Through his voluminous correspondence Mittermaier created a network of legal-political communication throughout the whole of Europe.

An academic facility so strongly committed to the notion of European unity must regard the fundamental changes that have occurred in Eastern European society in the recent past as a challenge of the highest order. Even though the founding of the institute was very much in the spirit of Western European integration, the Max Planck Institute worked to build its contacts with Eastern Europe at a time when this was anything but generally accepted. Not only were there intensive exchanges in the field of Polish legal history at a remarkably early stage, but also a strong interest in other states of the former Eastern Bloc that went beyond what was then considered the norm. In a situation in which changing Eastern European societies are seeking European traditions for perfectly legitimate symbolic reasons, the institute is in the fortunate position of being able to accommodate this need as a matter of course.

Given the new challenges we face, the concept of a European legal history cannot be allowed to stop at basics – a maxim that has been upheld since the earliest days of the institute. Instead, the international aspect of our research must be put to the test time and time again, especially in everyday academic and scientific work, and more must be achieved than well-intended symbolic gestures. With this in mind, the institute has succeeded in building up a closely woven network of contacts allowing a constant discourse at European level on the historicity of the current legal order. Important as they undeniably are, the formal agreements of co-operation with leading academic facilities in East and West constitute only one aspect of these activities. Today, the institute has relations with academic institutions throughout the world, among them Berkeley, Florence, Milan, Montpellier, Naples, Florence, Lund and Moscow, to name but a few.

A series of lectures (generally on Monday evenings) and conferences throughout the year create a constantly expanding and stimulating forum of European exchange, backed up by members of the institute travelling to conduct research or give lectures. On Mondays, at 4 p.m., there is an informal get-together for researchers and guests to report on their work in a relaxed atmosphere. The foyer of the institute, with a selection of national and international publications and newspapers available, is another informal meeting place. The periodicals and other publications issued under the auspices of the institute are deliberately designed as media of supranational communication. Another important aspect is the fact that, since the founding of the institute and especially since the end of the 80s, bursaries and fellowships have enabled a growing number of foreign scholars, most of them young, to spend time working in Frankfurt am Main.

Finally, right from the start, the institute has pursued a policy of ensuring that research achievements are not evaluated with a view blinkered by national interests. The institute’s scientific advisory board has always included experts from different European countries. The council currently has nine members, only two of whom are from German universities.