The Max Planck Institute is celebrating its centenary in Hamburg in 2026
From left: Institute Director Holger Fleischer, Institute Director Anne Röthel, State Councillor Eva Gümbel, Institute Director Ralf Michaels, MPG Vice-President Christian Doeller, MPG President Patrick Cramer, Institute Director Emeritus Reinhard Zimmermann, Institute Director Emeritus Klaus J. Hopt.
© Maurice Rieger / MPI für ausländisches und internationales Privatrecht
To the point
- 100 years of the Max Planck Institute: The Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026 with a programme of events in Hamburg. Founded in Berlin in 1926, it quickly established itself as a centre for comparative law and private international law.
- Anniversary programme: Highlights include a ceremony and Senate reception at Hamburg City Hall, an exhibition, panel discussions and an open day featuring short talks and improvisational theatre.
In 2026, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law is celebrating its centenary under the motto “100 Years of Thinking Ahead”. The highlight of the anniversary year was a ceremony and Senate reception at Hamburg City Hall on 2 October. Throughout the year, the Institute has been engaging more actively in public dialogue. Under the banner “LAW is in the AIR”, an exhibition in the entrance hall of Hamburg City Hall and panel discussions on “Security in the Private Sphere” and “Law as Culture” are still to come this autumn. The final highlight is the open day on 14 November, which will feature, among other things, “Law Snacks” (short talks), the escape game “Lost in Law” and improvisational theatre performances.
The Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law was founded in Berlin in 1926 within the Kaiser Wilhelm Society. Its founding director, Ernst Rabel, combined academic excellence with international vision and foresight. The modern comparative law that he helped to establish offered answers to the economic and political challenges of the young Weimar Republic. Research into foreign legal systems helped to create a reliable framework for the international trade that grew after the First World War. Within a few years, the Institute had established itself as a centre for comparative law and private international law. Many talented young scholars whose careers began there went on to become leading figures who shaped legal scholarship, both in Germany and abroad.
The Institute’s international influence remains one of its defining features. Around 80 scholars from many countries conduct research there, seeking legal solutions to political, economic and societal questions. They see their work as an early-warning system that makes it possible to think ahead to the law of tomorrow. To this end, they compare legal systems worldwide and analyse current developments, working in close dialogue with other disciplines such as economics, sociology and history. Each year, hundreds of academic visitors are also drawn to Hamburg to take part in conferences at the Institute and to carry out research in its library, which is unique in the world.
The celebrations mark not only 100 years of the Institute’s history but also 70 years in Hamburg. In 1956, it became the first Max Planck Institute to move to the Hanseatic city, where it has since been a hub of world-class international legal research, enriching Hamburg as a centre of law and scholarship.
