The Max Planck Institute (MPI) Luxembourg for Procedural Law is a dynamic research institution undertaking interdisciplinary and collaborative research in the fields of international, European and comparative, as well as regulatory procedural law. It is one of the five Max Planck Institutes outside the German borders, and the first one focussing on legal matters. It owes its existence to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which finances the Institute entirely, as a part of a broader strategy of the local government to develop Luxembourg as a centre for academic excellence and higher education.

Since its inception in 2012, the Institute has developed its unique focus on a challenging field of legal research, namely the procedures underlying dispute settlement and decision-making processes, with the aim of identifying and analysing emerging trends in dispute resolution and decision-making across Europe and globally.

Along the years, the MPI Luxembourg has established a continuous and productive dialogue with European and international courts and institutions. A close cooperation in research and teaching also exists with the faculty of law of the University of Luxembourg. It organises lecture series, international conferences, and summer academies. It has become a global hub for researchers specialising in all forms of dispute resolution.

The Institute is structured around two Research Departments and an International Doctoral Research School on Successful Dispute Resolution.

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The Department of International Law and Dispute Resolution investigates the mechanisms and techniques of international dispute settlement, and all forms of decision-making processes. It focuses on their underlying principles, and explores the related theoretical and historical schools of thought in international law.

EUROPEAN AND COMPARATIVE PROCEDURAL LAW

The Department of European and Comparative Procedural Law addresses the whole range of judicial and extrajudicial settlement of civil and commercial disputes from a contemporary comparative perspective. Special attention is given to the development of European procedural law and the procedures of the European Court of Justice.

INTERNATIONAL MAX PLANCK RESEARCH SCHOOL FOR SUCCESSFUL DISPUTE RESOLUTION (IMPRS-SDR)

The Research School analyse the dynamics of different mechanisms solving international disputes in the 21st century. In doing so, the IMPRS-SDR programme researches the institutional and procedural conditions that lead to successful international dispute resolution. A special focus addresses the IT revolution and its impacts on dispute resolution.

These are complemented by two Research Groups:

• Regime of administrative pecuniary and non-pecuniary sanctions in financial markets’ law in the European Union
• The Intergenerational Memory of Mass Atrocities: The Missing Piece of Transitional Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Since its foundation in 2012, the Library of the Institute has become a fully-fledged research library, supplementing the activities of its researchers. It consists of an overall collection of over 65,000 volumes, including more than 56,000 books in 30 languages and almost 6,000 bound journals. The Library also subscribes to most of the major online law databases, and to 141 print journals. In 2019-2020 alone a total of 8310 books, e-books and journals have been added to this extensive collection, either through donation or purchase.

Photo gallery of the inauguration of the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg