Andrew von Hirsch

Who is Andrew von Hirsch?

Andrew von Hirsch is a legal philosopher and penal theorist and the founding Director of the Centre for Penal Theory and Penal Ethics at the Institute of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. He is also Honorary Professor of Penal Theory and Penal Law at Cambridge University, and an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College.

Andrew von Hirsch has also been Adjunct Professor of Penology in the Law Faculty of the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He holds an honorary doctorate of laws from that institution, and an LL.D. from Cambridge University, an AB and a LL.D from Harvard University.

In 2007, von Hirsch was named Honorary Professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Frankfurt in Germany. He is founder and director of a new research center on penal theory at Frankfurt, entitled "Forschungsstelle für Strafrechtstheorie und Strafrechtsethik".

Von Hirsch's philosophical theories about penal theory and criminal law have generated an enormous body of independent literature. Von Hirsch has also been recognized by a number of distinguished scholars in, Fundamentals of Sentencing Theory: Essays in Honour of Andrew von Hirsch, edited by Andrew Ashworth and Martin Wasik.