Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) was published under the auspices of the Foundation between 2014 and 2020 under the direction of Professor Rüdiger Wolfrum. The MPEPIL has moved back to the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and Professor Anne Peters has taken over as general editor.

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The Encyclopedia had several noteworthy precursors, starting with Karl Strupp’s Wörterbuch des Völkerrechts und der Diplomatie (1924–1929), Hans Jürgen Schlochauer’s Wörterbuch des Völkerrechts (1960–1962) and Rudolf Bernhardt’s Encyclopedia of Public International Law (EPIL), published in 1981–1990 under the auspices of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law seeks to continue this renowned series of reference works.

MPEPIL articles are hybrids in character insofar as they combine elements of a reference work with a law journal approach. Authors are requested to cover their topic comprehensively and impartially but also to add a personal assessment. All articles are peer-reviewed. As a contemporary restatement of international law the publication is designed to assist both practitioners and scholars.

So far, more than 900 academics and practitioners from across the world have contributed to the Encyclopedia, which contains over 1,700 entries. In 2013, the MPEPIL was cross-linked with the OPIL platform, allowing research across a number of OUP databases and full text sources.

The Encyclopedia has continuously been updated and extended, primarily through the publication of three Thematic Volumes (International Economic Law 2015; International Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force 2017; and the forthcoming one, International Development Law 2019). In 2018 an initiative for a general and more comprehensive revision of the MPEPIL electronic version was launched, entailing both the revision of existing entries and the inclusion of new ones. A new advisory board has been established to oversee that process.

Publisher

General Editor

Anne Peters

Managing Editor

Margrét Sólveigardóttir