More than twenty women researchers from across the Max Planck Law network gathered in Strasbourg on 10 December 2025 for the full-day event ‘Career Talk and Discussions on Gender and the Law’, held under the auspices of the Minerva LAW Network Initiative. The programme comprised visits to the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe, and the University of Strasbourg, alongside a series of discussions and exchange formats.
The event was mainly coordinated by Dr Ezgi Özlü, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Strasbourg, member of the Minerva LAW Network organizing team, and a Max Planck Law alumna. Reflecting on the programme afterwards, Ezgi noted that the Strasbourg setting provided a natural focal point for an in-person meeting, allowing institutional visits to be combined with structured discussion and informal exchange across the Max Planck Law network.
The day opened with a guided visit to the European Court of Human Rights, followed by a career talk by Judge Dr Kateřina Šimáčková, Judge of the European Court of Human Rights and Section President since May 2025. Speaking candidly about her professional trajectory across legal practice, academia, and the judiciary, Judge Šimáčková addressed the structural pressures faced by women in the legal profession while maintaining a forward-looking and encouraging tone. Participants engaged actively, raising questions that linked personal career choices to broader institutional contexts.
In the course of her remarks, Judge Šimáčková referred to Men’s Law II (Mužské právo II), a volume that she co-edited, situating the book within ongoing debates on gender-based stereotyping in law. The reference offered a concrete scholarly point of departure for broader discussion on gender-based stereotyping in law.
The afternoon programme extended these conversations. At the Council of Europe, participants discussed the practical functioning of the Istanbul Convention, before moving to the University of Strasbourg for interactive sessions that encouraged participants to present and reflect on their own research trajectories. According to Ezgi, the high level of engagement throughout the day was striking, with researchers exchanging experiences and reflecting together on research-related challenges in an open and informal atmosphere.
Feedback from the over twenty attendees was consistently positive. Many highlighted the benefit of direct interaction with senior judges and practitioners, as well as the opportunity to build connections across institutes and career stages. Ezgi described the event as ‘enriching, motivating, and reflective’, adding that a personal highlight was ‘bringing together Max Planck Law researchers, court professionals, and university scholars in one place’.
That the programme was largely organized by an alumna also illustrates the continuing value of the Max Planck Law alumni network, and the productive synergies it enables across institutions and professional contexts.