Tom Hick

Dr. Tom Hick is a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. His research focuses on national and European law of obligations from comparative and historical perspectives, private law theory, and the intersection of social justice, sustainability, and power structures in legal systems. He holds a PhD from KU Leuven (2020), where his dissertation examined contractual obligations in unbalanced power dynamics across European jurisdictions. His current work explores legal-theoretical questions and comparative law frameworks.

• Education:
• Bachelor's in English and French: Université de Saint Louis (Brussels)
• Master's in Dutch and English: KU Leuven
• PhD in Private Law: KU Leuven (2020)

Tom has conducted research at the University of Copenhagen’s Centre for Private Governance, UNIDROIT, and the Max Planck Institute. He co-founded the legal blog Privaatrecht and is a member of the Groupe du vendredi, a Belgian think tank advocating for youth political engagement. His 2022 article on coronacrisis legal impacts earned the Ius Commune Prize (2023).

He currently splits his research between comparative obligations law and theoretical questions on power dynamics in private law.