The Legal scholar Franz Klein was born in Vienna on 24 April 1854.
Klein studied law and political science at the University of Vienna, qualified as a professor of Austrian civil procedure law in 1885 and was also authorized to teach Roman law in 1891.
In 1891, Klein was appointed to the Ministry of Justice, where he was entrusted with drafting a reform of civil procedure. With his code of civil procedure (Zivilprozessordnung, ZPO) 1895, a modern and needs-oriented code of procedure was created in Austria, which attracted much attention and was copied abroad.
Klein served as Minister of Justice from 1906 to 1908 and again in 1916. In 1919, he was a member of the peace delegation for the negotiations in St. Germain.
Franz Klein's name was added to the Faculty's plaque of honor; since 1937, a monument in the Arkadenhof (arcaded courtyard) also commemorates him.
