Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has informed the Max Planck Society that it wishes to transfer the Max Planck Institute for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law, which is fully financed by the Grand Duchy, to the University of Luxembourg over a transitional period of three to four years, i.e. until the retirement of the two directors currently in office.

Following the Executive Board Meeting on March 9, 2020 at the Max Planck Institute in Luxembourg, the Max Planck Society informed the Luxembourg Ministry of Higher Education and Research about the further procedure. The Max Planck Society is convinced that the measures it has initiated are the right steps to consolidate administrative actions, resolve the working situation at the Institute and to strengthen research activities.

The worst case scenario has now materialized. The United Kingdom is to leave the European Union. While the Brexit campaigners clearly failed to give sufficient consideration to the legal and economic consequences of this step, the European Union is also inadequately prepared for this scenario.

Interview with Burkhard Hess, Founding Director at the new Max Planck Institute in Luxembourg

The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law is being formally inaugurated with an opening ceremony and a symposium on 8 May.

In the fall of 2021, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg completed a research project that examined the private and public enforcement of European consumer law in six European Member States. The project covered Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and England and Wales (before Brexit). It had been commissioned by the Luxembourg Ministry for Consumer Protection. The results of the Study were published in the book series of the Institute and encompassed six national reports and a general assessment.

This project analysed international courts’ and tribunals’ interstate litigious procedure. proposing solutions to improve their effectiveness, efficiency and procedural fairness, and promoting the development of the international judicial system. 

In December 2019, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg (MPI Luxembourg) completed the empirical research project IC2BE, which is dedicated to the so-called second generation of EU regulations on procedural law for cross-border cases. It was developed in cooperation with numerous renowned research institutions in Europe. The project is funded by the European Commission (EUR 780 000).

In 2018, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg completed a research project that examined the procedural and substantive incompatibilities between EU law and investor-State arbitration relating to disputes concerning investment treaties.

In 2017 the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg completed a study on the impact of national procedural laws on mutual trust and on consumer protection. The study embodies the most comprehensive, empirically-driven comparative investigation of civil procedure in Europe to date. It identifies areas where targeted measures would increase mutual trust as well as consumer protection, and expounds concrete proposals – some of which have already been taken up by the European Commission – to overcome the current obstacles to effective judicial cooperation and consumer protection.