The Institute is a part of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science, a non-profit research organisation that operates more than 90 institutes and research centers. The main focus of its research lies in the natural sciences, but it also comprises a number of institutes dedicated to the social sciences and humanities, among which are seven jurisprudential institutes primarily examining comparative and international law in its various subject areas.
In addition to the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, the following Max Planck Institutes are devoted to legal scholarship:
Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Munich
Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance, München
Max Planck Institute for European Legal History, Frankfurt/Main
Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law, Munich
Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, Munich
Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg