The Fault Element in the History of German Criminal Theory: With Some General Conclusions for the Rules of Imputation in a Legal System

This paper tries to explain against the backdrop of the history of German criminal theory why and in which way the fault elements are seen differently in Germany and in Anglo-American countries. It shows how Feuerbach’s psychological model of guilt convinced Feuerbach’s German contemporaries in the 19th century that the suppression of the actual will to violate a criminal prohibition must be the reason for punishment. For such deterrence theory, direct intention is the central criterion of imputation. There is no room for extensions like indirect intention. The resulting gap was filled by representatives of the will theory who created dolus eventualis as a criterion of imputation. The paper then concentrates on the gradual change which dolus eventualis has undergone due to the development of a ‘normative’ concept of guilt, i.e. a perception of guilt as a failure to live up to certain expected standards. It is outlined how the normative concept of guilt has facilitated Welzel’s decision to transplant dolus from the guilt level to the level of definitional elements. Transferring dolus to the definitional level led to a further change from a primarily voluntative to a cognitive content of the notion. It became appropriate to view dolus eventualis as acceptance of the prohibited state of affairs. For reasons of clarification the terms dolus eventualis and recklessness are compared in an annex to the paper.     

Feststellung der energiepolitischen Notwendigkeit des Tagebaus Garzweiler II nach 48 KVBG – Eine verbindliche Vorgabe für die Fachplanung

Natur und Recht - Nach der Zustimmung des Bundestages zum öffentlich-rechtlichen Vertrag zur Beendigung der Braunkohleverstromung und dessen Unterzeichnung am 10.2.2021 steht der Ausstieg aus...     

Does the messenger matter? A comparison of the effects of Eurosceptic messages communicated by mainstream and radical right-wing parties on citizens’ EU attitudes

The fact that the European elections in 2014 resulted in an unprecedented success for Eurosceptic parties raises questions concerning the influence of political elites on citizens’ Euroscepticism. This paper examines whether Eurosceptic messages have a different impact when communicated by mainstream right-wing parties vs. their more radical counterparts. We do so using data from a survey experiment conducted in Germany in 2013. Our results show that Eurosceptic messages from mainstream parties significantly increase Euroscepticism among voters but that those effects are confined largely to “in”-partisans. Furthermore, when a message is effective among “out”-partisans, it is due to a combined effect of source and message credibility. This holds true for both mainstream and radical right parties suggesting that contrary to expectations, the former do not enjoy any advantage over the latter in terms of perceived credibility.     

A sudden death with lung embolism after inadvertent infusion of zinc oxide shake lotion

A 74-year old woman in postoperative treatment after a colonic surgery died immediately after perfusion of about 1.5 mL of a white emulsion which was believed to contain 1% propofol via cardiac catheter into the right atrium. It was strongly suspected that a syringe with a zinc oxide shake lotion (consisting of 20% ZnO, 20% talc, 25% glycerol and 35% water) which was intended for external treatment had been mistaken for the propofol syringe. During autopsy, an anatomic cause of death could not be found. In order to exclude an intoxication and to determine the significance of the perfusion fluid in this context, toxicological and histological investigations were performed. Propofol and other drugs applied to the patient were found in therapeutic or sub-therapeutic range. However, in comparison to a control case, the zinc concentrations determined by AAS were about 200 times higher in lung tissue, 10 times higher in heart blood and 3–4 times higher in kidney and liver tissue. No increase was seen in venous blood. Histology showed a strong embolism of the lung tissue with birefingent sharp-edged crystals, which were identified as the talcum, and an amorphous component (ZnO). The same embolism was seen to a medium extent also in the brain sections and to a low extent in heart, liver, pancreas and kidney. Pulmonary embolism by talcum and zinc oxide was established as the cause of death which occurred by syringe swap due to insufficient security precautions in the drug administration. The results are discussed in context of pulmonary microembolism cases frequently described for drug addicts after injection of crashed talcum containing tablets.     

A European Public Choice perspective

Invited lecture in honor of Gordon Tullock at the meeting of The Public Choice Society in New Orleans, 15–17 March 1991.     

Seat biases of apportionment methods for proportional representation

In proportional representation systems, an important issue is whether a given apportionment method favors larger parties at the expense of smaller parties. For an arbitrary number of parties, ordered from largest to smallest by their vote counts, we calculate (apparently for the first time) the expected differences between the seat allocation and the ideal share of seats, separately for each party, as a function of district magnitude, with a particular emphasis on three traditional apportionment methods. These are (i) the quota method with residual fit by greatest remainders, associated with the names of Hamilton and Hare, (ii) the divisor method with standard rounding (Webster, Sainte-Laguë), and (iii) the divisor method with rounding down (Jefferson, Hondt). For the first two methods the seat bias of each party turns out to be practically zero, whence on average no party is advantaged or disadvantaged. On the contrary, the third method exhibits noticeable seat biases in favor of larger parties. The theoretical findings are confirmed via empirical data from the German State of Bavaria, the Swiss Canton Solothurn, and the US House of Representatives.     

Aggressive,Delinquent, and Violent Outcomes of School Bullying: Do Family and Individual Factors Have a Protective Function?

Bullying perpetration at school is a long-term predictor of aggression, delinquency, and violence. Most research concentrates on risk factors for such developments, whereas protective factors have been rarely addressed. Therefore, the present study investigates potentially protective effects of family and child characteristics in a prospective longitudinal design. The sample contained 519 youngsters (253 boys and 266 girls) from the Erlangen-Nuremberg Development and Prevention Study. Bullying perpetration was measured at age 9.0 years, mothers’ and children's reports on family and individual characteristics were collected at age 10.6, and outcomes in self-reported aggressive/violent offending and mother-reported aggressive and delinquent behavior were collected at age 13.7. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed main effects and interactions. The latter suggest buffering protective effects of consistent discipline in parenting and children's intelligence, positive attitude to school, prosocial behavior skills, low hyperactivity/inattention, and an anxious/depressive mood. The findings varied across the two outcome measures and with regard to gender. Implications for further research and prevention practice are discussed.     

Organaußenhaftung für Anlegerschäden

Im Zuge der Liquidation von Anlegersch?den stellt sich immer wieder die Frage, unter welchen Voraussetzungen Gesch?digte auch unmittelbar auf Organmitglieder zugreifen k?nnen. Grunds?tzlich haften Vorstands- und Aufsichtsratsmitglieder nur im Innenverh?ltnis gegenüber "ihrer" Gesellschaft. Eine Haftung unmittelbar gegenüber gesch?digten Anlegern bedarf deshalb eines besonderen Verpflichtungsgrundes, der wie auch sonst auf deliktischer oder (vor)vertraglicher Grundlage beruhen kann. Der Beitrag soll nicht nur einen überblick über m?gliche, in vielen verschiedenen Gesetzen verstreute Anspruchsgrundlagen bieten, sondern diese auch systematisieren, soweit erforderlich vertieft analysieren, zu Streitfragen Stellung nehmen und – aus Sicht des Autors – Fehlentwicklungen korrigieren.