M-EPLI Blog
The M-EPLI Blog covers a variety of topics related to the institute's areas of expertise, from recent legal developments in the field of private law, to updates on research activities of our members, to information on the institute's research events.
We also welcome guest contributions. Please reach out if you are interested in contributing to the M-EPLI Blog.
Recent Posts
Law and Revolution? A Reading of Pašukanis
- Law
On 26 November 2025, M-EPLI welcomed Professor Michele Spanò, Associate Professor in Social Philosophy and Law at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. His talk explored the emergence of legal norms and their operation in modern society though the lens of Evgeny Pašukanis’ 1924 work, The General Theory of Law and Marxism. Spanò presented a compelling case for why this nearly century-old text remains crucial for understanding the relationship between law, capitalism, and social transformation.
The Need to Constantly Revisit Our Understanding of ‘Ownership’
- Law
On 12th November 2025, the Maastricht European Private Law Institute (M-EPLI), together with the Research Project “Revocable Properties”, organised a Roundtable on 'Novel and Recurrent Challenges in Ownership’, in which, next to more general-theoretical property questions, more in particular the possibility of temporary ownership was discussed as introduced in the Catalan Civil Code.
Property & Democracy
- Law
On 16 April 2025, M-EPLI hosted Professor Dr Bram Akkermans from Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law and Professor Dr Lorna Fox O’Mahony from the University of Essex, England, to discuss the evolving role of private property within liberal democratic systems. Their proposal centred on the idea that private property is not merely a legal construct but a crucial interface between the economic, social, and environmental constitutions. The discussion was moderated by both speakers together with Dr. Kate O’Reilly from Maastricht University.
