First Research Focus:
Transnational Crime, Territorial Limits of Criminal Law, and System of Transnational Criminal Law
a) Fundamental Questions
| Basic Principles of the Harmonization of Criminal Law: "Les chemins de l'harmonisation pénale" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Prof. Dr. Mireille Delmas-Marty, Collège de France, Paris; Prof. Dr. Mark Pieth, Universität Basel | ||
|
Globalization leads to increasing harmonization of national criminal law systems. This development takes different paths in the various areas of law. To research these processes, this joint international project involving 13 researchers examines for the first time the actors, forces, processes, and models of international harmonization of criminal law in order to formulate theories based on a detailed study of 11 different areas of law. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; comparative criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism; computer crime; organized crime; economic crime, etc. |
Legal System(s): Numerous national and international legal systems |
| Time frame: 2005-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
b) European Criminal Law
| Handbook of European Criminal Law | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Head(s) of project: | ||
| The European Union and the Council of Europe meet the new challenges of globalization with rules that strongly influence national criminal law, criminal procedure, and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. This has led to a confusing body of regulations that has in many cases become inscrutable for lawyers. Hence, the goal of the project is a systematization and presentation of European and Europeanized criminal law for future research projects and for practitioners. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): Germany, European Criminal Law |
| Time frame: 2006-2011 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
| Rethinking European Criminal Justice | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Dr. Marianne Wade, LL.B. | ||
| This project, sponsored by the EU, studies the goals, systems, and developmental opportunities of European criminal law. Its legal policy recommendations are based on comprehensive, basic research on transnationally effective criminal law: it analyzes national and supranational European criminal law in force, European protection of human rights and institutional guarantees, and models and systems of transnational criminal law, especially in multi-level systems. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(ses): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Transnational crime; economic crime against EU interests |
Legal System(s): 18 European legal systems, USA, Nordic Council, EU law |
| Time frame: 2007-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| EuroNeeds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Marianne Wade, LL.B. | ||
| In view of current events, the intended legal basis for a European Public Prosecutor as foreseen by the Lisbon Treaty in particular, this project aims to establish the factual needs of practitioners in investigating and prosecuting crimes against the EU's interests and trans-national crime facilitated by the EU. To this end the study examines these in 18 EU member states and candidate countries. The research furthermore seeks to establish in how far the (usually third pillar) mechanisms currently available are suitable in countering the problems faced in prosecution and defence and to identify which further steps may be necessary. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(ses): European criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Crimes against the financial interests of the EU; transnational crime |
Legal System(s): 18 European legal systems, EU law |
| Time frame: 2009-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Individual project |
| The Basic Principle of Mutual Recognition of Judicial Decisions in Criminal Matters | ||
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|
Head(s) of project: | ||
| The basic principle of mutual recognition of criminal decisions is the prime example of the new cooperation models in the European Union for overcoming the territorial limits of criminal law. Through analysis of both legislation and case law, the project examines the implementation and application problems in Germany following initial experiences with mechanisms based on this principle, primarily the European arrest warrant. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): Germany; EU law |
| Time frame: 2005-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Implementation of the Framework Decision on the European Arrest Warrant in the Member States of the European Union | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Dr. Peggy Pfützner, LL.M. | ||
| Organized by the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, this project analyzed in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute the implementation of the EU Framework Decision on the European arrest warrant in all Member States of the EU. The Max Planck Institute prepared the German country report and thereby had early access to the entire database, which was subsequently published as an electronic information system in the Internet. The Institute was also integrally involved in the project’s final conference. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies):y Organized crime and other major crimes |
Legal System(s): 25 EU Member Sates; additional European countries; EU law |
| Time frame: 2004-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute Project |
| European Criminal Defense | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Jörg Arnold | ||
| While European prosecution has expanded, the right to defense has not received sufficient attention. Hence, this study analyzes various possibilities of providing for an aggregate balance in criminal proceedings through the creation of a "European" criminal defense and suggests original approaches for the solution of these problems. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): Germany; EU law |
| Time frame: 2007-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| The Changing Role of Prosecutors in National and Emerging Supra-National Contexts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Marianne Wade, LL.B.; Prof. Erik Luna (Washington and Lee University School of Law) | ||
| The work of prosecutors is proving, even in European legal orders, to be increasingly decisive for the way in which criminal proceedings are dealt with and therewith also the effect criminal justice systems as a whole have. In the USA the impact prosecutors have, in particular via their use of plea-bargaining is well known. Given the dynamic development of the prosecutorial role in European systems, comparative research offers great learning potential. This project compares the effect of prosecutorial work on both sides of the Atlantic and draws lessons which can be learned via this perspective. In this way best practices for effective prosecutorial practice in line with human rights ideals are identified. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(ses): European criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): USA, various national European systems, European law |
| Time frame: 2009-2012 |
Status: Planning |
Category: Individual project |
| Sovereignty and Criminal Law: The Dual Criminality Requirement in International Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Nadja Capus, Marie Curie Fellow | ||
| Since its beginnings in the 19th century, interstate legal assistance has undergone constant change, a development that accelerated tremendously after World War II, especially in Europe. In the course of these changes, many traditional principles of mutual legal assistance have been abolished, among them the dual criminality requirement. The aim of this project, funded by a Marie Curie Fellowship from the European Research Commission, was to analyze the scholarly bases of the dual criminality requirement in the law of mutual legal assistance, the principles from which it can be derived, and its functions. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(ses): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): Switzerland; European law; other international criminal law; mutual legal assistance in criminal matters |
| Time frame: 2007-2009 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Individual project |
| Criminal Procedure in Europe | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Barbara Huber; Dr. Richard K.Vogler (University of Sussex, UK) | ||
| The application of traditional criminal procedure is limited to national territory. In the prosecution of transnational crime, serious practical problems emerge due to this limitation. This English-language study offers both practitioners and scholars of comparative criminal law an up-to-date and clear presentation of the law of criminal procedure in a representative selection of EU Member States. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): 6 European legal systems |
| Time frame: 2004-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
c) International Criminal Law
| Sea Piracy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Anna Petrig, LL.M. (Harvard) | ||
| The Security Council has shown strong resolve to counter the pirate activities in the Gulf of Aden. Three Chapter VII-based Security Council Resolutions within the past 12 months alone, the authorization to use "all necessary means," and the proclaimed objective of a "full eradication of piracy" in the region send a clear message. Despite the Council's efforts to remedy some of the oft-lamented shortcomings of the UNCLOS enforcement regime, as far as enforcement jurisdiction is concerned, discerning precisely what States are currently allowed to do in their quest to repress piracy off Somalia's coast, as well as where and against whom, is far from easy. With regard to adjudicative jurisdiction, the picture is equally complex. UNCLOS arguably contains a jurisdictional basis in relation to adjudication, but the various Security Council Resolutions have also invoked a range of other relevant legal instruments such as the SUA and Hostage Conventions. In practice, States have been quite reluctant to initiate criminal proceedings against captured "pirates and armed robbers" and have occasionally released them on Somali shorelines. It is in this context that transfer agreements with regional States have been concluded and the Security Council has called for the use of so-called "shipriders," allowing States to bring "pirates and armed robbers at sea" directly into the criminal jurisdiction of a regional State willing to prosecute them. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial and functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): International criminal law, international public law, human rights, law of the sea, rules on law enforcement |
| Time frame: 2009-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute Project |
| Internationalization of Criminal Law by the United Nations Security Council | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Julia Macke | ||
| Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, the war on terror has accelerated the internationalization of criminal law. A new actor in this process is the United Nations Security Council, which, to an increasing extent, shapes national criminal law through legally binding resolutions. This study seeks to clarify whether the Council, a (highly) political, unrepresentative body with no democratic legitimacy, has the authority to issue such criminal law measures. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism; money laundering |
Legal System(s): International criminal law |
| Time frame: 2006-2009 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| General Legal Principles of International Criminal Law on the Criminal Liability of Leaders of Criminal Groups and Networks | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Priv.-Doz. Dr. Hans-Georg Koch; Jan Michael Simon | ||
| The leaders of organized offender groups and networks usually act in the background, avoiding any direct participation in criminal activities. This project examines how 43 legal systems handle the accountability and evidentiary problems that typically arise in such cases. In the process, new methodological approaches to comparative criminal law are tested. The goal is to support the development in this area of common legal principles of international criminal law and to contribute to the development of an international criminal law doctrine. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Organized crime, especially international crimes |
Legal System(s): 43 legal systems worldwide; international criminal law |
| Time frame: 2005-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| Terrorism and International Criminal Law | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Paul Rabbat, LL.B. (Montréal), LL.M. (Sussex) | ||
| The "new terrorism," with its broader international scope and greater potential to cause damage, has also led to a search for the most effective measures in international criminal law. This project examines the perspectives for the successful fight against and punishment of terrorism by means of international criminal law. It also analyzes the criteria for the creation of international criminal offenses. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism |
Legal System(s): International criminal law |
| Time frame: 2007- |
Status: Inactive |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| National Prosecution of International Crimes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Prof. Dr. Albin Eser, M.C.J.; Dr. Helmut Kreicker | ||
| This comparative criminal law project examines the extent to which the national criminal law systems of various states permit the prosecution of international criminal offenses in their own national courts, whether deficits exist with respect to international criminal law, and what reforms are being carried out or are planned in this respect. It demonstrates that most of the states examined can prosecute genocide and war crimes as such, but not crimes against humanity. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): International crimes |
Legal System(s): 34 legal systems world wide; international criminal law |
| Time frame: 2001-2006 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
| International Criminal Law in Romania | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Johanna Rinceanu, LL.M. | ||
| International criminal law has developed to differing extents in the various countries of the world on account of national-historical and political events. In this process, there is a close, actio-reactio connection between these events, the influence of individuals in a particular country, and the evolution of that country's international criminal law. The study analyzes Romania’s past and present handling of international criminal law. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): International crimes |
Legal System(s): Romania; international criminal law |
| Time frame: 2003-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Referral Practice of Cases from International to National Justice Mechanisms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Jennifer Schuetze-Reymann | ||
| A crucial component of the UN Security Council Completion Strategy, the ICTY and ICTR referral practice to national courts concretely illustrates various legal challenges that arise from pluralistic accountability mechanisms. By analyzing legal problems highlighted by this practice, identifying possible root causes, and formulating potential solutions that may also be relevant for the ICC, this project sheds light on the shifting dynamic between the main actors involved in the prosecution of international crime. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): International criminal law |
| Time frame: 2009-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-REMEP) |
| International Arrest Warrants in Ongoing Conflicts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Mayeul Hiéramente | ||
| The project analyzes the factual and legal implications of international arrest warrants issued during ongoing hostilities. It points out the potential conflicts between the various international obligations of external actors, especially the ICC, and attempts to reconcile these conflicts with the goals of criminal prosecution. Finally, the possibility of the reception of this norm conflict within the framework of the Rome Statute and the UN Charter will be analyzed. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): International criminal law |
| Time frame: 2008-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-REMEP) |
Second Research Focus:
Complex Crime, Functional Limits of Criminal Law, and New Forms of Social Control
a) Terrorism and Organized Crime
| Limits of the Prohibition against Torture | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Linus Sonderegger, lic. iur. | ||
| The fight against terrorism and society’s need for security know no bounds, not even the prohibition against torture. This study analyzes the actual manifestations of torture and explains where, in a rule-of-law democracy, the limits on the use of force are drawn and whether these limits need to be readjusted in extreme situations. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism |
Legal System(s): Germany, England and Wales, USA; international criminal law |
| Time frame: 2008-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| Preventive Detention as an Instrument of Counterterrorism | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Tim Nikolas Müller, LL.M. Eur., M. Jur. | ||
| In a multitude of legal systems, options for the preventive detention of terror suspects (so-called "endangerers") have been expanded or introduced as a reaction to recent terrorist attacks. This study analyzes the existing legal bases in Germany for preventive detention in this context and identifies the limits that the Basic Law and the European Convention on Human Rights impose on the development of bases for this type of intervention. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2007-2010 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| Restricting Personal Liberty by means of Terrorism Legislation in the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Susanne Forster, LL.M. | ||
| As a consequence of the recent terrorist attacks, an increase in the severity of the anti-terror statutes is being discussed in Germany. What is being considered in this country is already, to a certain extent, law in the United Kingdom. This study provides an overview and analysis of British legislation, focusing on the measures that illustrate the ubiquitous conflict between freedom and security in the fight against terrorism. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism |
Legal System(s): United Kingdom |
| Time frame: 2005-2009 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| Limits of Criminal Law in Terrorism Legislation – A Comparative Analysis of Germany and England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Sarah Kiesel | ||
| In many Western countries, the unprecedented global terrorism has led to an extensive expansion of the criminal law dealing with remote forms of risk, a development that poses new questions about the constitutional limits of criminal law. This project analyzes and compares the criteria currently discussed in Germany and England to limit the scope of criminal law in relation to anti-terror legislation. The aim of the study is to contribute to the discussion as to how a fair reconciliation between individual freedom and collective security can take place. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism |
Legal System(s): Germany, England |
| Time frame: 2008-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Counter-Terrorism Legislation Balancing Security and Liberty in Germany and China | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Zunyou Zhou, LL.M. | ||
| Anti-terrorism legislation has triggered a debate on the relationship between individual freedom and public security. This study analyzes the most recent developments in German and Chinese anti-terror legislation as well as their implementation in practice. The goal is to clarify the extent to which Germany and China guarantee their citizens human rights protection in this regard. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism |
Legal System(s): Germany, China |
| Time frame: 2006-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| Cyberterrorism and Harmonization of Criminal Prosecution | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Dr. Phillip W. Brunst | ||
| Imminent terrorist attacks via the Internet are frequently entitled "Electronic Pearl Harbor" or "Digital Waterloo." Until now, however, very few if any actual attacks have been registered. On behalf of the Council of Europe, this project examines both the opportunities and options that the Internet in fact offers terrorists as well as the currently existing international legal instruments for fighting cyberterrorism. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Terrorism; computer crime |
Legal System(s): European and other international criminal law |
| Time frame: 2006-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute Project |
| Organized Crime in French Criminal Procedure | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Peggy Pfützner, LL.M. | ||
| In 2004, the French legislature broke new ground in the fight against organized crime with the passage of "Loi Perben II." As part of the newly introduced procedures, organized crime is defined for the first time by means of an offense catalog, and special judicial panels and investigative measures have been introduced. The project shows how the fight against organized crime led to the introduction of a procedure for ordinary, (moderately) severe offenses. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Organized crime |
Legal System(s): France |
| Time frame: 2005-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Participation in a Criminal Association and Conspiracy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Almir Maljević, LL.M. | ||
| Criminal collectives displaying different structures of association pose serious challenges to traditional criminal law. Responses to some of these challenges can be found in the traditional models of conspiracy and participation in a criminal association. The goal of this project is to identify similarities and differences between the two models, explain how the two approaches are combined in international models, and examine how their elements get transferred to the legislation of transitional countries. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Organized crime; terrorism |
Legal System(s): 5 European legal systems; European and UN criminal law |
| Time frame: 2006-2009 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| Criminal Law and Gacaca: Coming to Terms with the Rwandan Genocide by means of a Pluralistic Legal Model | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Nandor Knust | ||
| Systematic, mass violence can be addressed by means of procedures with differing legal forms, including procedures of a national, non-national, or mixed national and non-national nature. This research project examines how the procedures of the UN Rwanda Criminal Court, the Rwandan criminal justice system, and the neo-traditional Gacaca deal with the mass violence experienced in Rwanda and clarifies the issue of a pluralistic approach to the prosecution of international criminal offenses. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Organized crime, especially international crime |
Legal System(s): International criminal law, national criminal law, tribal law |
| Time frame: 2005-2011 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertatian (IMPRS-CC) |
b) Cybercrime
| Extraterritorial Prosecution of Cybercrime | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Prof. Dr. Bert-Jaap Koops (University of Tilburg) | ||
| Cybercrime is a prototype of transnational crime. Hence, legislative responses to offenses in global data networks demonstrate quite clearly the attempts of nation states to overcome national boundaries through extraterritorial expansion of criminal law. This project reveals the limits of this approach: it is successful only in limited areas and specific cases and does not lead to a generally applicable model solution for the development of transnationally effective criminal law. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime |
Legal System(s): Numerous legal systems worldwide |
| Time frame: 2005-2006 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
| Protecting Nations against Illegal Content in the Internet by means of Blocking Orders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Malaika Nolde, LL.M. | ||
| Nation-states counter illegal content in the Internet not only by expanding the extraterritorial application of their criminal law but also by attempting to insulate the Net from illegal foreign content. The project demonstrates that this type of blocking order as applied to access providers in a country’s own territory prevents citizens from accessing illegal content in the Internet only to a limited extent and only with serious infringements of liberty (especially the privacy of telecommunications). [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2006-2008 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute Project |
| Challenges and Limits in the Prosecution of Internet Crime | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Jan Spoenle | ||
| The rapid growth of Internet crime poses the question of how prosecutorial agencies should react. This study pinpoints the legal and practical problems that arise in the context of prosecution. Through the analysis of investigatory obstacles, solutions for a more efficacious fight against this type of crime are developed and evaluated in light of the specific dangers to vital civil liberties in the information and communication society. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime; organized crime |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2007-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Scope and Limits of Anonymity in the Internet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Phillip W. Brunst | ||
| This project examines the legal and technical aspects of anonymous communication in the Internet, including the re-identification of seemingly anonymous users. In pursuing these issues, it shares the Institute's research focus on the functional and territorial limits of criminal law. The project thereby contributes to the current discussion in data security law regarding the "right to anonymity." [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer Crime |
Legal System(s): Germany; European Law |
| Time frame: 2003-2008 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Creating Movement Profiles for Purposes of Criminal Prosecution | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: René M. Kieselmann | ||
| Prosecutorial agencies employ various surveillance measures in orders to locate people and to create a record of their movements. The "transparent citizen" is becoming reality through digitalization, data storage, and data links. This project analyzes techniques and findings from the perspective of the rule of law and proposes criminal procedural regulations that both reflect the rapid technical developments and take into consideration constitutional and rule-of-law principles. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Broad spectrum |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2005-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Systematic Analysis of Offenses and Risks of Computer Crime | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Dr. Phillip W. Brunst | ||
| Because of the transnational nature of attacks via computers and data networks, the security of information technology as well as the prevention and prosecution of computer and data network crime is of great importance. This is true not only for the individual but also for the international community. However, legislatures and users can successfully meet the new challenges only if they are familiar with existing and potential threats. This explorative study addresses these issues. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime |
Legal System(s): None (empirical study) |
| Status: Inactive |
Category: Institute project | |
| Criminal Liability for Hyperlinks in the Internet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Frank Michael Höfinger | ||
| In the World Wide Web, an information provider can create hyperlinks to any available information worldwide, including criminal content. This project examines the issues this situation poses from the perspective of the General and the Special Parts of the criminal law, paying special attention to the question of when links to criminal content should not be criminalized. Also at issue are the territorial and functional limits of criminal law with respect to freedom of opinion. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2005- |
Status: Inactive |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Online Auction Fraud | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Andreas Dingler | ||
| The transformation of traditional auctions to online auctions is a prototypical demonstration of the changes to classic offense forms wrought under the auspices of the global network. This project analyzes the newly emerged forms of crime and the reasons – which lie primarily in the anonymity of the Internet – behind the changes and increases in risk. It also demonstrates that the new offense forms are, for the most part, covered by the traditional criminal law of fraud. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2003-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Reform of Computer Law in Germany | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Nadine Gröseling; Frank Michael Höfinger | ||
| The criminal law protection of computer data and computer systems was comprehensively reformed in 2007 by the 41st amendment to the German Criminal Code. This project examines the dogmatic and practical implications of the reform. It identifies areas where the declared goals of the amendments' drafters were not achieved, namely, in the attempt adequately to address new forms of complex computer crime and in the attempt to implement the requirements set by the European Council and the EU. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime |
Legal System(s): Germany; European Law |
| Time frame: 2007-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
c) Economic Crime
| Obliging the Business Community to Participate in Crime Prevention | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Malaika Nolde, LL.M. | ||
| The continuing expansion of the scope of criminal law to encompass activities occurring prior to the onset of initial suspicion pushes the state to the limits of its resources. As a consequence, the traditional attitude toward repression as a task within the sole responsibility of the state comes into question. Since the beginning of the 1990s, an outsourcing of preventive law enforcement activities to the business community has taken place. This project examines this development from the perspective of state theory and individual rights. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Computer crime; economic crime |
Legal System(s): Germany |
| Time frame: 2005-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Responsibility and Sanctioning of Corporations: The Role of Compliance Measures – A Comparative Legal Analysis of Criminal Law and the Law of Non-Criminal Regulatory Offenses in Germany and the USA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Marc Engelhart | ||
| Cases such as the bribery scandal at Siemens pose the question of the sanctioning of corporations and the necessity of in-house measures for the prevention of criminal activity. This study analyzes the German and US-American law of corporate sanctions, paying special attention to new forms of "regulated self-regulation" (especially the so-called compliance measures). Proposals for the reform of the German law of corporate sanctions are based on this analysis. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Economic crime |
Legal System(s): Germany, USA |
| Time frame: 2005-2009 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
| Criminal Copyright Infringement Law and its Functional Alternatives for the Protection of Digital Works – A comparative analysis of sanctions and protective measures in Germany, Italy, and England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Chiara Santangelo | ||
| Against the background of the global spread of product and services piracy in the information society, this project analyzes the question of whether, given the newness and complexity of the problems posed, legal instruments that are more flexible are necessary in order to ensure the continued protection of digital goods. Both criminal copyright law as well as other existing legal and extra-legal measures that strengthen the protection and the enforcement of copyright law will be analyzed. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law; comparative criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Economic crime; computer crime; criminal copyright infringement law |
Legal System(s): European law, Germany, Italy, England |
| Time frame: 2007-2010 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation (IMPRS-CC) |
d) Fundamental Issues of the Life Sciences and Medicine
| Possibilities and Limits of the Criminal Law against Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Priv.-Doz. Dr. Hans-Georg Koch | ||
| Counterfeit medications threaten the life and health of their users. Thus, their importance far exceeds the damage they, as pirated copies, cause the original producers. This comparative law project studies the various methods by which affected countries seek to protect the pharmaceutical sector from counterfeit products and how they counter offenses committed by increasingly internationally-operating offenders. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Medical and bio-medical offenses; economic crime |
Legal System(s): 12 legal systems worldwide |
| Time frame: 2006-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| The Status of Extracorporeal Embryos | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Albin Eser, M.C.J.; Priv.-Doz. Dr. Hans-Georg Koch | ||
| This interdisciplinary, cooperative comparative law project examines the extent to which legal systems with differing socio-cultural backgrounds provide (criminal) law protection to in vitro embryos and what (controlled?) freedoms they grant to the practice of reproductive medicine and research on embryos. Possibilities and limits of international consensus-building are presented and approaches for legislative treatment of remaining dissonances are developed. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law; functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Medical and bio-medical offenses |
Legal System(s): Numerous legal systems worldwide |
| Time frame: 2002-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
e) Other Issues Arising in the Context of the Second Research Focus
| Retaliation-Mediation-Punishment | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Jan-Michael Simon; Dr. Pablo Galain Palermo | ||
| The project examines the limits of criminal law with respect to its identity-defining function and its ability to direct the course of society. Findings regarding this function of punishment can already be read in E. Durkheim’s work; however, there has been a lack of studies specifically focused on national criminal law up until now. This research gap needs to be closed, especially in light of an increasingly "smaller" world in which various cultures meet in a single public forum. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Organized crime; terrorism; violent social conflicts |
Legal System(s): 10 Latin American legal systems |
| Time frame: 2006-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| Criminal Law in Reaction to State Crime | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Albin Eser; Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Prof. Dr. Jörg Arnold (Project Coordinator) | ||
| This project studies the functions and limits of criminal law in the processes of replacing pre-democratic political systems and of coming to terms with the wrongdoing of the old system in transitional or transformation societies. In the final analysis, there is no "best way" of employing the criminal law to deal with the past following political system change. Each individual country’s approach to transitional criminal law depends on its own particular policies with regard to dealing with the past and on its unique historical context. [more] | ||
| Resarch Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Severe human rights violations (state crime) |
Legal System(s): 23 countries worldwide; international criminal law |
| Time frame: 1996-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| Dealing with Dangerous, Criminally Responsible (Repeat) Offenders | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Priv.-Doz. Dr. Hans-Georg Koch | ||
| Criminal offenders who are very likely to commit serious crimes after serving their punishments constitute a great risk, a threat from which the general public expects to be protected. In a comparative legal study, we will address the following issues based on an analysis of some 15 legal systems: What special liberty-infringing legal consequences can be imposed on what group of offenders under what circumstances and under what legal conditions? [more] | ||
| Resarch Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Sanction system |
Legal System(s): 13 European countries, USA (2 states) |
| Time frame: 2008-2011 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
| Limits on the Protection of Legal Interests in the Criminalization of Incest | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Hans-Jörg Albrecht, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Dr. Konstanze Jarvers | ||
| In response to a request from Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court for an expert opinion, the Department of Criminal Law examined the treatment in the criminal law of consensual sexual activities between adult relatives. In a comparative legal section, the opinion analyzes the limits on the protection of legal interests in the legal systems of 22 countries, of which some provide for criminal punishment of various forms of incest and some do not. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Incest |
Legal System(s): 22 legal systems worldwide |
| Time frame: 2007-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| Widespread and Petty Crime and the Italian Justice of the Peace | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Konstanze Jarvers | ||
| To cope with widespread and petty crime in Italy, some of these offenses have been transferred to the jurisdiction of the justice of the peace (giudice di pace). This alternative justice system – which is marked by lenience and efficiency and by greater opportunities for victim participation – is thus put to the test. This study comes to the conclusion that the Italian reform, despite some shortcomings in the details, deserves a positive evaluation and provides food for thought for reform projects in one’s own country.nbsp; [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Widespread and petty crime |
Legal System(s): Italy |
| Time frame: 2004-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| The Role of Honor in Criminal Law | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Dr. Silvia Tellenbach | ||
| In times of advancing globalization, people with varying concepts of honor encounter one another more and more frequently. In light of this, the project examines the significance of honor in various aspects of criminal law on the basis of reports from 14 selected countries. A cross-sectional report draws conclusions. It can be shown, for example, that there are clear differences among the criminal defamation offenses and that mitigations of punishment for honor killing are granted in only a few countries. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Criminal offenses against honor |
Legal System(s): Various legal systems worldwide |
| Time frame: 1998-2007 |
Status: Completed |
Category: Institute project |
Third Research Focus:
Methodological Issues in Comparative Criminal Law and International Criminal Law Doctrine
| International Max Planck Information System for Comparative Criminal Law | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Dr. Konstanze Jarvers; Emily Silverman, J.D. (Berkeley Law), LL.M.; Dr. Susanne Forster; Dr. Karin Cornils | ||
| The pilot project analyzed the methods of comparative criminal law and the development of a universal canon of criminal law. Based on a detailed outline, 24 country reports on the General Part of criminal law are being prepared and comparatively analyzed. The resulting highly-structured collection of data also facilitates the development of a computer-based information system. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Comparative criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): No specific offense category (General Part of criminal law) |
Legal System(s): 24 legal systems worldwide |
| Time frame: 2004-2013 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| Comparison of the Structures of Criminal Law | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Albin Eser, M.C.J.; Prof. Dr. Walter Perron (Universität Freiburg) | ||
| In this project, the substantive criminal law of various countries is examined with respect to similarities and differences; special attention is paid to the specific interplay of normative rules and practical application. Hypothetical case scenarios involving the killing of an abusive spouse were designed in order to examine how the scenarios are categorized in each country under study and how they would proceed through each country's criminal justice system in practice. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Functional limits of criminal law; comparative criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Homicide offenses |
Legal System(s): 8 European legal systems |
| Time frame: 1995-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |
| Basic Values of Western and Islamic Criminal Law | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Mohammad Sadr Touhid-Khaneh LL.M. | ||
| By means of a value-based comparative criminal law analysis, this project investigates and compares the fundamental axioms, values, and techniques that distinguish western and Islamic criminal law. The research is designed to help promote understanding and tolerance as prerequisites for the necessary communication between the two legal systems regarding their fundamental similarities and differences. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Comparative criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): | Legal System(s): Germany Iran |
| Time frame: 2008-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Doctoral dissertation |
| Criminal Participation of Leaders in Offender Groups and Networks in a Latin American Model Criminal Code | ||
|---|---|---|
| Head(s) of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sieber; Jan-Michael Simon; Dr. Pablo Galain Palermo | ||
| In this project, the substantive criminal law of various countries is examined with respect to similarities and differences; special attention is paid to the specific interplay of normative rules and practical application. Hypothetical case scenarios involving the killing of an abusive spouse were designed in order to examine how the scenarios are categorized in each country under study and how they would proceed through each country's criminal justice system in practice. [more] | ||
| Research Focus(es): Territorial limits of criminal law |
Offense Category(ies): Organized crime; international crime |
Legal System(s): 9 Latin American countries |
| Time frame: 2006-2011 |
Status: In progress |
Category: Institute project |