Holm Putzke (1973) is a professor for criminal law at the

University of Passau The University of Passau (''Universität Passau'' in German) is a public research university located in Passau, Lower Bavaria, Germany. Founded in 1973, it is the youngest university in Bavaria and consequently has the most modern campus in the ...

, Germany.

Education and career

Putzke studied law at the Faculty of Law of the

University of Bochum The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began in ...

and passed the First State Examination in Law 1997, followed by the Second State Examination in Law in 2002. In 2003 he received the PhD in law and 2009 the Master of Laws (LL.M.) at the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

of Kraków/Poland. From 2002 until 2003 he was a graduate teaching assistant at the chair of criminal law, criminal procedure law and general legal philosophy (Professor Dr. Rolf Dietrich Herzberg) at the Faculty of Law, University of Bochum (research in and teaching of criminal law, criminal procedure law and juvenile criminal justice) and from 2003 until 2010 an associate professor at the chair of criminology, criminal policy and police science at the faculty of law, University of Bochum (researcher and lecturer for criminal law, criminal procedure law and juvenile criminal justice). Since 2010 Putzke is a professor (tenured) and works also as a criminal defence lawyer. He is a member of the advisory boards of the Institute for Secular Law and the

Giordano Bruno Foundation The Giordano Bruno Foundation (, abbreviated: gbs) is a Germany-based non-profit foundation under public law that promotes evolutionary humanism and the enlightenment. It was founded by entrepreneur Herbert Steffen in 2004 and was named after G ...

. Putzke worked as an expert for the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (2005), and for the project Juveniles' Rights in Criminal Procedure and Guarantees to their Practical Implementation in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

on behalf of the

Soros Foundation Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the st ...

—Kazakhstan (2005), and on behalf

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

(2003) and

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

(2003) as well.

Main interests

Putzke's main fields of interest are criminal law, criminal procedural law, criminal law relating to young offenders and relating to economic offenses, and criminology.

Legality of male circumcision

In 2012, Putzke became known for his work on the legality of

male circumcision Circumcision is a Medical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the fores ...

. On May 7, 2012, a court in

Cologne, Germany Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...

ruled that circumcision was "inflicting bodily harm on boys too young to consent", deciding that the practice contravenes the "interests of the child to decide later in life on his religious beliefs". This worldwide discussed decision based on the article "Die strafrechtliche Relevanz der Beschneidung von Knaben" ("Criminal Relevance of Circumcising Boys"), published by Holm Putzke in 2008. This article was the first one in Germany which broach the issue; his article had a significant influence for the whole discussion about circumcision as criminal assault in Germany. Putzke's 2008 article set the stage for Germany's legal view of infant circumcision. In the article, he stated, "There are no compelling arguments which can justify a religious circumcision of minors. Without effective consent, the assault is illegal. A physician should refuse to perform a circumcision if it is not medically indicated." In the wake of Germany's controversial ruling, Putzke has been in the media spotlight, receiving threats of drowning and forcible circumcision. Putzke's work swayed significant the current debate in Germany. Putzke argues "that medically unnecessary operations should be delayed until a patient is capable of deciding whether to have a part of his genitals cut off".''Let Boys Decide at 16''
11 July 2012, Retrieved 18 June 2014.

Bibliography (selection)

* *

Reinhard Merkel Reinhard Merkel (born 12 April 1950) is a professor in criminal law and philosophy of law and a retired West German swimmer. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in the 200 m and 400 m individual medley and finished in sixth place in the lat ...

; Holm Putzke (2013). ''After Cologne: male circumcision and the law. Parental right, religious liberty or criminal assault?''. In: Journal of Medical Ethics (JME), p. 444–44

* *Holm Putzke; Joerg Scheinfeld; Gisela Klein; Udo Undeutsch (2009). ''Polygraphische Untersuchungen im Strafprozess. Neues zur faktischen Validität und normativen Zulässigkeit des vom Beschuldigten eingeführten Sachverständigenbeweises''. In: Zeitschrift für die gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft 121 (2009), p. 607–64

*Holm Putzke (2008). ''Die strafrechtliche Relevanz der Beschneidung von Knaben. Zugleich ein Beitrag über die Grenzen der Einwilligung in Fällen der Personensorge''. In: Festschrift für Rolf Dietrich Herzberg, p. 669–709
PDF; 7,12 MB
. Translation: ''Criminal Relevance of Circumcising Boys. A Contribution to the Limitation of Consent in Cases of Care for the Person of the Child.'
PDF; 142 KB
translated by Katharina McLarren. *

References

External links

*
Website from Professor Dr. Holm Putzke at the University of Passau

Website from Professor Dr. Holm Putzke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Putzke, Holm Living people Jurists from Saxony 1973 births Academic staff of the University of Passau