ABOUT US
At the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, scholars pursue research relating to basic issues and current developments in the areas of public international law, European Union law, and the constitutional and administrative law of individual states, together with numerous visiting scholars from all over the world. In its fields, our library is the largest in Europe and one of the most comprehensive in the world.
THE INSTITUTE
The Institute was founded in 1924 and located at the Berlin Palace. In 1949, it was established anew as the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg by the Max Planck Society. It focuses on basic research in public international law, European Union law and comparative constitutional and administrative law. The Institute’s research examines legal issues from the perspective of legal doctrine and theory, systematizes and compares, and contributes to the development of law and to addressing current problems. In addition, the Institute hosts many visiting scholars from around the world who pursue their own research. The Institute also advises national, European and international institutions.
RESEARCH PROFILE
Research Design and Focus
Researchers at the Institute work in a variety of legal fields, addressing a broad spectrum of topics, and using diverse methods. The research deals with issues of public international law, European law and domestic public law. Research questions vary, and range from the doctrinal and theoretical analysis of fundamental issues over a systematization or systematic comparison of legal norms to proposals for law reform and solutions for current legal problems.
The research of the Institute is characterized by thematic, theoretical and methodological pluralism. It is part of the mission of a Max Planck Institute to foster and practice academic pluralism. A number of events and projects at the Institute are aimed at confronting the different thematic and methodological approaches with each other and at allowing for a mutually stimulating dialogue. This is also one of the reasons why the Institute is not formally divided into departments.
The Institute is mainly dedicated to problem-oriented foundational research, and is also engaged in “applied science”. Through research, the Institute aspires to contribute to tackling pressing societal problems. Therefore, it seeks a dialogue with the public, with stakeholders, and is involved in policy counselling in the fields of public international law, European Union law and public law in Europe. All researchers are asked to monitor current legal developments. To this end, short reports on current topics are presented in the weekly meeting of the research staff. The discourse on scholarly texts is conducted in weekly research seminars and in various discussion groups. Both regular events are attended by all researchers and also by guests of the Institute.
Our research starts from the premise that public international law should constitute a global order, and should ideally be neither just one manifestation of national or regional hegemony nor merely an instrument for realizing particular policy interests. Projects of the Institute seek to study and elaborate both the normative autonomy of international law and its quality as a global, not regionally or culturally fragmented order. They thus seek to contribute to the further globalization of the discourse on international law.
Because public international law and domestic public law are closely interdependent, a doctrinal, theoretical, empirical, ethical and interdisciplinary examination of both bodies of law and their mutual relations is needed. A number of studies are dedicated specifically to the linkages between international, supranational and domestic regimes. In this context, comparative law is not considered as a separate academic discipline, but as an integral part of doctrinal, theoretical, and empirical analysis.
