About us
Pioneering Legal Research
Max Planck Law is a network of eight Institutes engaging in legal research. The first of these was established in Berlin in 1924. Today, we cover a broad range of legal studies, from the anthropology of law to tax law, in six different locations across Germany.
As part of the Max Planck Society, we pursue its mission within our field by pushing the frontiers of knowledge. Our approach is intra- and interdisciplinary, and we have a strong focus on comparative and transnational research questions.
With over 400 researchers, we operate the world’s largest programme for doctoral and postdoctoral research in law and interdisciplinary legal studies. We offer excellent conditions and generously funded positions for early career researchers. Additionally, hundreds of academic visitors from all over the world join us in any given year.
Our Institutes provide a truly international, welcoming and supportive research environment. Half of our researchers have an educational background outside Germany, and we are committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in our working culture.
An important aim of Max Planck Law is to foster cooperation and collaboration between our researchers, thereby promoting inter- and intra-disciplinary synergies between the eight law-related Max Planck Institutes.
We do this by, amongst other things, providing support for a number of grassroots Initiatives to enable researchers from across the Max Planck Law network to work together, exchange ideas, hold conferences, invite speakers, produce research outputs, etc.
We also foster collaborative relations with partners from around the world, including University of Cambridge, University of Melbourne, and the National University of Singapore.