Since 2002, the institute`s journal Rechtsgeschichte has been published annually by Klostermann Verlag[3] and has been available simultaneously in open access since 2012. Its predecessors were IUS COMMUNE, Zeitschrift für europäische Rechtsgeschichte (1967-2001) and the Rechtshistorische Journal (1982-2001). The institute`s research findings are also published as working papers, pre-print editions or in post-print format in the Legal History Research Paper Series, published online as SSRN since 2012. In addition to the journals, a number of book series reflect the work of the Institute, for example Global Perspectives on Legal History, Studies on European Legal History, Studies on Policey and Policey Studies or methodica – Introduction to Legal History Research. [4] Cooperation in the Rhine-Main region, in particular with the Goethe University Frankfurt, plays an important role. Through the Pole of Excellence “The Formation of Normative Orders” or the Collaborative Research Center “Discourses of Weakness and Resource Regimes”, the Institute and the University jointly contribute to the creation of a sustainable research place on normativity. Together they also created “The Salamanca School” as a long-term research project at the Mainz University of Sciences and Letters, thus succeeding in combining research perspectives in the fields of legal history and philosophy. [2] The Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (MPIL) is a legal research institute based in Heidelberg. It is operated by the Max Planck Society. The history of the European Union has been marked by a fundamental process of legal integration.
At the same time, Member State governments have strengthened their political control over the integration process. In this context, the “Luxembourg compromise” of 1966 introduced an informal right of veto in the European Communities. Member states invoked “national interests” to avoid voting. Political and legal debates on the right of veto have crystallised different ideas about the European Union and its transformation over time. Former research associates include Hans-Peter Kaul, Acting Vice-President of the International Criminal Court[2], Juliane Kokott, Acting Advocate General of the European Court of Justice[3], former Judge at the International Court of Justice Carl-August Fleischhauer[4] and Georg Nolte, current member of the United Nations International Law Commission. [5] Ralf Michaels (Director of MPI) and Lena Salaymeh (British Academy Global Professor, University of Oxford) have set up a long-term joint research project on comparative decolonial law. The Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law (Hamburg) and the Faculty of Law of the University of the Witwatersrand organised a virtual workshop on comparative decolonial law on 6 and 7 October 2020 (see calendar below). Under the direction of Helmut Coing, the Institute`s research focused on the history of private law in Europe and its link with economic history.
Dieter Simon, Walter Wilhelm, Michael Stolleis and Marie Theres Fögen have successively broadened the Institute`s research spectrum to include legal theory and sociology, the history of public law, international law, criminal law, modern Eastern European law and 20th century dictatorship Europe. Since the leadership of Thomas Duve and Stefan Vogenauer, emphasis has been placed on the transnational approach to European legal history through research in the fields of global history and comparative law. With the appointment of the new Director Marietta Auer, the Institute has dedicated a third department to legal theory, thus broadening its field of research. Since 2021, this expansion is also reflected in the name, which now takes a global view of legal history and theory, thus avoiding a Eurocentric approach. The institute`s interdisciplinary research, specialized library with more than 470,000 press articles, publications and numerous institutional and international collaborations provide a unique research environment for legal historians and other researchers from around the world. Over the past sixty years, the Institute has become one of the central research centers of the global scientific community engaged in the study of our past and present national and transnational legal systems. The Institute considers that its most important task is to conduct theoretically thoughtful historical research in the field of law and other forms of normativity in order to make a specific contribution to fundamental research in law, social sciences and humanities. Researchers can become heroes, and not just if their expertise is in high demand and they gain notoriety through media attention.
To this day, lawyer Eugen Ehrlich is considered a model and figurehead in many ways: while some describe him as the “founder of the sociology of law”, others consider him “the ancestor of legal pluralism”. For Ralf Seinecke, however, these images of science heroes must be treated with caution. While they are certainly important and revolutionary figures, these images or images also challenge the categories of true and false. The International Max Planck Research School for Comparative Legal History (IMPRS) was an international doctoral program of the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History and Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. Europeans have a lot of experience in crisis management. If you look at the history of the Community of European States, one thing becomes clear: for decades there have been regular more or less fierce controversies. However, strategies to overcome them have always been found, as Stefan Vogenauer`s team at the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History in Frankfurt am Main discovered during their research. Researchers also gained new knowledge about the current state of the European Union. Below are several comparative law journals and archive of articles that have varying degrees of non-paying access: The directors of the Institute regularly hold the chairs of international law at Heidelberg Law School. In addition, the directors of the Institute traditionally hold prominent positions in national and international courts and committees: since its foundation in 1964, the Institute with its three departments, the specialized library with more than 470,000 print media units and many international visitors has become a global hub for past and present national and transnational legal systems.
[1] The IMPRS was particularly devoted to comparative studies and also included studies on non-European legal cultures. The “history of law” has been seen in a broad sense, from antiquity to contemporary legal history. The comparative approach could be applied horizontally or vertically chronologically. Krenn, Christoph: A Chernobyl Case for our Times: Repasi v. Kommission und der rechtliche Schutz von Minderheitenrechte im Europäischen Parlament. Verfassungsblog, 18 October 2022. Comparative law online resources focus primarily on the law or legal systems of two or more countries or geographical area. Various websites also contain resources on private international law. Below are some useful institutional networks for scholars interested in learning more about the professional “practice” of comparative law in various fields, including academia, private legal practice, diplomacy, policy development, etc. The citation is not intended to suggest affiliation or endorsement, but to provide a starting point for research. With 630,000 volumes, the Institute`s library contains the largest collection of international law, European law and public law in Europe.
Regular publications of the Institute include the “Heidelberg Review of International Law”, the “Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law”; the Revue d`histoire du droit international; the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law; and the biannual bibliography “International Law”. [6] Guests are involved in the Institute`s programs, particularly in symposia, conferences and weekly meetings of scientific staff, as well as in various staff-led working groups on specific topics. [1] There is always the possibility of doing a PhD. Please contact the Institute`s Research Group Directors or Leaders. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the History and Theory of Law (formerly the Max Planck Institute for European Legal History) study historical forms of law from a global historical and comparative perspective and legal theory from a multidisciplinary context. The central issues are the constitution, legitimation, transformation and practice of law, with particular attention being paid to the positioning of historical forms of “law” in the context of other normative orders. The creation of a department for the development of multidisciplinary legal theory in 2020 significantly expands the Institute`s commitment to legal theory issues. One of the particular challenges of the Institute is to create a historical and empirical basis for a critical examination of the legal system in the era of globalization. To this end, the Institute is increasingly focusing on the interrelations between European and non-European legal systems.
Instead of organizing comparative law around the goal of unifying or “modernizing” law, we advocate the use of comparative law to decolonize legal thought and create the conditions for a legal sality. A decolonial analysis reveals coloniality within comparative conventional law and thus contributes to going beyond.