Past Centennial Events
Symposium, exhibition, and ceremony
1/2 October 2026
Symposium: “Thinking Ahead in Private Law”
On 1-2 October, the directors hosted a symposium which—in accord with the international, interdisciplinary, and dialogue-based spirit that has characterised the Institute since its establishment—invited scholars and academics from around the world to come together and consider the future.
Presentations by Nils Jansen (Universität Münster), Fernanda Nicola (American University Washington College of Law), Annelise Riles (Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law, Chicago), and Rüdiger Veil (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) made for a standout academic event.
Exhibition: “All of This is Private Law?!”
On 1 October, the Institute’s centennial exhibition opened in the foyer of the Hamburg City Hall. The exhibition will be on display until 30 October during City Hall opening hours. Admission is free.
Senate reception in the Hamburg City Hall
The highlight of the anniversary celebrations was a ceremony and a reception hosted by the Hamburg Senate at the City Hall on 2 October.
As part of his ceremonial address, Institute Managing Director Ralf Michaels presented the new Institute film “100 Years of Thinking Ahead”:
Video:
100 years Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law
26 June 2026
Annual meeting of the Friends of the Institute with a symposium on the history of the Institute
Lectures (in German):
- Jasper Kunstreich: Wiedergutmachung? Ernst Rabel und das Institut nach 1945
- Ralf Michaels: „Fern von den Stürmen des Tages“? Kollisionsrecht im Nationalsozialismus und die Zeitschrift für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht,
- Mathias Reimann: „Es ist, wie ins Gebirge kommen.“ Ein Überblick über 100 Jahre Rechtsvergleichung am Hamburger Max-Planck-Institut
18 May 2026
Kick-off event
- Lecture by Reinhard Zimmermann:
"Der Nachfolger: Leben, Werk und Wirken von Ernst Heymann (1870–1946)" (in German)
In his lecture, Reinhard Zimmermann will speak about the second director of our predecessor Institute, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht. Heymann assumed the leadership of the Institute in 1937 after founding director Ernst Rabel was deprived of the position on account of the Nuremberg Race Laws. - Exhibition opening
A video of the event is available here:
Kick-off of the Institute’s Anniversary Celebrations on 18 May 2026
