourse and the methodological need for legal linguists, forensic linguists and jurilinguists to engage with legal textbooks in order to fully understand the legal system in which they operate. Future research into the discourse(s) of ownership and possession should overcome academic tribalism in both linguistics and legal studies, and foster targed-oriented interdisciplinary collaboration. Heindler's work could serve as a valuable conceptual basis for indepth research in legal linguistics, jurilinguistics, and forensic linguistics. Further research at the intersection of language and law on the existence, arrangement, and enforcement of property rights and their associated implications for social (in)equality could be oriented toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).