Jan Peter Schmidt

Priv.-Doz. Dr. Jan Peter Schmidt is a Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Centre for the Application of Foreign Law at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg. He has been affiliated with the institute since 2004, previously serving as head of the Latin America desk and as a Max-Planck-Fellow at the University of Oxford (2012–2013).

His academic credentials include:

• Law degree from University of Konstanz and Universidad Complutense Madrid (1996–2002)
• Legal traineeship at Kammergericht Berlin with placements at the German Embassy (Costa Rica) and German Parliament
• Doctorate supervised by Prof. Reinhard Zimmermann
• Post-doctoral degree from University of Regensburg (2020)

Schmidt's research focuses on:

• International/Comparative Succession Law: Historical and regulatory frameworks
• European Contract Law: Harmonization and application
• Latin American Private Law: Codification and structural analysis

He received the Otto Hahn Medal (2009) for his doctoral dissertation on Brazilian civil law codification. As head of the Centre for the Application of Foreign Law, he coordinates expert reports for German courts and maintains professional affiliations including chairmanship of the German-Brazilian Lawyers' Association.