Department of Criminal Law

Head of project: Otava Piha
Can criminal law be effectively leveraged to punish unsustainable acts and pro­mote a more sustainable society? Traditional criminal offenses, such as rape, assault, and theft, are typically committed when one or more individ­u­als violate legal norms and harm others through discrete acts. In contrast, the sustainabil­ity… more

Head of project: Paul Rehren
This project investigates the conditions under which empirical research from psychology and related disciplines can inform normative argument. Drawing in part on detailed case studies from punishment theory, Rehren identifies re­cur­ring inferential challenges in the interpretation of empirical data and examines the… more

Head of project: Qin (Sky) Ma
This project examines how emerging technologies, including artificial intel­li­gence (AI), blockchain, and virtual reality, are reshaping judicial decision-making and transforming the role of courts. Using empirical methods and comparative legal analysis, the study investigates the ways in which different jurisdictions… more

Head of project: Qin (Sky) Ma
What happens to criminal liability when human action is increasingly mediated or even replaced by artificial intelligence (AI) and neurotechnologies such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)? Traditional legal frameworks, particularly mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act), have been built on the assumption… more

Head of project: Valerij Zisman
Normative debates often rely on theories about what is right and wrong. In the case of punishment theory, for ex­am­ple, retributivists often rely on deontological theories, while proponents of deterrence theory draw from utilitari­an­ism. more

Head of project: Valerij Zisman
In the past, theorizing in criminal law was seen as a primarily philosophical and legal enterprise. Recently, scholars have begun trying to combine research from moral and social psychology, which investigate what drives people to impose punishment, with the normative literature on punishment theory. more

Head of project: Lucas Montenegro
Confiscation as a legal consequence of a criminal offense is becoming in­creas­ingly important worldwide, particu­larly in the fight against economic crime. The increasing relevance of this kind of confiscation goes hand in hand with the in­creasing flexibility of traditional criminal law principles. more

Head of project: Benjamin Vogel
Globalization and digitalization have profoundly changed the relationship between nation states and the private sector in recent decades. Increasingly, private com-panies are creating and controlling the spaces in which economic and social interactions take place – for example, on the Internet or in financial markets. more

Head of project: Morten Boe
Guilt is the focal point of (German) criminal law: it is a prerequisite of pun­ish­ment, is guaranteed by the constitu­tional principle of guilt, and is the epitome of the general systemic decision to adopt a culpability-based criminal law. more

Head of project: Manuel Cordes
Mentally healthy adults unlawfully engaging in conduct that satisfies the def­i­ni­tional elements of a criminal of­fence are, with rare exceptions – e.g., in situa­tions of “excusing necessity” (§ 35 German Criminal Code) or duress (§ 2.09 Model Penal Code) – widely regarded as prototypical subjects of individual… more

Head of project: Tatjana Hörnle
The law of sexual offenses plays only a marginal role in German law school cur­ricula, largely because the subject is not tested on the state law exams. As a re­sult, there is as yet no comprehensive account of German sexual offenses law that both provides a clear, concise overview of the material and meets the… more

Head of project: Cristina Valega Chipoco
The outcome of this research project will be a contribution to an edited volume coordinated by the Universidad del Rosario (Colombia) and the Network of Latin American Law Scholars (Red ALAS). The overall aim of the book is to examine condom deception as a form of sexual violence from a legal perspective… more

Head of project: Marthe Goudsmit Samaritter
In an era where digital technology has become intertwined with every aspect of daily life, im­age-based sexual abuse and technology-facilitated sexual violence have emerged as signifi­cant legal and societal issues. more

Heads of project: Konstanze Jarvers, Emily Silverman, Cristina Valega Chipoco
Killings of women, the most serious form of gender-based violence, is a phenomenon that has existed worldwide since time immemorial. And yet it has only recently become the focus of cultural and legal debate. With that in mind, this international comparative research… more

Head of project: Konstanze Jarvers
The phenomenon of domestic and gender-based violence against women is widespread and affects all social classes and all countries. In 2014, for example, 33% of women in the EU between the ages of 18 and 74 had been victims of physical or sexual assault at some point in their lives. more

Head of project: Cristina Valega Chipoco
During the past two decades, many transnational and domestic statutes that regulate the offence of rape have turned away from considering violence or threats as necessary modalities of the offence and have begun treating non-consent as its essential element. This transition can be seen in recent… more

Head of project: Lukas Huthmann
As societies evolve, so do the conditions under which law emerges, is applied, and is understood. These developments affect not only substantive criminal law but also the procedural rules that govern the course of criminal proceedings and the decisions made by prosecuting authorities. more

Head of project: Lucas Montenegro
“Among a democratic nation (...) it is impossible ever to agree beforehand on what shall or shall not be allowed by the laws of honour”. Alexis de Tocqueville stated this thesis in his work “De la démocratie en Amérique”* and based it on the leveling of social classes and the volatility of public opinion in a… more

Head of project: Suheib Qaderi
German criminal law provides a set of norms that (ostensibly) presuppose a moral judgment. For example, public prosecutors and courts have to judge questions of “reprehensibility,” “common decency,” and “base motives.” How are such assessments to be made in an ideologically neutral state? more

Heads of project: Valerij Zisman, Ivó Co­ca-Vi­la
What role does the relationship between the state and its citizens play for criminal law theory? A number of in­flu­en­tial scholars assume that criminal law must be founded on a bond of citizenship between the offender and the state that reinforces the legitimacy of criminal punishment. If this is… more

Heads of project: Tatjana Hörnle, Ivó Coca-Vila
More and more climate activists are opting to break minor laws in order to get maximum exposure for their pro­tests. In fact, a number of climate justice movements—such as Last Generation, Extinction Rebellion, and Ende Gelände—explicitly call for civil disobedience and coercive forms of protest as a… more

Head of project: Tatjana Hörnle
Sociologists and cultural sociologists describe increasingly plural, multicultural, and fragmented societies. Migra­tion is one of the factors that contribute to these phenomena. The goal of the project is to describe and evaluate the influence of the aforementioned societal developments on substantive criminal law… more

Head of project: Michael Mertes
German sentencing law operates within the tension between normative control and judicial discretion. Despite its central importance to the criminal justice system, it lacks binding and clearly structured standards capable of ensuring transparent, consistent, and… more

Head of project: Cristina Valega Chipoco
The outcome of this research project will be a collaborative contribution to an edited volume on gender and consti­tu­tionalism in Latin America, forthcoming from Routledge, which undertakes a close examination of the role of con­sti­tu­tional law and… more

Head of project: Benjamin Vogel
Confronted with transnational terrorism and other forms of organised crime that elude the territorial borders of nation states, law enforcement authorities in many countries are increasingly turning to the private sector to tackle illicit financial flows. While banks… more

Contact: Konstanze Jarvers more