Max Planck Lawcast

Guest: Randall Stephenson (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law) For decades, the standard method for comparing legal systems around the world has been under fire. But what if the problem isn’t the method itself, but how we’ve been using it? On this episode of the Lawcast, Randall Stephenson argues that instead of abandoning our old tools, we need to completely rethink them. By drawing on everything from ancient philosophy to quantum physics, he reimagines law not as a static museum of rules, but as a dynamic, living web of relationships. Get ready for a fascinating conversation on how we view global law. Find out more: https://law.mpg.de/lawcast/?id=223721

Guest: Ruth Mason (University of Virginia School of Law and Max Planck Law Fellow) In a dramatic upset in September 2024, Apple and Ireland lost their state aid case before the European Union’s highest court. This decision—which is set to cost Apple over €13 billion—represents the most expensive state aid recovery ever. Today's guest, Ruth Mason, offers a play-by-play of the case. The episode takes listeners through the European Commission’s administrative procedure, the judgment of the General Court of the European Union, and finally the judgment of the European Court of Justice. Along the way, it offers criticism of the legal theory the Commission took in the case, as well as insights into Apple’s global tax plan and why that tax plan failed. Broader implications concerning the competitive position of the European Union and the future of US-EU tax relations are also discussed.

Guest: Mahdi Khesali (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods) Normative ambiguity, which stems from conflicting norms, can lead to inefficiency and self-serving behaviour. In this episode, Mahdi Khesali introduces a study that he and his colleague Yoan Hermstrüwer have conducted. Based on a 'stealing game', Mahdi discusses how voting on a given moral norm affects our moral compass. The findings emphasize the importance of expressive law and how effectively-designed voting mechanisms can communicate normative consensus. (Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)

Guest: Ragini Surana (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory) Suppose you pay someone more than you intended to by mistake. What rule of law can be used to rectify the situation? It is not the law of contract because neither of you anticipated this possibility. Nor is it a tort because neither of you have committed a wrong. In this episode Christopher Murphy talks with Ragini Surana about the law of restitution for unjust enrichment with a particular analysis of the introduction and application of the law in India. (Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)

Guest: Nina Cozzi (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory) After the liberation of Italian territory from the Nazi-Fascist regime, the government begun work on the drafting of a new constitution. One of the most novel aspects of the 1948 constitution was Article 37, which entitled working women the right to equal pay with their male counterparts. In this episode, Nina Cozzi reconstructs the path that led to the introduction of equal pay in 1948, with a clear focus on how women’s access to what had previously been considered ‘male jobs’ provided the impetus for more frequent and vocal demands for fairness. Moreover, she highlights how employers reacted to this major legal innovation and ends by looking at whether the principle of equal pay in Italy has indeed stood the test of time. (Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)

Guest: Philipp Sauter (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law) In this episode Christopher Murphy talks with Philipp Sauter about nuclear fusion. As opposed to nuclear fission, i.e., splitting a heavy atomic nucleus into smaller nuclei, nuclear fusion uses the opposite approach to combine - or fuse - light atomic nuclei into heavier ones. Through recent scientific breakthroughs the possibility of using nuclear fusion to provide the world with a practically inexhaustible source of green energy has become tantalisingly close. Consequently, the time is right to discuss how this tremendous power should be best regulated to ensure maximum safety while not stifling scientific ingenuity. (Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)

Guest: Erica Ollikainen-Read (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory) In this episode of the Lawcast, Erica Ollikainen-Read explains to Christopher Murphy that the British Empire was not just shipping, merchants, soldiers, cannon, and conquest. Rather, some of the most long-lasting parts of the British Empire are the ideas, laws, and symbols which Britain transplanted to their colonies, some of which remain to this day. One such case in point is India, where the British colonial presence and the nature of Britain’s priorities shifted over time. By viewing the law from the perspective of communication, we can see how colonial legal culture and the way in which it was used as a tool for control in India also changed. (Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)

The impact of AI on law enforcement and the administration of justice is a contentious issue, offering both promise and peril. While it holds the potential to reshape these domains, there are inherent dangers to navigate. Chief among these concerns is the potential for AI to amplify state powers, risking coercion, intrusion, and excessive surveillance, all of which raise significant human rights issues. In Part #1 of this special series, Linus Ensel (MPI Freiburg) hosts a round table discussion with Emmanouil Billis (MPI Freiburg), Julian Roberts (Oxford), and Elizabeth Tiarks (Northumbria). For additional information: https://csl.mpg.de/forschungsgruppen/crime-control-and-criminal-justice (Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)