Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law now open to all

Posted on by Chris Bonnez

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law is now free and open to all. From Oxford University Press:

We are excited to share that we have reached our goal for renewals, and the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (including the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law) has now been converted to a Subscribe to Open model.

Though common within journals publishing, this is a novel application of the Subscribe to Open model to a publication other than a journal.

Thanks to the support of our customers, this valuable content will now be freely accessible to everyone starting April 2025, through to at least March 2026.

How it works

Each year, if enough customers renew their subscriptions, the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law will remain open to all. This ensures ongoing access to high-quality, peer-reviewed articles on every aspect of international law.

We are happy to confirm that content published from April 2025 to March 2026 will be published under an open access licence: CC BY-NC-ND. The existing published content on the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (including the Max Planck Encyclopedia of International Procedural Law) will be brought in front of the paywall, with ordinary rights reserved (i.e. without an open access licence).

If we do not meet our renewal goal in a future year, then the paywall will go back up the following April and this initiative will end and not go ahead again. Any content that has been published under an open access licence will remain open, but content with ordinary rights reserved will be placed back behind the paywall.

Why this change matters

The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law is the leading resource in the field—a comprehensive, analytical resource containing peer-reviewed articles on every aspect of international law.

International law provides a common legal framework for the whole world. By converting the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law to a Subscribe to Open model, we have made it possible for students, scholars, practitioners, and governments in low- and middle-income countries to access this content freely without financial barriers.

The Subscribe to Open model allows us to achieve a wide dissemination of our content sustainably, through continued customer subscriptions. This aligns with our mission to further excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Professor Anne Peters, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg, and General Editor of the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, explains why the Max Planck Institutes and Society are also excited about this initiative:

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to participate in a pioneering Open Access project, particularly in view of the foundational role played by the Max Planck Society in launching the move towards open scholarship. Open Access can contribute to epistemic justice and pluralism—and what we call “encyclopaedic knowledge” should not only be distributed freely, but also be built up from a globally diverse set of standpoints.”

Why we still need your support

Although we have reached our goal for renewals this year, we still need to reach our renewal goals annually to keep the product open access. This continued support is crucial for maintaining the financial sustainability of the product. By renewing your subscription, you help to ensure that this valuable resource remains open and accessible to all, year after year.

If you are a researcher, we encourage you to get in touch with your librarian and recommend the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law to help ensure that it remains open.