Comparative Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure

6 ECTS credits
150 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4000745FEW for working students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

1st semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

English

Partnership Agreement

Under bilateral Erasmus agreement
Under interuniversity agreement for degree program

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

Publiek recht

Educational team

Daniel De Wolf (course titular)

Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
120 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course studies the criminal law and criminal procedural law of some European countries in comparative perspective, mostly neighbours to Belgium. This is done through a comparison of the institutions and rules in this field. Further a link is made with European law (both EU and the ECHR) and examines the role of harmonisation of national law through Europe. Therefor the study is put into a European perspective.

The aim of the course is first to have a good (thus not the details) knowledge of these systems. Further, the aim is to look at things in a different way, this is trough comparison and by putting the national law in a European perspective. With a comparative study of the different rules of law, one will look at the differences and similarities in the different countries and to common evolutions and trends. The purpose is a better understanding of the own law system, but also being able to look at solutions for problems that occur in each country. One should also become aware of the importance of European law on the national law and in particular of the harmonisation that has been achieved in different parts of criminal law and procedure by introducing common standards or rules all over Europe.

The course consists of three parts, a first one as introduction, a second part regarding the criminal law and a final third part regarding criminal justice and procedure.

After a short rehearsal of the comparative method (not for the exam), some specificities of the comparative method in the field of criminal law and criminal procedure are explained in the in the introduction. Next, the course explains the importance of the European context of criminal law and procedure today. Follows a brief introduction to European criminal law and the role of Europe in harmonisation of criminal law and criminal procedure,

In the second part the Criminal Law in Europe is studied. The focus is on what on the continent is called the general part of the criminal law and not on the study of the offences. Some topics will be studied in French, English and German law. These topics are: characteristics of criminal law and layers of criminal liability, principle of legality, actus reus and mens rea, causation, defences, attempt, participation, liability of legal persons and AI. By putting the rules next to each other and studying the same concepts a comparative reflection can be made. Finally, the limited harmonisation in this field is explained.

In the third part some institutions and rules of the criminal Justice and the rules of Criminal Procedure are examined of some European countries. More in particular, parts of the law of France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and England are studied trough certain topics. These are: judicial organization, prosecutor's office, pre-trial procedure and the pre-trial judge, plea-bargaining and alternative procedures, pre-trial detention (other of further topics can be announced in the lectures). By putting the institutions and rules next to each other and studying the same concepts a comparative reflection can be made. Finally, some examples of harmonisation of criminal procedure trough European law will be studied. Following topics will be studied: right to be assisted by a lawyer, right of translation and an interpreter, rights for victims. The implementation of these rules in national law will also be examined.

Course material

Digital course material (Required) : Comparative criminal law and procedure in a European context, D. De Wolf, yearlu 2023, Canvas, 2023
Digital course material (Recommended) : Legal texts, Canvas
Digital course material (Required) : Syllabus / Reader Criminal law in Europe, 1ste ed. 2023, 2023

Additional info

None.

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

The student has with the help of legal texts, a good knowledge of the main rules of criminal law and procedure in France, Germany and the Netherlands and for some parts England.
The student is undependably able to analyse the own law system by comparing it with the law of another country.
The student can show the connexion between studied legal rules.
The student give an explanation for the existence of rules of laws in the studied law systems.
The student can summarize the evolutions and trends of the law in the studied law systems.
The student can give by itself solutions for problems and evaluate them with other solutions.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Examen Mondeling with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Oral exam: two questions, one from the criminal part and one from the procedural part. The questions can be prepared in written during 15-20 minutes. Some short additional questions can be asked during the exam.

Legal texts can be used during the exam. It is not allowed to provide legal texts with notes, but highlighting or underlining is allowed.

The use of an English dictionary is allowed.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context