Grundfragen des Straf- und Sicherheitsrechts

Fundamental Questions of Criminal and Public Security Law

December 04, 2023
New research series of the Max Planck Institute

The Max Planck Institute has launched a new research series on fun­da­mental questions of criminal law and security law. It is co-edited by Tatjana Hörnle, head of the Department of Criminal Law, and Ralf Poscher, head of the Department of Public Law at the Institute.

Should Climate Activists be Punished as Common Offenders?

Should Climate Activists be Punished as Common Offenders?

November 24, 2023
On the Climate Necessity Defence

Some climate activists, rather than receiving punishment, have in several cases successfully claimed to have acted on the grounds of necessity.

Improvements to Regulations on Intelligence Services Needed

Improvements to Regulations on Intelligence Services Needed

November 20, 2023
A number of experts, including Freiburg legal scholar Ralf Poscher, have criticized the draft bill presented by the German federal parliament (Bundestag) to amend the law of the Federal Intelligence Service (Bundesnachrichtendienst, BND). At a Bundestag hearing, Poscher ex­plained that segments of the new regulations have failed to meet constitutional requirements.

Virtual Reality and Crime Research

Virtual Reality and Crime Research

November 20, 2023
A group of scientist from the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law travelled to Philadelphia for the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology. They showcased the novel virtual reality environments currently being used in our research.

Interdisciplinary Constitutional Research

Interdisciplinary Constitutional Research

October 31, 2023
Freiburg researchers apply for Cluster of Excellence

A group of researchers from the University of Freiburg, the Max Planck Institute, and the Walter Eucken Institute are applying for a Cluster of Excellence to conduct top-level research on constitutional issues. The initiators are the legal scholars Matthias Jestaedt and Andreas Voßkuhle.

What use are Punishments?

What use are Punishments?

October 30, 2023
ARTE films documentary with Max Planck researcher Philipp Hirsch

If you do something wrong, you get punished. But do punishments really accomplish what we want them to? This question is explored in a documentary produced by the German-French television channel ARTE. Experts from the fields of criminology, psychology, and law voice their views. Among them: criminal law theorist Philipp Alexander Hirsch, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg.

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

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology – Special Issue

Bringing Technology to Justice Involved Youth: Applying Virtual Reality, Smartphone Apps, and Wearables to Assessment and Treatment

Organization: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law together with the Institute of Education and Child Studies of Leiden University
Deadline: December 31, 2023

Events

Epistemic and Criminal Justice: The Economy of Witness Credibility in German Criminal Procedural Law

Dec 14, 2023 06:00 PM - 08:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
Freiburg/Germany, Fürstenbergstr. 19, Room: Seminar room (F 113) | Guests are welcome; please register

The Unreliable Human Mind: False Memories and Biased Judgments in the Context of Legal Decision Making

Jan 24, 2024 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


Why is violence high and persistent indeprived communities? A formal model
Gefahr und allgemeines Lebensrisiko
Trait-specificity versus global positivity: A critical test of alternative sources of assumed similarity in personality judgments.
Handbuch des Verfassungsrechts : Darstellung in transnationaler Perspektive
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
Plädoyer für die Legalisierung der Leihmutterschaft. Interdisziplinäre Analyse der Problemfelder und Regulierungsvorschlag am Vorbild der Lebendorganspende (Doktorarbeit)
Why It Is Not Unreasonable to Fear Terrorism
Die Schuld des Menschen
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