Max Planck Institute Luxembourg receives another EU research grant

21 July 2015

The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law will receive a research grant from the EU Commission together with other partners for a research project on the effectiveness of the functioning of certain specific European and international legal instruments in family matters.


The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law will receive a research grant from the EU Commission together with other partners who joined the successful application by the University of Milan for funding of a research project on the effectiveness of the functioning of certain specific European and international legal instruments in family matters.

Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Burkhard Hess, Executive Director of the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg, joined the application for EU funding by Professor Dr. Ilaria Viarengo  from the University of Milan who submitted to the EU Commission a proposal with the title ‘Planning the future of cross-border families: a path through coordination – “EUFam’s.”’ Further partners in the project include Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas Pfeiffer from the University of Heidelberg, Professor Dr. Mirela Župan from the University of Osijek, Professor Dr. Maria Caterina Baruffi from the University of Verona, Professor Dr. Rosario Espinosa Calabuig from the University of Valencia and Dr. Francesco Pisano for the Italian Bar Association .The project also includes an Academic Advisory Board comprising Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Katharina Boele-Woelki, Professor Dr.  Alegria Borrás, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Erik Jayme, Professor Dr. h.c. Fausto Pocar, and Professor Dr. Sc. Vesna Tomljenović.

The project is motivated by the ongoing migratory movements within and across the EU and their impact on people’s life. It aims at assessing the effectiveness of certain European and international legal instruments in family matters and identifying the paths that lead to further improvement of such effectiveness.  In early 2017, the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg will host an international exchange conference with the project’s partners and selected invited experts to share the knowledge and experience on the functioning ‘in concreto’ of the EU Regulations in family matters as well as the 2007 Hague Protocol on the law applicable to maintenance obligations and the 2007 Hague Convention on international recovery.
This application followed a call for proposals by the EU Commission in the context of the ‘Justice Programme’ established by the European Parliament and Council in order to contribute to the strengthening of the European area of Freedom, Security and Justice.