Opening of the new Ethics Center in Heidelberg: A milestone for science!

Opening of the new Ethics Center in Heidelberg: A milestone for science!

On September 26, 2025, the Camilla and Georg Jellinek Center for Ethics at Heidelberg University was officially opened. This newly founded interdisciplinary center aims to promote exchange on ethical topics and to coordinate cooperation between scientists from different disciplines in ethics research. The center also serves as a central contact point for ethical issues in research and teaching in order to ensure a strong examination of the challenges of ethics as part of scientific practice and professionalism. In addition, a participatory dialogue between science and society is promoted.

The founding board of the center consists of Prof. Dr. Dr. Eva Winkler, who is responsible for translational medical ethics at the Heidelberg Medical Faculty, and Prof. Dr. Thorsten Moos, Professor of Systematic Theology and Ethics at the Theological Faculty of Heidelberg University. The naming of the center commemorates the important contributions of Camilla and Georg Jellinek. Georg Jellinek was a professor of constitutional law, international law and politics at the University of Heidelberg between 1851 and 1911 and was intensively concerned with human and civil rights as well as social ethics. Camilla Jellinek, women's rights activist and honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University, was honored with this award in 1930.

Opening event

The opening event attracted numerous guests, including members of Heidelberg University and the interested public. Rector Prof. Dr. Frauke Melchior gave an introductory speech, followed by contributions from various research fields. An English lecture by Prof. Simpson focused on “The Highest Form That Civilization Can Reach: Exploring Trust and its Foundations”. This was followed by a symposium on the topic of “Trust,” which addressed the question “Why Trust Matters – and How it Fails. On Confidence in Individuals, Institutions, and Professions.”

Initiatives for child justice in the justice system

Parallel to the opening of the Ethics Center, the German Institute for Human Rights is shedding light on child justice in criminal proceedings. To this end, the institute and the Children's Rights Coordination Office of the German Children's Fund are carrying out a project that will run from January 2023 to December 2024. The aim is to obtain an overview of the implementation of child rights-based criteria in the criminal justice system in Germany and to develop suggestions for improvement based on this.

The methodology includes quantitative online surveys of the judicial administrations of all federal states as well as qualitative interviews with specialists in five federal states to identify both obstacles and good practices. Initial results show a different implementation of child-friendly justice in the federal states, with a need for action particularly with regard to responsibilities, structural anchoring and compliance with minimum standards.

Financing and outlook

The project is financed by the German Institute for Human Rights' own funds and by the German Children's Fund, which in turn receives funds from the Federal Ministry for Families, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The results of the current survey are intended to contribute to strengthening children's rights in the justice system and to developing child rights-based monitoring.
Further details about these initiatives can be found on the websites of the respective institutions: University of Heidelberg, Institute for Human Rights, and Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg.