Current Research Projects
Communication in the Courtroom: An Insight into Juvenile Criminal Court Trials at the Munich Criminal Court "Strafjustizzentrum München" (Clara Bante)
In juvenile criminal law, too, the trial represents the most important part of the criminal proceedings. Following the principle of education that underpins the juvenile criminal law, (Section 2(1), second sentence of the German Juvenile Criminal Justice Act (JGG)), the trial requires communication that is appropriate for young people. Keeping this in mind, the research project examines barriers to and enabling factors of communication in the context of juvenile criminal court trials. For this purpose, observation forms containing qualitative and quantitative elements – completed by law students who attend trials at the Munich Criminal Court involving juvenile and adolescent defendants as part of their mandatory internship – will be analysed. The aim is to examine the extent to which the findings identified in the existing literature can be applied to the Munich sample.
Fines in Juvenile Criminal Proceedings: An Exploratory Study on the Practice of Fines at the Munich Criminal Court "Strafjustizzentrum München" (Leonardo Gabrielli)
Accounting for 16–18 %, fines are one of the most significant sanctions in juvenile criminal law. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of empirical research on their application in practice. The project takes this as an opportunity to conduct an exploratory study of the imposition of fines at the Munich Criminal Court. To this end, data from observation logs – completed by law students at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München as part of their mandatory internship from August to November 2025 – will be analysed.
Information and Briefing in Juvenile Criminal Investigation Proceedings: The Perspective of Young People (Amelie Grupp & Jianing Li)
The Directive (EU) 2016/800 of the European Parliament and of the Council on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings aims to establish EU-wide minimum standards for the protection of accused minors. To date, there has been very little empirical research into the comprehensibility and practical impact of the information forms used in Germany. As part of the project, the information forms used in the individual federal states will be systematically compared. Furthermore, the comprehensibility of these forms for young people will be examined using qualitative methods.
To What Extent Does Radicalisation Influence Outpatient Social-Educational Services for Young People Who Have Committed Offences? (Caterina Gullo)
This exploratory study investigates the significance of radicalisation phenomena in the day-to-day work of youth service professionals. Through guided interviews with practitioners, the study aims to gather initial findings on perceptions, professional needs and possible prevention approaches.
The Perception of the Physical Environment in Criminal Court Buildings – A Qualitative Study in the Context of the Relocation of the Munich Criminal Court "Strafjustizzentrum München" (Emilia Hens & Emilie Zeeb)
The spatial design of criminal court buildings and their courtrooms is often regarded as of secondary importance in legal practice, although it can have a significant influence on the experience of criminal proceedings. The forthcoming relocation of the Munich Criminal Court offers a rare opportunity to conduct a systematic and comparative study of perceptions during the transition between two different spatial contexts. Data collection for this research project will be carried out through qualitative, guided interviews with law students at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München who attend juvenile criminal court hearings as part of their mandatory internship.
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Juvenile Criminal Law – Need, Limits and Possibilities of a Specific Order (Felicitas Knoll)
Among young offenders, there is an above-average prevalence of ADHD. This suggests a link between ADHD and delinquent behaviour, which could reveal challenges for the practice of juvenile criminal law. Against this background, this article examines the conditions under which a specific order for the treatment of young offenders with ADHD would be practically advantageous, legally permissible and ethically justifiable within the context of juvenile criminal law. Based on the current state of research and an analysis of the legal framework, the possibilities and limitations of such an approach will be identified. In addition, practical perspectives from experts (youth courts, youth court support services and youth psychiatry) are gathered and evaluated through interviews. The aim is to develop a needs-based proposal for a directive that enables individualised support without reducing young people to their diagnosis or strengthening stigmatisation.
