In the Spotlight

In the 1965 Stock Corporation Act (the AktG), German lawmakers created a statutory regime to govern the relationship between “related enterprises”. Known in German as Konzernrecht, the law of groups of companies, this approach has earned Germany a unique, worldwide reputation in corporate law circles. But the practice of corporate conglomeration has grown in many different directions since then, and lawmakers and corporate lawyers are asking themselves whether the time has come for reform. In his report to the 2026 convention of the Association of German Jurists, Institute director Holger Fleischer examines the wisdom of reform in light of the current debate. His report is accompanied and complemented by fourteen in-depth journal articles. more

For a number of years, the Institute has placed special focus on countries and regions that hold particular academic interest due to their dynamic development. As head of the Centre of Expertise on Africa, Kwamou Eva Feukeu looks to start a new chapter. What topics has she set out to address? more

The controversy surrounding surrogate motherhood has continued unabated and is now rippling through the scientific community as well. In this interview, Institute director Anne Röthel offers some guide posts to understanding the questions that German family law is faced with because of it in an international context. She also discusses the challenge for lawmakers and the potential role of legal scholarship. more

His name comes up several times a day at the Institute. Named after him are The Rabel Journal of Comparative and International Private Law, which he founded; our largest auditorium, Ernst Rabel Hall; and the biennial Ernst Rabel Lecture series and associated festivities in his honour. In 1926, Ernst Rabel became the founding director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Foreign and International Private Law. Now called the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, the Institute is celebrating its centennial this year. Rabel was forced to resign in 1937 and soon emigrated to the United States, but he returned to Germany a few years after the war. Most of what we know about his life is from his output as a legal scholar.
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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. more

The stuff of corporate scandals – fraud, insolvency, and stock-market crashes – does not immediately smack of progress. But accounting scandals, financial implosions, and business malfeasance have actually been essential determinants of securities and capital market regulation from the very beginning, to the point that this entire body of law is said to comprise the history of attempts – often in response to public pressure following a major scandal – to institute reforms. A series of studies initiated by Institute director Holger Fleischer reckons with the legal fallout from the world’s great corporate scandals. more

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? more

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. more

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. more

For over 50 years, the animal rights movement has been advocating a change in the relationship between humans and animals. In the humanities and social sciences, an “animal turn” has been proclaimed. There is now also growing interest in the question of how animals should be legally treated and whether they are entitled to their own rights. “While constitutional rights for animals have been in the foreground up to now, it is precisely private law that has a long tradition of gradually emancipating new legal subjects and of giving them an individual and autonomous character,” says Felix Aiwanger, research fellow at the Institute. more