In the 1965 Stock Corporation Act (the AktG), German lawmakers created a statutory regime to govern the relationship between “related enterprises”. Known in German as Konzernrecht, the law of groups of companies, this approach has earned Germany a unique, worldwide reputation in corporate law circles. But the practice of corporate conglomeration has grown in many different directions since then, and lawmakers and corporate lawyers are asking themselves whether the time has come for reform. In his report to the 2026 convention of the Association of German Jurists, Institute director Holger Fleischer examines the wisdom of reform in light of the current debate. His report is accompanied and complemented by fourteen in-depth journal articles.

The controversy surrounding surrogate motherhood has continued unabated and is now rippling through the scientific community as well. In this interview, Institute director Anne Röthel offers some guide posts to understanding the questions that German family law is faced with because of it in an international context. She also discusses the challenge for lawmakers and the potential role of legal scholarship.

His name comes up several times a day at the Institute. Named after him are The Rabel Journal of Comparative and International Private Law, which he founded; our largest auditorium, Ernst Rabel Hall; and the biennial Ernst Rabel Lecture series and associated festivities in his honour. In 1926, Ernst Rabel became the founding director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Foreign and International Private Law. Now called the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, the Institute is celebrating its centennial this year. Rabel was forced to resign in 1937 and soon emigrated to the United States, but he returned to Germany a few years after the war. Most of what we know about his life is from his output as a legal scholar.