Dr. Jan Peter Schmidt recipient of Otto Hahn Medal
17.06.2010
Dr. Jan Peter Schmidt, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, was awarded the Otto Hahn Medal for Junior Research for his doctoral dissertation "Zivilrechtskodifikation in Brasilien" (The Codification of Private Law in Brazil). The Otto Hahn Medals are awarded each year by the Max Planck Society in recognition of outstanding scholarly achievement by junior researchers working at their individual institutes.The work of Jan Peter Schmidt addresses the structure and content of the new Brazilian Civil Code of 2002. In so doing he examines a wide array of general civil law topics and questions from a historical-comparative perspective. The dissertation was published in 2009 in the Institute's own publication series "Studien zum ausländischen und internationalen Privatrecht". In his laudatory comments, Reinhard Zimmermann, Director at the Institute, observed that readers of the work will benefit from a thoughtful and multi-faceted consideration of Brazilian law which, at the same time, offers a critical assessment of Brazilian legal culture, taking account of its social and political context and of the legal development of Latin America in general.
Since 1978, the Max Planck Society has honoured up to 40 young scientists and researchers each year with the Otto Hahn Medal for outstanding scientific achievements. The award comes with a monetary sum in recognition. The prize is intended to motivate especially gifted junior scientists and researchers to pursue a future university or research career.