Over the past 60 years the German Basic Law has become one of the most influential constitutional systems in the world. According to some commentators, the German model rivals even U.S. constitutionalism as the preeminent legal system in the world. This state of affairs is apparent in the dozens of states across Europe and Latin America that have adopted the German model.

In the summer of 2008, the EU Commission will present the draft regulation for a European private company. The Commission indicates by this announcement of the internal market commissioner, after prolonged hesitation that it wishes to comply with the urgent and detailed request of the European Parliament (EP) and to initiate the legislative process. Apparently, the arguments directed at the small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and their specific interests have now, after the EU parliamentarians, also convinced the Commission. In fact, the significance of this group of enterprises in the economy of the Community cannot be overestimated. The Commission therefore acts with appropriate responsibility in not confining itself to taking up the draft regulation prepared ten years ago by business practitioners and academic lawyers (CCIP/CNPF working group) but being prepared (as can be seen in the Consultation Paper of the General Directorate Internal Market of July 2007) to develop its own statute for a European private company. This paper is intended, mainly on the basis of that Consultation Paper but also on the basis of the EP resolution, to introduce the main issues and central regulatory elements of the new legal form of community law.

In April 2006, the Wilhelm Merton Centre for European Integration and International Economic Order of Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt organised a symposium in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). At the symposium, young and up-and-coming scholars, together with experienced experts from both the profession and academia, discussed a broad range of issues relating to investment protection before a substantial audience. Frankfurt is also home to the Frankfurt International Arbitration Center (FIAC), founded in 2005 as a joint venture between the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Frankfurt CCI) and the Deutsche Institution für Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit (DIS). Under an agreement between ICSID and DIS, the FIAC serves as a cooperation facility for ICSID arbitrations. It is one of only two cooperation facilities in Europe.

“When a stone is put in your way, you can view it either as an obstacle – or as a stepping stone.” This well-known phrase was quoted in one of the opening speeches at the Joint Conference of the Protestant Academy Loccum and the African Law Association in Rehburg-Loccum, Germany, on 30 November 2007. It set the tone for a three-day conference on African law which explored the “Administration of Justice in Africa – Effectiveness, Acceptance and Assistance” in many facets, focusing on different countries and various approaches ranging from women's rights to development cooperation. The African Law Association (Gesellschaft für afrikanisches Recht e.V.), founded in 1973, aims at promoting and furthering the knowledge of the African legal systems. In keeping with the African Law Association's focus on different aspects of law in Africa – not only legal aspects, but also points of view from politics, history, development cooperation and ethnology – the conference participants came from various backgrounds: professors and lecturers from Germany and various African states were present as well as other members of the African Law Association and undergraduate and PhD students from several universities. A large student group, of which the author was a member, came from the University of Würzburg, their interest in African law awakened by a series of lectures in their home university and a cooperation project of the Faculty of Law of the University of Würzburg, the Namibian Ministry of Justice and the Legal Assistance Centre in Windhoek, Namibia.