The Max Planck Law Annual Conference 2024, held at Harnack House in Berlin, centred on the theme of ‘Power’. This theme, with its far-reaching legal, political, and social implications, generated a diverse set of contributions. What follows is a selective overview of the presentations in the Research Showcases (researchers who responded to the call for papers) and Institute panels (Institutes who responded to the call for Institute panels) that most directly engaged with the theme of power. Where available, links to related publications have been provided.
Impacts

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Research Showcases
Power & Climate
Dr Ezgi Ediboglu Sakowsky explored the limited influence of international environmental law on solar PV companies, despite global commitments to renewable energy. Based on 70 interviews with industry representatives, she found that firms do not follow UN climate negotiations and instead respond primarily to domestic laws and litigation. While human rights law has established corporate liability at the international level, environmental law relies primarily on national enforcement. The absence of international judicial mechanisms for corporate accountability means that environmental law’s influence depends on domestic regulations and voluntary corporate commitments.

- Ezgi Ediboğlu, ‘IPC–Mercator, ‘Technology for Combating Climate Change, Proposals for Turkey, Part I: The Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies’ (January 2022) [Link]
Power & Contracts
Dr Tom Hick examined how power dynamics are increasingly shaping contract law, despite its traditionally power-blind nature. While competition, labour, and consumer law address economic imbalances, general contract law is beginning to integrate power considerations. However, he argued that No-Contract Law—which governs broken-off negotiations and refusals to contract—remains largely indifferent to power disparities. Hick proposed a more nuanced understanding of freedom of contract that accounts for power imbalances, suggesting legal mechanisms to counteract the unequal effects of contract non-occurrence.

- Tom Hick, ‘A European Structure for ‘No-Contract Law’ in the 21st Century: A Structured Comparative Analysis of Private Law Remedies for Failed Contract Negotiations and Failed Contract Conclusion in a Contemporary Context’ (PhD thesis, KU Leuven 2024) [Link]
- Tom Hick, Liability Law for Failed Contract Negotiations: A Comparative, Structural, and Historical Analysis (Routledge, forthcoming 2025)
- Tom Hick, ‘No-Contract and Power’ in L Miller and P Sirena (eds), Contract and Power (Intersentia, forthcoming 2025)
Private Power
Dr Klaus Wiedemann examined private power in the digital economy, where tech giants leverage market dominance and manipulative techniques like ‘dark patterns’ to influence user behaviour. He highlighted the human rights implications of this power imbalance, questioning whether consent to data processing is truly ‘freely given’ when users have limited alternatives. The emerging field of EU Data Law is tasked with the difficult job of mitigating these tensions. He argued that mapping out a human-centred approach to the regulation of the digital economy by aligning the protection of human rights with the need to protect competition and innovation is a crucial first step.

- Marco Botta and Klaus Wiedemann, ‘Exploitative Conducts in Digital Markets: Time for a Discussion after the Facebook Decision’ (2019) 10(8) J Eur Compet Law Pract 465 [Link]
- Klaus Wiedemann, ‘Can Data Protection Friendly Conduct Constitute an Abuse of Dominance under Article 102 TFEU?’ (Max Planck Institute for Innovation & Competition Research Paper No 23-15, 2023) 34 [Link]
Power & Punishment
Dr Sajjad Safaei critically reassessed Michel Foucault’s representation of Jeremy Bentham’s penal philosophy, and claims to expose misrepresentations at the heart of Discipline and Punish, Foucault’s foundational work in modern social theory. Safaei argued, contra Foucault, that Bentham was not an advocate of concealed punishment but instead insisted on public deterrence, exemplarity, and even theatricality. His presentation, based on a recently published journal article, raised broader questions about how legal and political theorists construct narratives of power, punishment, and historical continuity.

- Sajjad Safaei, ‘Foucault’s Bentham: Fact or Fiction? Dissecting a Perverse Fixation’ (2022) Int J Polit Cult Soc 47 [Link]
Power in Peace
Leon Seidl examined how international law both constrains and legitimizes power in peace processes. While it limits warlords’ ability to consolidate power, it also confers legitimacy on post-conflict governance, particularly when domestic legal systems have been discredited. References to international law in peace agreements enhance credibility but can also entrench unjust power structures. Drawing on examples from peacemaking, Seidl questioned whether stricter legal limits on power are needed or if law’s dual role—both enabling and constraining power—is an unavoidable trade-off in peacebuilding.

Power in Healthcare
Dr Christian Günther examined how AI-driven medical devices reshape power dynamics in healthcare, particularly their impact on patient autonomy. As AI assists or directs decisions, it alters the doctor-patient balance, sometimes reinforcing biases or limiting personalized choices. Günther highlighted legal gaps in UK and US regulations, questioning how law should adapt as AI exerts clinical expertise. His research offers a forward-looking approach to regulating AI in healthcare, balancing innovation with the protection of patient autonomy.

- Christian Günther, Artificial Intelligence, Patient Autonomy and Informed Consent, (Nomos 2024) [Link]
Power & Pandemics
Dr Pedro A. Villarreal examined how economic power shaped pandemic responses, with wealthier states securing faster vaccine access. He analysed WHO negotiations on a pandemic agreement and revised International Health Regulations, which aim to prioritize equity over purchasing power. Villarreal highlighted legal barriers, including reliance on bilateral contracts and weak international oversight, questioning whether public international law can shift medical access from market-driven competition to need-based distribution.

- Armin von Bogdandy and Pedro Villarreal, ‘Critical Features of International Authority in Pandemic Response: The WHO in the COVID-19 Crisis, Human Rights and the Changing World Order’ (13 May 2020) Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper No 2020-18 [Link]
Institute Panels

At the Institute level, several panels explored power-related themes in specific legal contexts. The MPI-Freiburg panel, ‘Doing Justice to Rights: Rethinking Approaches to the Interrelation of Criminal Wrongs and Power‘, examined how the law can better reflect the complex nature of wrongs and remedies in an interconnected world shaped by structural injustices. It explored the relational nature of rights violations, questioning the adequacy of criminalization alone. Discussions included how reparative and restorative justice can address harm while acknowledging systemic power imbalances. The panel also considered how a relational approach could reshape legal responses to sexual violence, particularly in light of evolving concepts like non-consent and online abuse. Drawing on diverse perspectives and theories, it critically examined simplistic legal notions to illuminate a path forward.
Power, Criime, Justice
- Marthe Goudsmit, ‘The Wrongness of Image-Based Sexual Abuse’ (PhD thesis, University of Oxford 2022) [Link]
- J Rodríguez Vásquez and C Valega Chipoco, ‘Sexual Violence and Criminal Law: On Contemporary Problems in the Interpretation of the Rape Offence in the Peruvian Criminal Code’ (2023) (91) Derecho PUCP 301 [Link]
- Valerij Zisman, Criminal Law Without Punishment: How Our Society Might Benefit from Abolishing Punitive Sanctions (Vol 25, Practical Philosophy, De Gruyter 2023) [Link]

The MPI-Halle panel, ‘Law and Anthropology: Perspectives on Power, Inequality, and Social Justice‘, explored the power structures shaping migration law, refugee protection, and legal knowledge production. Discussions highlighted asymmetrical power relations in interdisciplinary scholarship, the role of labour migration laws in reinforcing inequalities based on skill, gender, and race, and the legal concept of vulnerability as both protective and exclusionary. The panel also examined how legal frameworks legitimize and constrain state control over sea migration and how legal expertise influences power dynamics in decision-making and social justice activism, emphasizing the gap between law, policy implementation, and migrants’ lived experiences.
Power, Inequality, Social Justice
- Alice Margaria and Larissa Vetters (eds), Leading Works in Law and Anthropology (1st edn, Routledge 2024) [Link]
- Leboeuf L and others (eds), Between Protection and Harm: Negotiated Vulnerabilities in Asylum Laws and Bureaucracies (IMISCOE Research Series, Springer Cham 2024) [Link]
- Katia Bianchini, Responses to Sea Migration and the Rule of Law (1st edn, Hart Publishing 2024) [Link]
- Marie-Claire Foblets, Maria Sapignoli, and Brian Donahoe (eds), Anthropological Expertise and Legal Practice: In Conversation (1st edn, Routledge 2024) [Link]

Elsewhere, The MPI-Heidelberg panel, ‘Judicial Power in Times of Geopolitical Turmoil: Competence, Competition, Cooperation, and Compliance‘, examined how judicial power is reshaped in response to geopolitical crises that challenge existing legal security frameworks. It explored how courts redefine their authority, the power of other actors, and the law’s capacity to address security threats. Discussions covered judicial review of EU foreign policy, the political question doctrine’s role in balancing executive and judicial power, and cooperation in prosecuting international crimes. The panel also analysed how judicial rulings influence global power dynamics, even in cases of noncompliance, through coalition-building and strategic effects.
Judicial Power and Geopolitics
- Sofia Vandenbosch, ‘The Political Question Doctrine Under Close Control: What the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union Tell Us About the Changing Contours of Judicial Review in Europe’ (VerfBlog, 30 October 2024) [Link]
- Kerttuli Lingenfelter, ‘The Boundaries Between the EU and Member States’ Competences in Criminal Matters: Reflections on Post-Lisbon Developments’ in Ricardo Pereira, Annegret Engel, and Samuli Miettinen (eds), The Governance of Criminal Justice in the European Union (Edward Elgar 2020) [Link]
- Christian Schultheiss, Ocean Governance and Conflict in the East and South China Sea: Negotiating Natural Resources, Institutions and Power (Politics and International Relations in Asia, Amsterdam University Press 2024) [Link]
- Carolyn Moser and Berthold Rittberger, ‘The CJEU and EU (De-)Constitutionalization: Unpacking Jurisprudential Responses’ (2022) 20(3) Intl J Const L 1038 [Link]
Final Note
While many more papers and panels were presented, the above selection offers a glimpse into the diversity of the 2024 Max Planck Law Annual Conference, highlighting the relevance of legal research in addressing contemporary questions on power. In particular, the Conference showed how law not only regulates power but can also be reshaped by shifting political, social, and institutional forces.