How do democratic states accommodate Muslim family law while upholding human rights and gender equality? A project studying this question at the MPI-Halle is hiring a Scientific Project Coordinator. Apply by 31 March: recruitingapp-5034.de.umantis.com/Vacancies/52... #AcademicOpportunity
On 11 March, the Initiatives ‘Corporate Responsibility | ESG’ & ‘Law, Climate Change, and the Environment’ host Giacomo Sebis on global frameworks, human rights, and the role of international economic law in a socially responsive transition. Register now: law.mpg.de/event/human-... #Event
MPI-Hamburg is hiring a Doctoral Candidate / Postdoc to head its Centre of Expertise on Latin America (Hamburg). Focus: comparative private law & PIL, Latin American legal systems, academic coordination. Apply by 29 March: mpi-privatrecht-hh.softgarden.io/job/63163619... #AcademicOpportunity
Call for abstracts: The ‘European Law Group’ Initiative’s 5th Annual Conference ‘European Society—Facets and Fault Lines’ will take place 17–18 September at the MPI-Heidelberg. Early-career scholars are invited to apply with an abstract 31 March. Further details: law.mpg.de/event/europe... #Event
#AcademicOpportunity: Postdoc/Habilitation position at the MPI-Hamburg in Holger Fleischer’s (Director) group. Research in commercial, corporate & capital markets law in an international setting. Apply by 15 March: mpi-privatrecht-hh.softgarden.io/job/62601999...
Do legal ideas travel unchanged? This #perspective article challenges assumptions of interpretive symmetry, arguing that legal theories are transformed as they move across cultures. Read more: law.mpg.de/perspectives... @melaniemerlin.bsky.social
Black and white portrait of Jochen Abraham Frowein. He is an older man with short, light hair, wearing a dark suit, light shirt, and striped tie with a pocket square. He is looking slightly to his right with a gentle expression and has his right hand raised in a conversational or explanatory gesture.
Jochen Abraham Frowein (1934–2026) has passed away.
A pivotal figure in international law, he served as MPIL Director, VP of the European Commission of Human Rights, and mentor to generations of scholars. We are grateful for his immense scholarly legacy.
Full obituary: www.mpil.de/en/pub/i7104...
On 20 March, the ‘Max Planck Law | Tech | Society’ Initiative hosts a talk by Marina Chugunova on empirical research into automation and AI, examining evidence on human–AI interaction, labour markets, and open questions for future research. Register here: law.mpg.de/event/how-hu... #Event
Early-career researchers in family law are invited to submit abstracts for the Family Law Early Career Colloquium (3–4 June 2026, Copenhagen), organized by MPI-Hamburg. Deadline for abstracts: 15 March. More information: law.mpg.de/event/family... #Event
Max Planck Law and Sciences Po Law School have concluded a cooperation agreement to strengthen research collaboration and support early-career scholars through academic exchange and research stays. Read more: law.mpg.de/news/new-coo... #News
Call for Abstracts: The German Law Journal and Max Planck Law invite early-career scholars to submit extended abstracts for the 2nd Transnational Junior Faculty Forum, ‘The Law of Digital Value Chains’.(Munich, 3–4 September). Deadline: 15 April. More info: law.mpg.de/event/the-la... #Event
How can police oversight be adapted to heterogeneous societies and transnational police work? This question will be discussed at the event at MPI-Freiburg on 6 February, focusing on accountability and oversight in contemporary policing. Register by tomorrow: law.mpg.de/event/police... #Event
Over the past year, scholars across Max Planck Law have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to excellence in legal research. Here is a list of prizes and honours received by Max Planck Law researchers in 2025: law.mpg.de/news/max-pla... We extend our congratulations to all the recipients! #News
The Max Planck Law Alumni Network connects current and former researchers in a global community across academia, practice, and policy. Members receive updates on research and events and can engage through initiatives such as mentoring. An alumni newsletter will be launching soon! law.mpg.de/alumni/
On 4 February, the ‘Law | Tech | Society’ Initiative hosts a talk by Matthias Grabmair on large language models in law, examining their capacity for legal reasoning and their use in legislative support, including drafting amendments and consolidating statute: law.mpg.de/event/large-... #Event
@mpisoc.bsky.social (Munich) is inviting applications for a Postdoctoral Position in the ERC-funded PERGAP project on economic inequality and welfare state institutions. Apply by 19 February: www.mpisoc.mpg.de/en/career/va... #AcademicOpportunity
Event reminder: Tomorrow, the Initiative ‘Corporate Responsibility | ESG’ hosts Nina Benz for a talk on rising tensions between the EU’s CSDDD and the proposed U.S. ‘Protect USA Act’. Register now: law.mpg.de/event/intern... #InitiativeEvent
The annual CUREDI conference took place 26–28 Nov at MPI-Halle, bringing together scholars, judges, and practitioners from across Europe and marking the launch of the CUREDI database. Read all about it: law.mpg.de/news/curedi-... #News
How can police oversight be adapted to heterogeneous societies and transnational police work? This question will be discussed at the event at MPI-Freiburg on 6 February, focusing on accountability and oversight in contemporary policing. Register here: law.mpg.de/event/police... #MPINetworkEvent
The ‘Corporate Responsibility | ESG’ Initiative, launched in 2024, provides a forum for scholarly exchange on corporate accountability, sustainability, and regulation. After nine events in its first year, the Initiative will continue online and in-person formats: law.mpg.de/news/spotlig... #News
Observations of historical processes of the production of knowledge of normativity can be integrated into the analytical drawing on regime theory.
What this means is explained in
another working paper.
📷 Shutterstock
Analysing the production of knowledge of normativity as translation leads to radical contextualization, guards against essentialist tendencies, and helps to overcome Eurocentric understandings.
Duve suggests the advantage of the terms knowledge & normativity over the term law, illustrating how these terms are particularly useful for comparative and global historical work.
A pragmatic concept of law is at the base of this understanding: Norms are understood as performative and thus have to be studied as a knowledge based social practice, not as a system of norms.
This perspective helps to analyse transformations and also explains why legal change is possible: As a consequence of the continuous process of translation of knowledge of normativity, in which the actors process, respond, and react to changing circumstances.
The paper establishes an understanding of legal history as a historical process of cultural translation of knowledge of normativity– using an analytical and interdisciplinary approach learning from translation studies, cultural studies, and legal theory.
We are pleased to present you one of the top downloaded papers from the Max Planck Law network by Thomas Duve (MPI-Frankfurt): ‘Legal History as a History of the Translation of Knowledge of Normativity’
ssrn.com/abstract=422...
There are a few places left. Register until 14 January: law.mpg.de/event/turnin...
Max Planck Law is hiring a Student Assistant (m/f/d) in science communication, part-time (up to 8 hrs/week), based in Hamburg, starting 1 March. For more information in German and to apply by 31 January, please visit: mpi-privatrecht-hh.softgarden.io/job/61581902... #Vacancy #MaxPlanckLaw
More than twenty women researchers from the Max Planck Law network met in Strasbourg on 10 December for the ‘Minerva LAW Network’ event, combining institutional visits with exchanges on academic careers, gender and legal research. Read more: law.mpg.de/news/women-r... #News
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