Department of Public Law

Head of project: Ralf Poscher
This long-term project examines whether it is possible to develop a general doc­tri­nal scheme for public security measures comparable to the general doc­tri­nal schemes (Verbrechenssysteme) of substantive criminal law, how such a scheme would have to be conceptualized, and what functions it could serve in a national… more

Head of project: Ralf Poscher
This long-term project, begun about a decade ago, aims to provide a philosoph­i­cally updated account of legal her­me­neu­tics. Whereas legal hermeneutics has often been associated with continental philosophical approaches (e.g., Gadamer, Ricœur), the project addresses the questions discussed in this tradition with the… more

Head of project: Ja­mes An­go­ve
This project centres on the concept of ‘stochastic terrorism’, an under-examined yet growing threat to public security. As described by leading scholars, stochas­tic terrorism involves ‘the use of mass media to provoke random acts of ideolog­i­cally motivated violence that are statistically predictable but… more

Head of project: Elisa Orrù
The core of human autonomy (understood as making self-de­ter­mined decisions and acting ac­cordingly) is increas­ingly being complemented, supported, or replaced by automated de­ci­sion-making (ADM) processes. In civil secu­rity, this has led to the emergence of “algorithmic” and “preventive” security. Recent examples at… more

Head of project: Eran Fish
This project examines an undertheorized area of counter-terrorism law, namely, a state’s positive obligation to pre­vent terror attacks. Terrorism case law has routinely focused on excessive use of security measures. This reflects both the importance of constraining the use of force and the regrettable pervasiveness of… more

Head of project: Johanna Bücker
Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) authorizes Mem­ber States to suspend human rights in time of war or other public emer­gen­cies. This derogation provision has been used several times, its invo­ca­tion and use differing widely over time. Since 2015, for example, derogations have been invoked… more

Head of project: Eduardo Vandré Oliveira Lema Garcia
The project aims to justify adjudication contra legem. It demonstrates the lack of congruence between common sense about how judges decide and the actual practice that there are decisions that deviate from the traditional or consensual conception about the way the norm should be understood when… more

Head of project: S. Katharina Stein
Decisions are fundamental to law, whether in its creation, application, or dispu­ta­tion. Decision-making is so closely linked to law, that law is inconceivable without it. While previous research has focused on decisions and decision-making processes, autonomy, and options, this post-doctoral research project… more

Head of project: André Bartsch
Although the details remain controversial, it is generally accepted in German constitutional law that the state (under Art 1(3) GG) is bound by fundamental rights in the administration of public services. Scholarly treatment of this issue has focused principally on the equal protection clause—much to the exclusion of… more

Heads of project: Ralf Poscher, Elisa Orrù
FreiburgRESIST is a federally-funded, collaborative research pro­ject involving the City of Freiburg authorities and the University of Freiburg’s transdisciplinary Cen­tre for Security and Society. It integrates the fields of information technology, ju­rid­ical, sociological, ethical, and political security… more

Head of project: Michael Kilchling
This comparative European study identifies and analyses the rules governing abrogation or temporary restrictions on civil and political rights imposed with criminal penalties. Historically, these restrictions originated with honour-related punishments common in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. more

Head of project: Thomas Wahl
The surrender of criminal suspects who flee to foreign countries has sparked controversy for centuries. Relevant ex­tra­dition law shows not only criminal law’s territorial limits, but the dissolution of tension between security through effective cross-border enforcement and protecting individual rights. more

Head of project: Johannes Buchheim
This project seeks to analyze and assess the constitutional and practical possibilities and limits of legal instruments countering the spreading of “fake news,” especially in the digital realm. In the past decade, the phenomenon of “fake news”— severely exacerbated by the digital media revolution—has raised… more

Head of project: Rachel Pougnet
This comparative socio-legal project examines increasing state uses and (re)con­figurations of citizenship in na­tional security contexts. Over the last few decades, the use of citizenship to curtail the rights of suspected terror­ists and enhance exclusionary politics of belonging has become a common mode of state… more

Head of project: Daniel Buchmann
The business model of some of today’s largest, most valuable, and socially influential companies such as Google (Alphabet), Facebook (Meta), and Twitter can be described as capturing human attention and selling it to advertis­ers. more

Head of project: Phil­ipp Joh­ner
Cyber attacks on government institutions and information technology systems occur regularly, representing a sub­stan­tial security threat to Germany and its economic and political interests. Besides passive defence measures, the so-called ‘hack back’ can be considered an active defence measure. Here, the attacked… more

Head of project: Laura Wisser
People with migrant backgrounds are strongly underrepresented in German policing. This fact is legally problem­atic for multiple reasons. First, due to violations of equality principles guaranteed in Art. 3 and Art. 33 II of the German Constitution. On an individual level, structures that discourage migrant peoples from… more

Head of project: Christian Thönnes
Rapid technological advances have incentivized an increasing shift of legal decision-making from humans to ma­chines. Many national and EU legal statutes have responded to this advance in legal automation (eg Article 22 GDPR and § 35a VwVfG-Bund, German Federal Administrative Procedures Act). more

Head of project: Johanna Fink
Over the past thirty years, cooperation with foreign police forces not directly bound by national police law has become more frequent and diverse in EU member states. In addition to more traditional forms of co-operation, such as the exchange of information in the context of mutual legal assistance requests, there are… more

Head of project: Marc André Bovermann
Online platforms are the ‘new governors’ of our digital public sphere. This notion is central to the EU’s sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA) which, after coming into full force and effect on 17 February 2024, aims to foster a safer, more predictable, and trustworthy online environment for all EU Member States. more

Head of project: Maria Diory F. Rabajante
Online platforms increasingly resolve offensive and problematic content by employing private adjudicatory mechanisms originally designed to enhance platform accountability and to offer simple and effective online remedies. more

Head of project: Ralf Poscher
The project aims at a continuous doctrinal development of fundamental rights—with particular focus on funda­men­tal rights especially impacted by public se­cu­rity measures—in a transnational perspective. Fundamental rights are central for the legal evaluation of public security measures. more

Heads of project: R. Poscher, M. Her­de­gen, J. Ma­sing, K. F. Gär­ditz
The Handbook of Constitutional Law is co-authored by 24 German professors, and supported by 15 international academics from Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. Edited by Profes­sors Herdegen, Masing, Poscher, and Gär­ditz, the Handbook’s main purpose is to foster… more

Heads of project: Ralf Poscher, Michael Kilchling
State surveillance measures and their impact on constitutional freedoms have long been the subject of legal and political discourse. Building on prior, mainly theoretical, considerations about the need for realizing an “overall accounting” of surveillance, we began developing a broader conceptual… more

Head of project: Randall Stephenson
This comparative law project examines the impact of the Internet and digital communications on networked accountability mechanisms in contemporary democracies (ie Germany, USA, UK, and Canada). Concentrating on modern-day intelligence gathering trends, my principal research question is whether mass ‘full-take’… more

Head of project: Mar­tha Ba­sa­zi­enw Kas­sa
The proportionality principle is the crown jewel of German legal scholarship, which has long served as a valued framework for human rights and fundamental freedoms adjudication around the world. more

Head of project: Antonia Strecke
The German Black Lives Matter protests, recurring reports of right-wing extremist police chat groups, and racial profiling have led to increased discussion of structural racism within the German police authorities. Although ra­cial discrimination is prohibited under Article 3(3) of the Basic Law, legal recourse… more

Head of project: Jakob Mutter
This project addresses the growing convergence between modern police work and security intelligence directives. Besides softening the ‘iron limits’ of concrete danger and initial suspicion as vital law enforcement intervention thresholds, state responses to terrorism and international organised crime have expanded… more

Head of project: Maria Stemmler
Serious difficulties arise whenever state secrets are involved in judicial proceedings. Even in ideal circumstances where secrecy protects legitimate interests, the administration of justice may be obstructed. If the pertinent information is excluded, the rule of law might be endangered and important evidence omitted… more