Job vacancies at the MPI Luxembourg

The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for Procedural Law is offering three full-time positions at the Research Department of European and Comparative Procedural Law, two for Research Fellows in EU Procedural Law (PhD candidate) and one for a Senior Research Fellow. The contracts are on a fixed-term basis for 24 months with the possibility of a contract extension.

Positions:

The Institute is looking for a highly motivated Senior Research Fellow who would join the Department of European and Comparative Procedural Law led by Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Hess and composed by a team of five senior research fellows and 15 research fellows. The Department conducts scientific research in three areas: European civil procedural law, comparative procedural law and dispute resolution in the cross-roads between private and public international law.

The Research Fellow will conduct legal research and cooperate at the Max Planck Institute Luxembourg within the Project “EUFam’s II – Facilitating cross-border family life: towards a common European understanding)” which aims (i) at assessing the effectiveness of the functioning ‘in concreto’ of the EU Regulations in family matters, as well as the most relevant Hague instruments in this field of law along with Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 on public documents; and (ii) at identifying the paths that lead to further improvement of such effectiveness. Moreover, the Project will focus on the impact of the arrival of refugees in Europe as well as of the Brexit phenomenon in the field of European Family Law.

The successful candidate will have the great opportunity to contribute to the development of the Department of European Comparative Procedural Law led by Prof. Dr. Dres. h. c. Burkhard Hess and, in parallel, work on her/his PhD project.

The Research Fellow is expected to assist in the achievement of the objectives of the Project on a part-time basis during the two years of duration of the project, namely by carrying out and developing legal research with a view to contributing to the drafting of the Project’s Final Study and by participating in the presentation of the scientific outcomes of the Project.

In addition, the successful candidate is expected to write her/his PhD thesis and perform the major part of her/his PhD research work in the premises of the institute in Luxembourg, but also in close collaboration with her/his external supervisor and with the university or institution delivering her/his PhD diploma. A supervision of a PhD-thesis by Professor Hess will also be possible.

Profiles:

Senior Research Fellow: Applicants must have earned a degree in law and hold a PhD degree by the time they join the MPI, preferably in a topic falling within the scope of European Procedural Law in civil and commercial matters. The successful candidate shall possess a strong interest and aptitude for legal research and have a high potential to develop excellence in academic research.

Her/his CV must portray a consolidated background in EU international procedural law or in comparative procedural law: prior publications in this field of the law shall be highly regarded in the selection process. An interest in Family law is an asset. Full proficiency in English (and other foreign language) is compulsory (written and oral).

Research Fellow: Applicants are required to have obtained at least a Master degree in Law with outstanding results and to have knowledge of domestic procedural and European procedural law, in particular linked to family matters. According to the academic grades already received, candidates must rank within the top 10 %.

The successful candidates should demonstrate a great interest and curiosity for fundamental research and have a high potential to develop excellence in academic research. Proficiency in English is compulsory (in written and oral); further language skills (in French notably) are of advantage.

All applications are to be made online until 30^th October 2018 via the following links:

For further information see here.