Svenja Schwartz

Svenja Schwartz is a Doctoral Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, affiliated with the Criminal Law Department under Prof. Dr. Tatjana Hörnle. She holds a Doctoral scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation and focuses on criminal law theory, legal theory, and international criminal law. Her research explores gaps in criminal policy, particularly regarding willful blindness and mistakes of fact in legal contexts.

Education:

• LL.M. in Transnational Crime and Justice (2021–2022) – University for Peace & UN ICJRI
• First State Exam in Law (2021) – Bucerius Law School
• Exchange Semester (2018) – University of St. Gallen
• Law Studies (2016–2021) – Bucerius Law School

Research Projects:

• All Blame for Ignorance? (Co-lead): Examines legal accountability for willful blindness in criminal conduct across jurisdictions.
• Willful Ignorance (Lead): Analyzes German law’s treatment of mistakes of fact under §16 I StGB and proposes policy reforms.

Affiliations: Member of the Independent Research Group ‘Criminal Law Theory’ at the Max Planck Institute.