Abstract

Initiated by the author an empirical investigation into the development of the sense of right and wrong has been conducted in children between the ages of 3 and 13 years in 2001 and 2002. Firstly the author reviews the actual state of knowledge and - following a short overview of the feasible scientific methods - he describes the method of the present investigation. Semistructured interviews were focused on the childlike points of view concerning problems of civil law (e.g. possession and property, binding to contracts) and criminal law (e.g. violation of property rights, accountability of conduct, esp. participation and attempt). It turned out that certain pre-judicial beliefs are apparently inborn and maturate while children grow up, but are also influenced by specific imprinting processes within the cultural background. Natural law, up to now mainly philosophically grounded, obtains hereby for the first time a differentiated empiric basis.