Jürgen Samtleben, former senior research fellow and head of the Latin America Unit at the Institute, received the Jürgen Prölss Prize on 19 January 2022. The prize is awarded annually by the Department of Law at Freie Universität Berlin in recognition of academic work done by lawyers – in the German language – in a non-legal field. Jürgen Samtleben was honoured for his research on the work of Johann Sebastian Bach.

The Centre of Expertise on Turkey at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law initiated this series as an international forum for discussion of current issues in Turkish law. Each one-hour seminar will consist of a roughly thirty-minute lecture followed by questions and discussion. The inaugural seminar will be held online at 2 p.m. on 24 January 2022.

From the European Single Market to the global interweaving of multi-national businesses or financial firms to our increasingly international everyday lives, the world around us is steadily converging. At the same time, our laws are encountering the limits of their application. The Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law embraces the task of critically studying the social, economic and legal challenges of globalisation.

The Institute library is Europe’s largest library specialising in foreign and international private law and is recognised worldwide for its scope and services. It has a collection of specialist literature from more than 200 countries around the world. The library has a particular focus on acquiring literature from countries that are not easily accessible, such that these can be gathered and made available at one location.

Traditional notions of family, marriage, and parenthood around the world have changed significantly in recent decades. The result is often that black-letter law is at odds with both actual practices and the social reality. Since 2009, the research group “Changes in God’s Law” at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law has been studying developments in the civil law of Muslim jurisdictions. The group is led by Nadjma Yassari. One of its current focuses is the law of succession.

Legislation in the field of company law arrived on the scene only at a relatively late stage. For centuries, it was articles of incorporation and contracts which ensured that the rules essential to the existence of a company were set out in a binding manner. From accounting and non-competition clauses to the structuring of management and supervisory bodies, these instruments served as models for the later creation of statutory rules.

Allowing all people to live in dignity while at the same time protecting our natural environment is one of the globe’s greatest challenges. This aim is expressed in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set out in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda. The law stands as an important vehicle for their implementation. In cooperation with Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm and Hans van Loon, Institute Director Ralf Michaels has launched a research project that examines the role of private international law in realizing the UN goals.