Controversies over cartoons, circumcisions or killings in the name of “honor”: There is an increasing tendency in multiculturalism to cause conflicts. How should criminal law deal with these issues? This question is being researched by Brian Valerius, legal scholar at the University of Würzburg, Germany.
Should a female teacher of Turkish descent be allowed to wear a Muslim headscarf in a public school? Is the husband in a German-Moroccan marriage entitled to punish his wife physically?
These are just some examples of problematic cross-cultural cases that German courts have been confronted with in recent years. In particular, criminal proceedings involving so-called “honor killings” have been in the spotlight of public attention.
“Academic studies on culture and criminal law …