News

Priv.-Doz. Dr. Philipp Ceesay with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Reinhard Zimmermann
Philipp Ceesay, senior research fellow at the Institute, satisfied the final requirements of the habilitation process at Bucerius Law School on 7 July 2025. His professorial teaching qualification covers the fields of civil law, corporate law, civil procedure, and comparative law.
Prof. Angela Fernandez (University of Toronto): Grabbing at Freedom: Does an Escaped Animal Have a Right to Their Freedom?
Guest lecture as part of the series “Hamburg Forum on Comparative Animal Law” on July 17, 2025.
Rosa Pla Almendros
Rosa Pla Almendros is currently studying for a doctorate in private international law (PIL) at the University of Valencia. Before her stay at the Institute as a Konrad Zweigert Scholar, she was awarded a research scholarship for the 2024 autumn term at the London School of Economics (LSE).

New Releases

Journal Article
Holger Fleischer, Unternehmensrechtliche Skandalforschung: Ein Primer, Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht 2025, 1699–1709.
Journal Article
Susanna Roßbach, Hannah Münstermann, Familienrecht für alle: Rechtliche Lücken bei der Eltern-Kind-Zuordnung?, Zeitschrift des Deutschen Juristinnenbundes 2025, 63–66.
Working Paper
Antonia Sommerfeld, Claiming the EU Right to Repair from Manufacturers in Cross-Border Contexts, 2025, 27 pp., https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5361876, 07/23/2025.
Journal Article
Philipp Ceesay, Die Pflicht zur Rücknahme im Rückgewährschuldverhältnis – Rechtsdogmatische und rechtsökonomische Überlegungen zu BGHZ 239, 102, Zeitschrift für die gesamte Privatrechtswissenschaft 2025, 137–158.
Contribution to a Collected edition
Ruth Effinowicz, Die Grenzen des Kollektivs – Japanische Reaktionen auf die Covid-19-Pandemie, in: Tomoaki Kurishima, Daniel Wolff, Johannes Kaspar (eds.), Individualität und Kollektivität – Deutsche und japanische Perspektiven auf Recht, Kultur und Rechtskultur, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2025, 127–147.
Journal Article
Felix Aiwanger, Die unterbrochene Reform – Quo vadis, Tierschutzgesetz?, Recht der Landwirtschaft 2025, 193–199.

Events

Prof. Eva Lein (Université de Lausanne): PIL and dispute resolution in times of crisis

Current Research in Private International Law
Sep 2, 2025 11:00 AM (Local Time Germany)
online

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Anne Peters (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law): Towards Global Animal Law

Hamburg Forum on Comparative Animal Law
Sep 3, 2025 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
hybrid event

7. Fachgespräch Familienrecht „Familienfunktionen und Familienrecht: Finanzierung der Familie“

Sep 26, 2025 10:00 AM (Local Time Germany)
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

The Institute

About Us
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.
Library profile and holdings
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.

In the Spotlight

A Springboard for the Circular Economy: Private international law supporting a sustainability transformation of the fashion industry
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?
A call for the reform of German succession law
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.
Complex Topics – Getting to the Heart of the Matter
Making the essential information about a research project quickly understandable by means of visualization: Research posters are increasingly being used for this purpose. Poster sessions complementing a lecture program have become a standard feature at academic conferences. As part of the most recent evaluation of the Institute by its advisory board, young researchers presented the topics addressed in their doctoral and post-doctoral theses in a poster session.
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