100 years of thinking ahead
2026 marks the Institute’s 100th anniversary. We look back at an eventful century of comparative law, from the founding of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in the Berlin Palace, to the wartime relocation in Tübingen, to 70 years as the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg.
And we are looking ahead as well. What new questions will shape future research? What societal developments are were tracing? How can the law of the future be anticipated?
To create greater awareness about research conducted at the Institute, we are intensifying our public outreach in this anniversary year. Our aim is to generate curiosity about private law and its consequences for our daily lives. Through a variety of event formats, we invite all interested persons to learn about our topics of inquiry and to engage in conversation with us.
We look forward to a lively exchange!
Calendar
18 May 2026
Kick-off event
- Lecture by Reinhard Zimmermann: "Der Nachfolger: Leben, Werk und Wirken von Ernst Heymann (1870–1946)"
(in German)
In his lecture, Reinhard Zimmermann will speak about the second director of our predecessor Institute, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht. Heymann assumed the leadership of the Institute in 1937 after founding director Ernst Rabel was deprived of the position on account of the Nuremberg Race Laws. - Exhibition opening
June 26, 2026
Annual meeting of the Alumni Association with a symposium on the history of the Institute
Speakers: Jasper Kunstreich, Ralf Michaels, and Mathias Reimann
October 1–2, 2026
English-language academic symposium: "Thinking Ahead in Private Law"
Speakers: Nils Jansen, Annelise Riles, Fernanda Nicola, and Rüdiger Veil
October 2, 2026
Ceremony and Senate reception at Hamburg City Hall (in German)
November 14, 2026
Open house
Celebrate with us!
Anniversary glasses to download
Cut out the glasses along the marked line, put them on, and send a picture to jubilaeum@mpipriv.de or post it on social media at #mpipriv100.