100 years of thinking ahead
On 1 April 1926, the Institute for Foreign and International Private Law commenced its work in the Berlin Palace as part of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. Now seated in Hamburg as the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, this year marks the Institute’s 100th anniversary.
Over the past century, researchers at the Institute have studied how laws develop globally and reflected on the law of the future. In this centenary year as well, we are looking forward: What new questions are decisive for our research? What are the societal developments shaping our understanding of the law?
We see this 100-year history of legal research as an occasion to more deeply engage in public dialogue and spark curiosity about private law and its significance for all our lives. Through numerous events, we invite all interested individuals to learn more about our work and join in conversation with us.
We look forward to a lively exchange.
Holger Fleischer Anne Röthel Ralf Michaels
26 June 2026
Annual meeting of the Friends of the Institute with a symposium on the history of the Institute
Lectures (in German):
- Jasper Kunstreich: Wiedergutmachung? Ernst Rabel und das Institut nach 1945
- Ralf Michaels: „Fern von den Stürmen des Tages“? Kollisionsrecht im Nationalsozialismus und die Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht,
- Mathias Reimann: „Es ist, wie ins Gebirge kommen.“ Ein Überblick über 100 Jahre Rechtsvergleichung am Hamburger Max-Planck-Institut
Further information and registration
Timeline of the Institute's History
All of This Is Private Law?!
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.