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
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