History of the Centre of Expertise on Latin America

The Centre of Expertise on Latin America has a long tradition. Originally a part of the Institute’s Spanish language desk, it was established as an independent division in 1971 by Jürgen Samtleben after his return from post-graduate studies at the Universidade de São Paulo.

The development of a Latin America division at the Institute was originally linked to the systematic development of the Institute’s library archive on Latin American law, a collection that continues to attract to the Institute scholars from all around the globe. Samtleben dedicated his efforts primarily to a scholarly examination of the private international law of Latin America, and he was deeply involved with the historic inception of the Mercosur. A selection of his most important work was published in a 2010 anthology. Another volume, published in 2023, contains in systematic order his recent work on the private international law and procedural law of Latin American countries.

In 2004, Jan Peter Schmidt succeeded Jürgen Samtleben as the head of the division, which was then developed into the Centre of Expertise on Latin America. Schmidt’s research focused on the private law tradition of Latin American countries as well as the influence of preceding European models. His 2009 dissertation on civil law codification in Brazil was an in-depth examination of the across-the-board 2002 reform of the Brazilian Civil Code; his work represents the first comprehensive German-language study of the topic. From 2011 forward Schmidt authored a number of different studies on succession law, family law, and contract law in Latin American countries.

From 2012 to 2014, Tilman Quarch led the Centre. His research included Brazilian patent law and investment protection law; additionally, he contributed a comparative perspective to the updated edition of the main opus of the Brazilian jurist Pontes de Miranda. Subsequently, from 2015 to 2016, the Centre was led by Anton Geier.

From 2017 to 2026, Denise Wiedemann was the head of the Centre. Her research advanced the comparative study of Latin American law in terms of various private international law and private law topics, especially family, succession, and property law. One of her most relevant contributions was an extensive comparative investigation of early marriage in the region, considering its intersections with private international law.

Since September 2026, the Centre is in the hands of Luana Matoso.