The EU AI Act’s Impact on Security Law

The EU AI Act’s Impact on Security Law

December 11, 2024

The EU AI Act’s Impact on Security Law – this is the title of the first debate series co-organized by Verfassungsblog and the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law.

prosocial behavior

Does Leaning Left Politically Make You a More Prosocial Person?

December 05, 2024

It is often assumed that people who hold left-wing political beliefs have stronger prosocial traits and are more altruistic than those who support right-wing parties. But is this really the case? A comprehensive study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law now found that while there is a connection between political orientation and prosociality, it is weaker than previously assumed. 

Existenz und Geltung des Rechts

Existenz und Geltung des Rechts

November 27, 2024

Recent publication (in German) by Ralf Poscher

Validity is considered to be the specific form of existence of law. However, norms obviously also exist when they are not yet valid but are already the subject of legislative proceedings, or in judicial trials in which their lack of validity is first established.

More Domestic Violence During the Pandemic

More Domestic Violence During the Pandemic

November 25, 2024

Violence against partners and children is a major problem in our society. During the pandemic, existing challenges for those affected and the support system became even more pronounced. Taking the federal state of Baden-Württemberg as an example, a research group at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law has investigated this issue. The researchers have now published preliminary results on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25.

An Oath Against Tax Evasion

An Oath Against Tax Evasion

November 07, 2024

Have you ever been dishonest on your tax return in order to pay less tax? Would a written “oath of honesty” that you had to sign have stopped you? Yes, that is likely, says a group of more than 40 international scientists who analyzed this phenomenon in a mega-study with over 21,000 participants. To do so, they used an extensive psychological examination of behavior in a kind of tax evasion game.

Honor for Sarah Katharina Stein

Honor for Sarah Katharina Stein

October 21, 2024

Sarah Katharina Stein has been honored with the 2023 Faculty Award by the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) of Munich. The award comes in recognition of her outstanding dissertation, written at LMU: “Staatliche Aufgaben oder staatliches Aufgeben? Die Gefahren militärischen Outsourcings” [State Mandate or State of Abandonment? The dangers of military outsourcing].

Independent Research Groups

Behavioral Economics of Crime and Conflict
Max Planck Research Group
Personality, Identity, and Crime
Max Planck Research Group
Space, Contexts, and Crime
Max Planck Research Group
Criminal Law Theory
Max Planck Research Group

Call for Papers

The Philosophy of Right and wrong: Hegel on crime, transgression, and injustice
Conference • September 11–13, 2025 • Freiburg/Germany
Website   Call for Abstracts (pdf file, deadline: 02/28/2025)
eucrim – Online Journal
European Law Forum: Prevention • Investigation • Prosecution (eucrim 2024/2025)
Website   Call for Papers (pdf file, 2025: p. 2)

Events

Cultures of Harm: Sexual Violence in Local and Global Contexts

Jan 22, 2025 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
Freiburg/Germany, Fürstenbergstr. 19, Room: Seminar room (F 113) | Guests are welcome; please register

Behavioral Market Design

Feb 12, 2025 05:00 PM - 07:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Freiburg/Germany, Fürstenbergstr. 19, Room: Seminar room (F 113) | Guests are welcome; please register

Meet the Researchers


The Directors

The Directors

Tatjana Hörnle, Jean-Louis van Gelder, and Ralf Poscher – the Institute’s direc­tors – introduce their research depart­ments and explain why the Max Planck Institute is one of the top addresses for international researchers in the fields of criminal law, public law, and criminology.
Dominik Gerstner, Postdoc, De­part­ment of Criminology

Dominik Gerstner, Postdoc, De­part­ment of Criminology

“How can virtual reality experiments help us to better understand the behavior of burglars?”
Sofiya Kartalova, Postdoc, De­part­ment of Public Law

Sofiya Kartalova, Postdoc, De­part­ment of Public Law

“What is the mysterious adhesive that helps the Member States of the European Union stick together?”
Ivó Coca-Vila, Senior Researcher, De­part­ment of Criminal Law

Ivó Coca-Vila, Senior Researcher, De­part­ment of Criminal Law

“What types of behavior should be criminalized in western democratic states?”
Clara Rigoni, Senior Researcher, De­part­ment of Criminal Law

Clara Rigoni, Senior Researcher, De­part­ment of Criminal Law

“We probably all agree that plu­ral­ity is a major char­ac­ter­istic of today´s socie­ties. But what role does plurality play in crim­i­nal law? And, in particular, how can we guarantee effective crime control in socie­ties that are so diverse?”
Sebastian Kübel, Doctoral Researcher, Department of Criminology

Sebastian Kübel, Doctoral Researcher, Department of Criminology

“How do you view your fu­ture? Although I hope you have optimistic expectations, I am con­vinced that one’s view of the future depends very much on past expe­ri­ence. In my research, I consider how future prospects might sud­denly change after being violently victimized.”
Federica Cop­pola, Senior Researcher, De­part­ment of Criminal Law

Federica Cop­pola, Senior Researcher, De­part­ment of Criminal Law

“One of the most pressing issues in cur­rent de­bates on criminal justice con­cerns the short­com­ings of imprison­ment. Prison environ­ments can have traumatizing effects on con­fined people. Long prison sentences have no positive impact on relapses on criminal be­hav­ior.”
James M. An­go­ve, Senior Re­searcher, Department of Public Law

James M. An­go­ve, Senior Re­searcher, Department of Public Law

“When political violence happens, it is tempting to point a finger at those who committed the violence or those who en­couraged them. But, on inspection, modern political violence doesn’t always meet these expectations.”

Publication Highlights


Coca-Vila, I. (2023). On the Necessity Defense in a Democratic Welfare State: Leaving Pandora’s Box Ajar. Criminal Law and Philosophy. doi:10.1007/s11572-023-09667-7
Poscher, Ralf: Existenz und Geltung des Rechts. Reihe „Würzburger Vorträge zur Rechtsphilosophie, Rechtstheorie und Rechtssoziologie“. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2024.
Cordes, M. (2024). The playing field of empirical facts: on the interrelations between moral and empirical beliefs in reflective equilibrium. Synthese, 203, 122. doi:10.1007/s11229-024-04553-8
Zisman, V. (2023). Criminal law without punishment: How our society might benefit from abolishing punitive sanctions (Bd. 25) Practical Philosophy. Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783111027821
Hörnle, T. (2024). Die Grenzen für politische Proteste. Jahrbuch Recht und Ethik, 31(1), 15-39.
McClanahan, W. P., Sergiou, C. S., Siezenga, A., Gerstner, D., Elffers, H., van der Schalk, J., & van Gelder, J.-L. (2024). Neighborhood crime reduction interventions and perceived livability: A virtual reality study on fear of crime. Cities, 147, 104823. doi:10.1016/j.cities.2024.104823.
Herman, S., Barnum, T., Minà, P. E., Wozniak, P., & Van Gelder, J.-L. (2024). Affect, emotions, and crime decision-making: emerging insights from immersive 360° video experiments. Journal of Experimental Criminology. doi:10.1007/s11292-024-09615-y.
Why is violence high and persistent indeprived communities? A formal model
Handbuch des Verfassungsrechts : Darstellung in transnationaler Perspektive
Plädoyer für die Legalisierung der Leihmutterschaft. Interdisziplinäre Analyse der Problemfelder und Regulierungsvorschlag am Vorbild der Lebendorganspende (Doktorarbeit)
Gefahr und allgemeines Lebensrisiko
Die Schuld des Menschen
Trait-specificity versus global positivity: A critical test of alternative sources of assumed similarity in personality judgments.
Why It Is Not Unreasonable to Fear Terrorism
Journal of Research in Crime and DelinquencyVolume 60 Issue 4, July 2023Special Issue: Crime, Choice, and ContextGuest Editor: Jean-Louis van GelderGuest Editor: Daniel S. Nagin
Hörnle, T. (2024). The Challenges of Designing Sexual Assault Law. Current Legal Problems, cuae002. doi:10.1093/clp/cuae002.
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