Florian Slogsnat

The Limits of Moral Courage: How Far May Taking the Law into Your Own Hands Go?

June 26, 2025

Innovative criminal law approach earns Florian Slogsnat an Otto Hahn Medal

Tatjana Hörnle

“Communication is Key”

June 25, 2025

Tatjana Hörnle sheds light on current models for the law on sexual offense in Der Standard

Book Cover The Alexy-Poscher Debate on Legal Principles

Now out: The Alexy-Poscher Debate on Legal Principles

June 24, 2025

Robert Alexy and Ralf Poscher—two renowned legal scholars specializing in public law—are engaged in an academic debate on the under­standing of legal principles and the role of courts in their application. The book “The Alexy-Poscher Debate on Legal Principles” has now been published, reconstructing this debate in chronological order.

Isabel Thielmann with three members of her research team.

Recognition for the Research Group “Personality, Identity, and Crime”

June 10, 2025

The independent research group “Personality, Identity, and Crime” at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, led by Isabel Thielmann, has been selected from over 270 applications to be honored as one of 24 teams at the Prize for the Best Research Environment in 2024.

Handbook on Cities and Crime, Cover

New Handbook Offers Global Perspective on Urban Crime

May 09, 2025

With urban populations soaring worldwide, understanding crime in cities and finding practical solutions is more relevant than ever. Responding to this growing need, Dietrich Oberwittler, Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Germany, and the Australian Professor Rebecca Wickes have published the newly released “Handbook on Cities and Crime”.

man in prison

What is it like to grow old in prison?

May 08, 2025

How do individuals navigate aging within the confines of prison? And how can elderly inmates discover meaning in their lives? These are the central questions explored by Diete Humblet in her research project, 'Carceral Ageing in the Carceral Environment: The Existential Dimensions' (CAGED), which has been awarded a prestigious ERC Starting Grant from the European Research Council. In May, Diete Humblet joined the Department of Criminology.

What is the Current State of Germany’s Security Laws?

What is the Current State of Germany’s Security Laws?

May 05, 2025

The results of Germany’s first ever “surveillance barometer” have been revealed. Commissioned by the former previous government, the study delivers a comprehensive overview of the surveillance landscape and serves as an important evidence-based foundation for informed legal policy discussions. The results show that surveillance powers in Germany are wide-ranging and governed by a highly complex legal framework.
 

Independent Research Groups

Behavioral Economics of Crime and Conflict
Max Planck Research Group
A person is holding a white and a black mask
Max Planck Research Group
A lot of people are crossing the street; traffic lights and yellow markings
Max Planck Research Group
Lady Justice with scales and sword in front of a bookcase
Max Planck Research Group

Call for Papers

Zeitschrift für Psychologie (ZfP): Special Issue “Personality and Crime”
Call for Papers (deadline: 07/15/2025)

Events

Can Tort Law Transform the Citizen Towards Civic Maturity? Rights, Values and Practical Reason

Jul 15, 2025 05:00 PM - 08:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Freiburg/Germany, Fürstenbergstr. 19, Room: Seminar room (F 113) | Guests are welcome; please register

Accountability and its Practices in Law and Philosophy

Jul 17, 2025 - Jul 19, 2025
LMU Munich/Germany

The Philosophy of Right and wrong: Hegel on crime, transgression, and injustice

Sep 11, 2025 - Sep 13, 2025
Freiburg/Germany, Fürstenbergstr. 19, Room: Seminar room (F 113)

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?”
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


https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/alexyposcher-debate-on-legal-principles-9781509980598/
https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/handbook-on-cities-and-crime-9781800375703.html
Sabrina Ellebrecht (ed), Ralf Poscher (ed), Stefan Jarolimek (ed), and Stefan Kaufmann (ed), "Die Polizei in der offenen Gesellschaft: zum polizeilichen Umgang mit Vielfalt und Diversität", (2025), pp. 361.
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
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.
Handbuch des Verfassungsrechts : Darstellung in transnationaler Perspektive
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
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