Episodes
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Guest: Antoine Vauchez (University of Paris 1-Sorbonne and Max Planck Law Fellow).
On todayâs episode Christopher Murphy is joined by Antoine Vauchez to focus on the re-invention of a central concept of contemporary European democracy, namely that of âindependenceâ. Antoineâwho heads the Max Planck Law Working Group on âIndependence and Democracy in the European Unionââtraces how the notion of independence has become a highly contested subject within the EU, often culminating in what he terms Europeâs independence wars. From the backsliding of the rule of law in Poland or Hungary to the heated debates over the unconventional monetary policies of the âĂŒber-independentâ European Central Bank, Antoine demonstrates that how we understand and interpret the notion of independence is at the heart of modern political and legal debate in Europe.
Link to Antoine's paper: https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/20/5/2032/6881104
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Guest: Kadir Eryilmaz (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology).
In this episode, Christopher Murphy talks with Kadir Eryilmaz about his ethnographic field research on the Syriacs, a small and often overlooked community from Turkey. They explore how marginalized groups, like the Syriacs, form their understanding of the law and how their experiences shape their views on human rights. Through real-life examples, they discuss how past interactions with legal authorities shape the way people approach the law today.
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Episodes manquant?
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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 Unionâs highest court. This decisionâwhich is set to cost Apple over âŹ13 billionârepresents 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 Commissionâs 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 Appleâs 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.
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Guest: Sergio Mittlaender (FGV Law School in SĂŁo Paulo and Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy).
In this podcast, we explore a fascinating study by Lisa Lenz and Sergio Mittlaender on the effects of intergroup contact on discrimination. Through economic experiments, the researchers investigate how structured interactions between individuals from opposing political groupsâDemocrats and Republicansâcan reduce discrimination, further examining the conditions that are necessary for intergroup contact to be effective. Tune in to discover how this research sheds light on human behaviour and offers valuable insights for policymakers working to foster inclusion, integration, and the reduction of prejudice.
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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 HermstrĂŒwer 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)
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Guest: Rick Sallaba (Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy).
It has been over a year now since the German government introduced BĂŒrgergeld. The reforms present a major reworking of Germanyâs unemployment benefits system. While BĂŒrgergeld has done away with a number of sanctions that were deemed unfair and counterproductive, not everyone is impressed by this new approach to unemployment and serious concerns have been raised that the benefits are now too attractive (and expensive).
To break the concept of BĂŒrgergeld down with more reason and less emotion, Christopher Murphy is today joined in the studio by the legal scholar Rick Sallaba.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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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)
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Guest: Alice Margaria (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology).
Defining what makes someone a father has become a complex task in contemporary Europe. What roles are attributed to genetics, marriage, gender, and active involvement in a child's life? Courts are increasingly grappling with these questions, prompted by a combination of societal shifts and scientific advancements, including assisted reproductive technologies and the growing social acceptance of LGBTQ families. In this episode, Alice Margaria reveals how the European Court of Human Rights has â perhaps inadvertently â played a significant role in reshaping notions of fatherhood. Indeed, in recent decades the Court has increased its focus on paternal care, thereby expanding the boundaries of legal fatherhood to encompass a growing number of unconventional fathers.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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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 womenâs access to what had previously been considered âmale jobsâ 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)
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Guest: Jan Peter Schmidt (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law).
In this episode Jan Peter Schmidt discusses the long-standing tradition that the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and Private International Law (MPI) has of providing expert opinions on foreign law for German courts. To this end, the MPI supports judges in resolving cross-border cases which according to the rules of private international law are to be decided not according to German law but to foreign law.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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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)
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Guest: Nadjma Yassari (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law).
In this episode Christopher Murphy learns from Nadjma Yassari, head of the Research Group 'Changes in Godâs Law' at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, how societal beliefs and assumptions on the role of mothers and fathers have led legislatures in Germany and Iran to accept or reject egg donation to overcome infertility.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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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 Britainâs 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)
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Modern policing increasingly relies on the extensive use of personal data collected in large-scale databases which are rendered interoperable and automatically searchable through modern AI technologies. With this strategy, security authorities seek to become more effective and efficient, to the point that potential offenders may be automatically detected before a crime occurs.
However, AI-powered predictive policing entails a range of concerns as it not only serves to radically expand the stateâs powers of surveillance and coercion but can result in bias and opacity, thereby subverting well-established legal standards.
In Part #2 of this special series, Christian Thönnes (MPI Freiburg) hosts a round table discussion with Nandor Knust (Tromso) and Tatiana Tropina (Leiden).
For additional information: https://csl.mpg.de/forschungsgruppen/crime-control-and-criminal-justice
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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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)
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Guest: Carolyn Moser (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law).
In this episode Christopher Murphy holds a captivating discussion with Carolyn Moser, Head of the Max Planck Research Group ENSURE (European Security Revisited), thereby shedding light on security and defence in the European Union (EU), with a particular focus on the transformative impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Against this backdrop, the interview navigates the intriguing confluence of factors that are currently shaping the EUâs law and policy response to the evolving and increasingly challenging geopolitical landscape.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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Guest: Alicia Haripershad (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory).
In this episode Christopher Murphy talks with Alicia Haripershad about her preliminary findings on the role of missionaries as legal actors in the British colonies of South Africa and Zambia. Given that missionaries contributed to the foundation of formal education in several British colonies, the discussion assesses their actions through a legal lens, identifying the impact on race, gender, and socioeconomic status for the indigenous population.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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Guest: Victoria Hooton (Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory).
In this episode Christopher Murphy travels back in time with Victoria Hooton to discuss the regulation of poverty in England and Wales in the early 17th century, with a specific focus on the 1601 Act for the Relief of the Poor. The Act reflected the prevailing moral sensibilities of the time, regarding who the worthy and the unworthy poor were and where the boundaries of welfare responsibility were to be drawn. After providing an overview of the legislation, the focus turns to the implementation of this welfare system in the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick during the mid-18th and 19th century.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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Guest: Valentin Pinel le Dret (Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law).
In this episode Christopher Murphy talks with Valentin Pinel le Dret about the concept of unjust enrichment and the law of obligations, looking particularly at the historical dimension of the subject matter at hand from the perspective of the legal systems of France and England.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
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Guest: Cristina Valega Chipoco (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law).
In this episode Christopher Murphy sits down with Cristina Valega Chipoco to explore the evolving legal discussions surrounding the element of non-consent in rape offences, focusing on the debate between the 'no means no' and 'yes means yes' models. The episode centres on the positive and negative aspects of both consent models, drawing upon examples from recent German and Spanish legal reforms.
(Audio Production: www.citysoundstudio.de)
