The history of law can also be told as a history of inequalities. Access to and the distribution of resources such as wealth, work or health have been, and continue to be, codified in law. In doing so, the law can be linked to ideologies such as anti-Semitism, racism or sexism, which often precede social inequalities. It gives rise to new forms of social differentiation and disadvantage, perpetuates them or reinforces them. At the same time, however, these can also be combated through and with the law.
The fourth conference of the Young Network for Legal History on the theme ‘Unequal Times: Law and Inequalities in Contemporary Pasts’, taking place from 18 to 20 June 2026 at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, will address these and similar intersections of inequalities, law and temporality.
Panel discussion on 18 June
The conference will include a public panel discussion on the evening of 18 June. Susanne Baer, Professor of Public Law and Gender Studies at Humboldt University and former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, and Gabriele Metzler, Professor of Western European History, will discuss the topic “The Karlsruhe Republic? Courts and History”, Susanne Baer, Professor of Public Law and Gender Studies at Humboldt-Universität and former judge at the Federal Constitutional Court, and Gabriele Metzler, Professor of Western European History and Transatlantic Relations at Humboldt-Universität and Director of the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam, will discuss the relationship between the courts and historiography. The discussion will focus on three dimensions: the Federal Constitutional Court as a subject of historical research; the Court’s reliance on historical events and arguments in its case law; and the extent to which the Court itself shapes historical interpretations through its decisions.
At a glance
- What: Panel discussion “The Karlsruhe Republic? Courts and History”
- When: 18 June 2026, 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm
- Where: Senatssaal of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin.
The panel discussion will be opened by the President of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Prof. Dr Julia von Blumenthal, the dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Dr Philipp Dann, and the Head of Science and Research at the ZEIT-Stiftung Bucerius, Dr Anna Hofmann. The conference is sponsored by the ZEIT-Stiftung Bucerius.