Current News

Wilson Lui studied law in Hong Kong and Cambridge and linguistics at Oxford before becoming a doctoral candidate at Melbourne Law School. He has taught courses in Hong Kong and Melbourne, and is also a research fellow at the Centre for Private Law at the University of Hong Kong. In the context of an exchange program between Melbourne Law School and Max Planck Law, he conducted research on state immunity at the Institute in April and May 2026. more

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of reports in the business press about foreign corporations deploying AIs in leadership roles. In his dissertation, Karl Döding, senior research fellow at the Institute, explores whether the use of an AI on a corporate board would require changes to German corporate law, and if so, what those changes would have to be. more

The 60th issue of the Journal of Japanese Law / Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht (ZJapanR/J.Japan.L.), a publication of the Institute in cooperation with the German-Japanese Association of Jurists (DJJV), is dedicated to Jan Grotheer on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Grotheer co-founded the DJJV and was its long-time president. He is now the association’s honorary president. more

Functionally, there is little difference between gifting assets and leaving them to pass through one’s estaste. In German law, however, certain donations inter vivos are subject to equality-of-inheritance claims. But this system has come under mounting criticism. In his dissertation, our former research associate Christoph Schoppe reconstructs the “adjustments” system pursuant to section 2025(1) of the German Civil Code (GCC) from historical, comparative, and doctrinal points of view. more

In theory, shareholder activism has a positive effect on corporate governance by increasing corporate value as reflected in higher share prices. But at the same time, it may lead to “short-termism”, affecting the long-term strategy of companies. A new special issue of the Zeitschrift für Japanisches Recht/Journal of Japanese Law (ZJapanR/J.Japan.L.) examines shareholder activism from a comparative perspective. more

Dr Ardavan Arzandeh is Associate Professor at the National University Singapore (NUS). The focus of his research is on commercial conflict of laws. In the context of an exchange program between NUS and Max Planck Law, he conducted research at the Institute in April 2026. more

The Hamburgische Wissenschaftliche Stiftung has appointed Institute Director Anne Röthel to its board of trustees. In addition to her many years of research and teaching experience, the legal scholar also brings leadership skills and academic vision to her new post. more