Current News

The International Association for Artificial Intelligence and Law (IAAIL) has honoured Wijnand van Woerkom, Institute research fellow in the Minerva Fast Track Research Group “Artificial Justice”, with the Donald H. Berman Best Student Paper Award. more

Former Institute research assistant Christian Stemberg examines the widely witnessed phenomenon of clawback clauses in his recently published dissertation. His study explores the reasons behind the success of these contractual provisions and considers their potential benefits. more

The Foundation for the Promotion of Japanese-German Scientific and Cultural Relations, for short the “JaDe Stiftung”, has awarded its JaDe Prize to Ruth Effinowicz, head of the Institute’s Centre of Expertise on Japan. The prize honours outstanding achievements and accomplishment in the area of Japanese-German scientific and cultural relations. more

Can forests and rivers have rights? A legal innovation which originated in the Global South and which is making its way into the North, the rights of nature are of particular importance both for a decolonial conception of comparative law that avoids and overcomes Eurocentrism as well as for an analysis of global legal pluralism that reaches beyond state structures. more

Duygu Damar-Blanken, former senior research fellow at the Institute, has been appointed as professor at the Berlin School of Economics and Law (Hochschule für Wirtschaft and Recht Berlin – HWR). As of 1 February 2026, she has assumed the position of professor of civil law, with an emphasis in private international law. more

A new edited volume from Institute Director Holger Fleischer, prepared together with Hans-Ueli Vogt (Zurich) and Susanne Kalss (Vienna), explores the panorama of partnerships in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. more

Philipp Ceesay, former senior research fellow at the Institute, has assumed the Chair for Civil, Commercial, and Company Law at the Law Faculty of Leibniz University Hannover as of 1 January 2026. more