On 19 December 2024, the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law celebrated its 100th anniversary with a formal event in the historic Alte Aula of Heidelberg University. The occasion brought together leading figures from academia, government, and international institutions, with an audience of over 300 guests, to honour the Institute’s legacy as well as to contemplate its future role in advancing legal science.
The event began with an address by Anne Peters, Managing Director of MPI-Heidelberg, who highlighted the Institute’s enduring contributions to public international law. Drawing on her recent blog post, she identified a dual mission: ensuring the coherence of the legal order while fostering a critical stance to address inequities. She describes her approach as dialectical, combining internal critique grounded in legal doctrine with external perspectives from social and other contexts.
Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society, acknowledged the Institute’s role within the Max Planck Law network. He highlighted its global collaborations and emphasized the relevance of comparative public law and international law research in addressing contemporary global challenges.
In a presentation on climate change and international law, Jannika Jahn, Senior Research Fellow at MPI-Heidelberg, explored the legal mechanisms for promoting sustainable practices. She discussed the potential of international law to guide both state and private actors toward effective climate protection strategies, aligning the field with broader goals of transformation and resilience.
Philipp Glahé, also a Senior Research Fellow at MPI-Heidelberg, presented a historical overview of the Institute, highlighting its many milestones since 1924. He described the Institute’s efforts to critically engage with its own history through interdisciplinary seminars within the framework of the MPIL100 history project, which he heads together with Alexandra Kemmerer. This initiative, which also established the highly successful MPIL100 blog, reflects a growing self-awareness of the Institute’s legacy and its role in shaping legal discourse.
The ceremonial address was delivered by Martti Koskenniemi, Professor Emeritus of International Law at the University of Helsinki. Koskenniemi’s lecture delved into the concept of ‘international society’, presenting Heidelberg as the birthplace of modern international law. He argued that international law must navigate the tensions between market dynamics and power politics, a perspective, recalling Anne Peters, that involves a critical legal science fit for another 100 years.
Other notable speakers included Stephan Harbarth, President of the Federal Constitutional Court, and Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, who offered brief remarks acknowledging the Institute’s intellectual contributions to their respective domains. Additional greetings were shared by Frauke Melchior, Rector of Heidelberg University, Petra Olschowski, Minister of Science, Research and Arts for Baden-Württemberg, and Tania von Uslar-Gleichen, International Law Advisor and Head of the Legal Department of the Federal Foreign Office, who praised the Institute’s importance within the academic and governmental spheres.
The centenary celebration also incorporated modern musical performances and dance sequences, offering a striking contrast to the historical setting of the Alte Aula. These artistic elements sought to blend tradition with innovation, and symbolized the Institute’s commitment to addressing contemporary and future challenges while remaining grounded in its rich heritage.
