Proportionality in Theory and Practice II: Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives

The conference will examine proportionality from an interdisciplinary and comparative standpoint. Does proportionality figure and function similarly across various fields and disciplines?  Or, does it at best encompass a variety of loosely related principles and practices? And, within a single field that extends across diverse cultures, does recourse to proportionality lead to similar outcomes, or does it only provide a construct that in the end valorizes distinct cultural and ideological particularities? For example, it has been suggested that proportionality has become a quasi-universal standard of constitutional law. Should that lead to a worldwide confluence in the definition and protection of fundamental rights? Or should it point to a justification of differences across constitutional cultures?

The conference will address these questions as they relate to the fields of moral and political philosophy, constitutional and criminal law, medicine and aesthetics/architecture.

Program

Thursday, June 14

2 p.m. Welcoming Remarks

1. Moral and Political Philosophy (2:15 p.m.)

Richard Bernstein, Vera List Professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research, New York
Julia Driver, Professor of Philosophy, Washington University, St. Louis
Stefan Gosepath, Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt
Mattias Iser, Research Fellow in Political Theory and Philosophy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt

Break (4:15 p.m - 4:45 p.m)

2. Constitutional Law (4:45 p.m.)

Hon. Susanne Baer, German Constitutional Court Justice, Karlsruhe
Hon. Aharon Barak, former President of the Supreme Court, Professor of Law at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Mattias Kumm, Research Professor at the Social Science Research Center Berlin, Professor of Law at New York University
Michel Rosenfeld, Justice Sydney L. Robins Professor of Human Rights, Cardozo Law School, New York

7:30 p.m Dinner


Friday, June 15

3. Criminal Law (10:00 a.m.)

Monika Frommel, Professor of Criminal Law and Legal Philosophy, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
Klaus Günther, Professor of Legal Theory and Criminal Law, Goethe-University, Frankfurt
Andrew von Hirsch, Honorary Professor of Criminal Law, Goethe-University, Frankfurt

12:15 p.m Lunch

4. Medicine (2 p.m.)

Govert A. den Hartogh, Professor (em.) of Ethics and its History, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam
Christian Kind, Professor of Medicine, Director, Children’s Hospital St. Gallen, President Central Ethics Committee SAMW, St. Gallen
Tia Powell, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York
Bettina Schöne-Seifert, Professor of Medical Ethics and Philosophy, University of Münster

Coffee Break (4:00 - 4:30)

5. Aesthetics/Architecture (4:30 p.m)

Horst Bredekamp, Professor of Art History, Humboldt-University, Berlin
Sabine Frommel, Professor of Art History and Directeur d’études, Ecole pratique des hautes études, Université Paris-Sorbonne
Dipl.-Ing. Henry Ripke, Architect, Berlin
Martin Seel, Professor of Philosophy, Goethe-University, Frankfurt

7:30 p.m Dinner

This conference is free and open to the public. No registration required.

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