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28 January 1969

Publication of the first issue of TRANSPO. The name stands for “Transparency Postil,” an Institute-internal newsletter, written by and for the staff, that reflects a gradually evolving culture at the Institute. Director Konrad Zweigert organizes an election later that year, on 13 November, to choose the membership for a new “Institute Committee.” Even in the late sixties, women researchers are the absolute exception at the Institute; the only woman among the research fellows at the time is Susanne Flessner.

The humorous Transparency Postil, shortened as TRANSPO, appears monthly and offers a glimpse into Institute life in the early 1970s. The newsletter is written by and for the staff and reports on topics such as marriages, personnel matters, professional appointments and honours, Institute projects, seminars and conferences, and developments in the Max Planck Society. Publication ceases in 1976.

Insights into TRANSPO

(Click on the image to view a larger version)

The protest movement of 1968 and its push for greater democratization and participation is reflected in the form of the newly established Institutsausschuss (Institute Committee). The elected body, whose meetings are open to all Institute employees, involves researchers, library staff, and administrative personnel in Institute management decisions; its role is further reinforced in the 1970s through the creation of additional sub-committees. Despite gradually losing its administrative function in the ensuing decades and not convening since 2017, the Institutsausschuss still formally exists today.

As in the earlier years, the majority of women employed at the Institute in the 1960s work in non-legal fields – primarily as secretaries or librarians. Though these supporting roles often have an academic character, the staff members performing these duties are not recognized as researchers. Whereas the few women who had undertaken legal work at the Institute in previous decades stayed only for a short period, the situation is different with Susanne Flessner. Arriving in 1961, the legal scholar remains a fixture at the Institute for nearly 20 years.

First published in 1969 and authored by Zweigert and his student Hein Kötz, An Introduction to Comparative Law stands as a monumental contribution to legal scholarship. It is a standard resource work and leading textbook that has been translated into several languages.

The Institute continues to grow throughout this period, requiring new construction by the 1970s. The new wing, built at a cost of 9.1 million deutschmarks, opens on 15 January 1979, just two weeks before the end of Zweigert’s tenure as director.