Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Trustees

A Scientific Advisory Board composed of internationally recognized scientists is constituted for each Institute of the Max Planck Society. Its main responsibility is to engage in periodic evaluations of the Institute’s scientific performance and to submit reports based on these findings to the president of the Society. This procedure, which forms the back­bone of the Society’s system of self-monitoring, is also a means of demonstrating accountability to the public with re­spect to the appropriate and effective use of public funding. In addition, the Board operates as an independent external advisory committee to those bodies of the Max Planck Society that, pursuant its Statutes, are responsible for decisions concerning the development of the individual Institutes and of the Society as a whole. Regular evaluations are con­ducted every three years, extended evaluations every six years. The chairperson and members of the Scientific Advisory Board are appointed by the president of the Max Planck Society on the basis of suggestions from the Institute’s directors. As a rule, the term of office for an advisory board member is six years; under certain circumstances, this period in office may be extended for one additional three-year period.

The primary responsibility of the Board of Trustees is to promote ties between the Institute and the public – especially those individuals and institutions with a particular interest in the research undertaken at the Institute. It is also respon­si­ble for fostering the trust of the general public in the work conducted at the Institute, which is independent and autonomous in the selection and execution of its research pursuits, and it functions as an intermediary for issues of Institute concern. The Board is comprised of high-ranking representatives of the judiciary and the fields of politics, industry, science, and the media and of other individuals who are in a position to provide significant support to the Institute. The term of office of the Board is six years. Trustees are appointed by the president of the Max Planck Society based on recommendations from the Institute’s directors.


Scientific Advisory Board

The members of the Scientific Advisory Board at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law are internationally recognized scientists with positions at universities and research facilities in Germany, Europe, and abroad. They represent the criminal law sciences, public law, and criminology. The current members of the Scientific Advisory Board are:

  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Karstedt (Chairperson)
    Griffith University, Brisbane/Australia
  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Beck
    Leibniz University Hannover
  • Prof. Dr. Timothy Endicott
    University of Oxford/United Kingdom
  • Prof. Dr. Armin Engländer
    Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich)
  • Prof. Dr. Christoph Gusy
    Bielefeld University
  • Prof. Dr. Tilo Hartmann
    Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam/Netherlands
  • Prof. Dr. Jørn Jacobsen
    University of Bergen/Norway
  • Prof. Dr. Shane Johnson
    University College London/United Kingdom
  • Prof. Dr. Greg Pogarsky
    State University of New York, Albany/USA
  • Prof. Dr. Kim Lane Scheppele
    Princeton University/USA
  • Prof. Dr. Francesco Viganò
    Università commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan/Italy
  • Prof. Dr. Bettina Weißer
    University of Cologne

Board of Trustees

The current members of the Board of Trustees are:

  • Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas von Danwitz (Chairperson)
    Judge, Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxemburg
  • Prof. Dr. Anja Seibert-Fohr, LL.M. (Vice Chairperson)
    Judge, European Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg
  • Nancy Faeser
    Federal Minister of the Interior and Community, Berlin
  • Marion Gentges
    Minister of Justice and Migration of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart
  • Dr. Arnd Haller
    Senior Legal Director (EU Affairs, Northern and Central Europe), Google Germany GmbH, Hamburg
  • Martin Horn
    Chief Mayor of the City of Freiburg i. Br.
  • Bettina Limperg
    President, Federal Court of Justice, Karlsruhe
  • Holger Münch
    President, Bundeskriminalamt, Wiesbaden
  • Dr. Yvonne Ott
    Justice, Federal Constitutional Court, Karlsruhe
  • Dr. Angela Reitmaier
    Transparency International Germany, Berlin
  • Franz Semling
    Chief of Police, Polizeipräsidium, Freiburg i. Br.
  • Dr. Ronen Steinke
    Managing Editor, Politics
    Süddeutsche Zeitung, Berlin
  • Benjamin Strasser
    Member of the Bundestag, Parliamentary State Secretary
    Federal Ministry of Justice, Berlin
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