Events
Conference Report
Conference on the Individualisation of Law
On 31 October and 1 November 2025, Prof. Hellgardt, together with Prof. Busch from the University of Osnabrück, organised a conference entitled “The Law between Singularity and Equality” at the Harnack House in Berlin. The conference was a joint event within the research projects “Granular Society – Granular Law?” (Christoph Busch, Osnabrück) and “Regulatory Instruments in the Real World” (Alexander Hellgardt, Augsburg), both funded by a Momentum Grant from the Volkswagen Foundation. Equality is a fundamental principle of law. All individuals are equal before the law, and the law must treat equals equally and unequals unequally. At the same time, the law must do justice to each individual case. Since every case displays its own “singularities,” a highly individualised—granular—assessment would reveal that no two cases are truly alike, which would render the equality postulate empty. Until now, greater individualised justice could only be achieved at the price of reduced legal certainty and increased complexity costs. For reasons of practicability, the law therefore often abstracts from the singularities of individual cases, thereby creating—as a kind of side effect—comparability between cases that would differ under a granular view. Abstraction in law serves not only the principle of equal treatment but also has a freedom?enhancing dimension. When certain aspects are excluded from the legal elements of a norm, this simultaneously protects the privacy of those subject to the norm. In this sense, the metaphor of blindfolded Lady Justice points both to equality before the law and to freedom through law. This fragile balance between individuality and equality is increasingly under strain. In addition to the sociologically diagnosed structural transformation of society, technological developments are contributing to this trend. With advancing technological capabilities, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, it will become possible to process each individual case with far greater granularity in the future. The traditional practicability argument for abstraction and for creating comparability thus loses persuasive force. Instead, it will become possible to subject each case to an individualised solution that reflects its specific singularities. Under the labels “personalized law” and “granular law,” there is currently an intensive debate on the possibilities and limits of data?driven law—law that captures social reality in far more detail than was previously possible. Proponents anticipate greater justice in individual cases, while critics fear threats to privacy and the erosion of the principle of equality. Against this background, the conference examined whether the relationship between equality and singularity needs to be recalibrated in the data?driven society. The tension between singularity and equality was analysed from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition to legal and sociological viewpoints, approaches from other disciplines—such as data science, ethics, and economics—were also included.
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Past Events
- Inaugural Lecture "Freedom and Private Law", University of Augsburg, 05.12.2025
- Workshop "Regulatory Contract Law", Universit?t Zürich, from 02.-05.07.2025 (together with Prof. Atamer)
- Regulation between Public Interest and Freedom of Contract", Konferenz "Regulation and Contract Law", Universit?t Zürich, 06.12.2024
- ?Der Zweck heiligt die (Regulierungs-)Mittel?“, Augsburger Rechtsgespr?che, Universit?t Augsburg, 04.06.2024
- ?The Role of Private Law in Times of Polycrises: Prevention, Crisis Management, Balancing Conflicting Interests“, Konferenz ?Law and Political Economy in Germany“, HU/FU Berlin, 29.06.2024
- ?Regulatory Instruments in the Real World“, Regensburg Forum for Sustainability, Universit?t Regensburg, 03.07.2024 (gemeinsam mit K. Str?hlein)
- ?Greenwashing in der Kapitalmarktkommunikation: Haftungsrisiken“, Seminar ?ESG Haftung am Kapitalmarkt“, Online, 22.07.2024
- ?Zum Ausstrahlungspotential der verfassungsrechtlichen Vorgaben zum Klimaschutz in das Privatrecht“, Vorfeldveranstaltung zum 74. DJT ?Neuer Wein in alten Schl?uchen? M?glichkeiten und Grenzen der Anpassung etablierter Rechtsinstitute an die Herausforderungen der Klimakrise“, Universit?t Tübingen, 23.07.2024
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Contact to the Chair
Chairholder: Chair of Private Law, Corporate Law and Jurisprudence
Faculty of Law
- Phone: +49 (0)821 598-4525
Secretary's office:
Andrea da Silva Martins
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Universit?tsstra?e 24
86159 Augsburg
Building H, room 1066
Phone: +49 (0)821 598-4526
andrea.dasilvamartins@jura.uni-augsburg.de
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