Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law

Numerous countries across the globe face problems of civil and political unrest. Others have remained stagnant for decades, electing to simply ignore modern standards of the rule of law. The research projects in this section address the development of criminal policy and the rule of law in non-European transitional societies from both a legal and criminological angle. The research projects aim to support the implementation of the principle of the rule of law in societies where reform is necessary and to create a rational set of fundamental criminal policy principles to act as international standards. In the tradition of fundamental empirical research, relevant political issues such as torture and the death penalty will be discussed with the population involved. The role law enforcement and prison practices have on the emergence of crime will also be empirically analyzed. Legal comparisons will provide information to analyze the necessary requirements for modern criminal justice systems that operate in accordance with the rule of law.