News

Cover "Nemo pro parte testatus pro parte intestatus decedere potest"
The precept that no person can dispose of some of their assets in a will while letting the rest pass under the laws of intestacy was one of the quirks of Roman succession law that made the least sense to scholars of later periods. In his dissertation, former research associate at the Institute Dirk Erdelkamp travels through contemporary history in pursuit of the nemo pro parte principle from its emergence and later reception to its present manifestations.
Samuel Zeh: Der internationale Schmerzensgeldanspruch
There’s no general standard for assessing damages for non-economic harms, and outcomes vary across jurisdictions. In his dissertation, Samuel Zeh, former research associate at the Institute, examines the calculation of damages for pain and suffering in transnational cases in light of the competing interests.
Prof. Tomasz Pietrzykowski (University of Silesia): From Things to Where? Contemporary Animal Law at the Crossroads
Guest lecture as part of the series “Hamburg Forum on Comparative Animal Law” on May 22, 2025.

New Releases

Blog Post
Katharina Isabel Schmidt, „Von hier bis zu einer Ehrung Carl Schmitts […] sind es nur noch ein paar Schritte“. Ernst Joseph Cohns Kritik an Carl Bilfingers Festschrift 1954, 2025, https://mpil100.de/2025/06/von-hier-bis-zu-eine-ehrung-carl-schmitts-sind-es-nur-noch-ein-paar-schritte-ernst-joseph-cohns-kritik-an-carl-bilfingers-festschrift-1954, 06/27/2025.
Journal Article
Christa Jessel-Holst, Aktuelle Entwicklungen im Abstammungsrecht in Südosteuropa (Bosnien und Herzegowina, Bulgarien, Kosovo, Montenegro und Nordmazedonien), Das Standesamt 2025, 165–172.
Journal Article
Holger Fleischer, Anton Paul Rittmeister, Die deutsche Bankenkrise 1931: Der Nordwolle/Danatbank-Skandal und skandalgetriebene Regulierung, BKR - Zeitschrift für Bank- und Kapitalmarktrecht 2025, 481–491.
Case Note
Susanna Roßbach, Anmerkung zu EuGH, March 13, 2025 – C-247/23 (Datenschutz: Geschlechtsangleichende Operation kein Erfordernis für Datenberichtigung der Geschlechtsidentität), Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht 2025, 525.
Thesis - PhD
Samuel Zeh, Der internationale Schmerzensgeldanspruch. Die Bemessung des Schmerzensgeldes bei deliktischen Schädigungen mit Auslandsberührung (Studien zum ausländischen und internationalen Privatrecht, 540), Universität Hamburg 2023, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2025, PhD Thesis, XXIV + 317 pp.
Journal Article
Reinhard Ellger, Eingriffsnormen im System der Rom I-VO, Zeitschrift für Internationales Wirtschaftsrecht 2025, 120–132.

Events

Access to Justice for Animals in Europe: Towards an ‘Aarhus Convention’ for Animals?

Conference and Workshop on the legal representation of animals across Europe
Jul 1, 2025
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Islamic Law in Comparative Perspectives: Milestones, Methods, and Epistemologies

Symposium in honour of Professor Nadjma Yassari
Jul 3, 2025 - Jul 4, 2025
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Philomena Hindermann: Law at the in-between – Intersektionalität und Internationales Privatrecht

Colloquium
Jul 7, 2025 03:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Prof. Dr. Konrad Duden (Universität Hamburg): Geschlecht als Prämisse? Zur disruptiven Natur des Selbstbestimmungsgesetzes

Family Law At Four
Jul 8, 2025 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law

Henry Prakken (Utrecht University): The History of AI & Law: Not Just ChatGPT

Speaker Series of the Minerva Fast Track Research Group "Artificial Justice"
Jul 9, 2025 02:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
online

Minority Law in Arab States: Governing Religious Diversity

Conference
Jul 14, 2025 - Jul 15, 2025
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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