LFU:online

Students possess specialized knowledge of key social science approaches in the described content focus. They are capable of reflecting on a selection of theoretical and empirical inquiries concerning the sociology of law in relation to these approaches and analyzing them through a reciprocal intertwining of theory and empiricism. With regard to the thematic focus of the seminar, they are capable of independently engaging in social science analysis of the social functions, practical implementation, and effects of law and legal institutions.

In the context of individuals with disabilities or mental illness, there appears to be a heightened degree of uncertainty regarding their ability to adequately exercise their rights and obligations as legal subjects in the absence of specialized protection and support. The aspect of endangerment assumes a pivotal role in pertinent legal frameworks that govern various domains, including representation in legal transactions, compulsory admission to psychiatric institutions, and restrictions on freedom within institutionalized homes. This concept serves to legitimize both legal restrictions and protective measures. On the one hand, the objective is to safeguard individuals with disabilities or mental illness from various hazards and to support them to exercise their rights. Conversely, they are perceived as posing a threat, whether to themselves or to others. Dangerous deviations from the norm and caring protection are linked in numerous ways and in an ambivalent manner.

The issue outlined above possesses social significance that extends beyond the affected populations. not only can potentially anyone be affected by such measures (e.g., by developing a mental illness or dementia in old age), rather, social definitions of normality and deviation—and their historical change—are manifested in the genesis of law, legal norms, and the application of law. The topic can also be used to analyze how the relationship between freedom and security is interpreted, addressed, and balanced in interaction with the societal context.

In the seminar, we will address key questions in sociology (of law) and the social sciences that can be adressed to the areas of "adult protection law", "law on involuntary commitment" and "Heimaufenthaltsgesetz" (residential stay law), as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities:

• Social construction, processing, and transformation of uncertainty and endangerment in law and legal practice
• Prognosis and prevention: from efforts to tame the uncertain future
• From incapacitation to becoming a subject in law: legal capacity between “reasonable” decision-making competence and the foundation of fundamental or human rights 
• The tension between restriction of freedom and therapy (or education, etc.): on the paradoxical intertwining of state coercive powers and professional help
• Decision-making and responsibility: decision-making dilemmas, responsibility processing and risk avoidance in (non-)decision-making
• Judicial decision-making under great uncertainty: differing “court cultures,” unfamiliar terrain, and interdisciplinary negotiation requirements