Racism – a challenge for the judicial system

theme No.: 41d
responsible federal state: Federal Government
date: 17.12.2023 - 20.12.2023

The conference is aimed first and foremost at Public Prosecutors and criminal law judges. The rise of populism has led to coarser forms of public discourse, and racist utterances are finding their way into political discussions. At the same time, the incidence of racially motivated offences are increasing and racist ideas are seeping into mainstream ways of thinking. What are the consequences of these developments for the judiciary? What are the difficulties and issues caused for the judiciary in this context, for example, when prosecuting racially motivated offences, or when having to deal with racism in the courtroom? These are the issues which will be discussed during the seminar.
An outline of interdisciplinary background knowledge will be provided. Participants will be given an opportunity to discuss their own perceptions and the ways in which individuals’ attitudes are shaped on a subconscious level. In addition to this, there will be a focus on practical exercises and interactive case studies, which will give the participants the chance to learn how to recognise racist motives and how to take them into account when passing sentence.

The conference will be advertised to members of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), because, as well of being of interest to participants in Germany, it is likely to be of particular interest to participants from elsewhere.

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