Das Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht bietet mit seiner Encyclopedia of Public International Law eine Fülle qualitativ hochwertiger Fachbeiträge zu derzeit über 1.000 Stichworten zum Themenbereich Internationales Recht. Im Gegensatz zur Wikipedia oder Krimpedia setzt die Enzyklopädie des MPI nicht auf Schwarmintelligenz, sondern auf das Fachwissen einzelner Experten. Die Sammlung stellt die komplett überarbeitete, elektronische Version der gleichnamigen Printfassung dar.
Der Zugriff ist aus dem Campus-Netz der Universität Hamburg möglich, ansonsten allerdings kostenpflichtig (mit Ausnahme von 35 „Leseproben“).
Under the auspices of Professor Dr. Rüdiger Wolfrum, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Max Planck Institute), an initiative was launched in 2004 to compile the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL). This work represents a new edition of the Encyclopedia of Public International Law that was published between 1991 and 2001 under Professor Dr. Rudolf Bernhardt. The MPEPIL will be made available in electronic and print form by Oxford University Press from Summer 2008. The online publication will be steadily expanded until all of the nearly 1700 articles are made available by 2010. Once the online publication is completed, a print version will be published.
Upon its completion, the MPEPIL will be an updated, comprehensive work covering the central and essential topics in international law. Accordingly, the previous edition is not being revised. Rather, nearly all topics are being rewritten and many new topics included in order to capture the latest developments in international law. To do justice to the changing nature of international law, an increased emphasis will be placed on the relevance of each keyword for contemporary international law. Particular attention will be paid to the contextualization of each topic within international law as well as the presentation of current trends while maintaining a focus on the mainstream/majority view. The goal is to avoid a purely Eurocentric perspective and this will be achieved with the assistance of academics and practitioners from various legal backgrounds and perspectives. The intention is that the MPEPIL will be a work that reflects international law from a global perspective while taking into account regional perspectives.
