In this volume, the commission on The Function of the Law in History and Today of the Göttinger Akademie der Wissenschaften (Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities) presents the results of its 15th symposium Penal Law in a Social Constitutional State. The contributions explore legitimacy issues and forms of punishment by the state from various perspectives. These include the instrumentalization of punishment by the state, the power to impose punishment and its purposes, the conception of man forming the basis of penal law, the provisions of constitutional law regarding the assessment of penalty as well as the legal context of pardons and grants of reprieve.

Autorentext

Eva Schumann, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen