The international and interdisciplinary conference in Leipzig from October 31 to 2 November 2003 forms the prelude to a major research project on the subject a oeSaxon-Magdeburg law as a cultural link between the legal systems of Eastern andCentral Europea . The conference took place in an extremely up-to-date context, as the extension of the EU through the accession of several eastern central European countries was about to take place.