Lukas Huthmann, Johanna Nickels, Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Law, Criminal Law (WE 2)

The connection between human rights and criminal law, historically conceived as a limitation on state power, is increasingly being viewed as a basis for criminal law in both politics and the legal sphere. Substantial protective and emancipatory functions are attributed to criminal law in both of these realms. This shift has been criticized from a liberal perspective on criminal law, as well as from an intersectional-feminist and decolonial standpoint, due to the actual legal consequences it entails. The research group therefore analytically examines the extent to which and how this transformation can be empirically traced in law and politics, and how it can be normatively assessed from legal and social science perspectives. The research group is aimed at advanced students of law (specialization) and social sciences (from the 4th semester onwards) who are interested in exploring interdisciplinary research.