Turkey has a long history of various kinds of relationships with Europe, many of which go back to the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor state of Turkey. Today, Turkey is one of the European Union’s largest trading partners. It is also an EU candidate country. Turkish law is one of the most important foreign legal systems with which lawyers in Germany and across the EU regularly deal. However, as Biset Sena Güneş, head of the Centre of Expertise on Turkey at the Institute, points out, “The relevance of German and EU law in Turkey is equally significant.” Güneş’s research focuses on private international law, international civil procedural law, family and succession law, and international trade law in Turkey, Germany, and the EU, viewed from a comparative law perspective.

Antonia Sommerfeld, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, and Verónica Ruiz Abou-Nigm, Professor at Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh, are investigating the legal framework for sustainable solutions in the fashion industry. Toward this end, they are focusing on circular business models which allow sustainability and economic efficiency to merge together within a circular economy. What is the role of private international law (PIL) in this transformation process? How can PIL help to ensure that sustainable business practices prevail in global supply chains?

What happens to our assets after our death? Most individuals will face this question at some point in their lives – because they are considering who should one day receive their assets or because they themselves are beneficiaries of an inheritance. Yet few people have a detailed understanding of just what German succession law prescribes or of the problems it poses.