Sustainable Private Law Talks

Discussing Freedom of Contract with Professor Dr Jan-Erik Schirmer

Tom Hick will present a proposal on how freedom of contract can be re-interpreted to form the bedrock of more sustainable contracting practices, hence more sustainable development. Professor Jan-Erik Schirmer, drawing on his extensive expertise on sustainable private law, will give his perspective on the proposal.

Then, the discussion will be opened to take questions from the attendees to further delve into the topic.

Dr Tom Hick is Senior Research Fellow under Professor Dr Dr hc mult Reinhard Zimmermann at the Max Planck Institute for comparative and international private law in Hamburg, Germany. He conducts research on comparative contract, liability, enrichment, and succession law, with a focus on questions of social justice and sustainability.

Professor Dr Jan-Erik Schirmer holds the Chair for civil, commercial, and company law and for compliance and sustainability at the Europa-Universität Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). His Habilitation, Nachhaltiges Privatrecht (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2023, 465 p.), has found wide resonance in the academic literature on the relevance of private law for sustainability matters.