Procedural Criminal Law
Code: 100457 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500257 Criminology | OB | 3 | 1 |
Contact
- Name:
- Arantza Libano Beristain
- Email:
- Arantza.Libano@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- spanish (spa)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- Yes
Teachers
- Juan Félix Alarcón Gutiérrez
Prerequisites
Do not apply.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The main goal of this course is that the student could be able to explain to anyone the basic structure of our Criminal process system. Especially it is intended that the student could be able to provide information to a defendant about the structure of the Criminal process, the different kinds of Courts, the parties that can be involved and about the legal appeals against the judgment.
Furthermore, others aims are the following ones: a) Ensure that the student can draw up a Criminological report required by the Judge during the pre-trial stage of the Criminal process and/or advise the Judge regarding the adoption of a precautionary measure against the accused; b) Ensure that the student can cooperate with the different institutions in charge of the investigation, particularly with the police.
Competences
- Ability to analyse and summarise.
- Clearly explaining and arguing a carried out analysis about a conflict or crime problem and its responses in front of specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Drawing up an academic text.
- Identifying the most appropriate and effective penal intervention for each particular case.
- Properly using the legal, psychological, pedagogical and sociological language.
- Respectfully interacting with other people.
- Students must demonstrate they know the legal framework and operating model of the crime control agents.
- Students must demonstrate they know the legal/penal response framework to criminality (constitutional law, police law, procedural law and criminal law).
- Using non-discriminatory and respectful language when referring to the several parties involved in conflict and criminality.
- Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
- Working autonomously.
Learning Outcomes
- Ability to analyse and summarise.
- Applying effectiveness criteria when using law in the field of criminology.
- Applying the constitutional law in the criminological field.
- Arguing criminality arguments in a verbal and polite way and without bias.
- Arguing with accuracy legal concepts at a forum.
- Drawing up an academic text.
- Effectively communicating by using specific law terms.
- Respectfully interacting with other people.
- Using the legislation and its means of implementation to the criminal act.
- Verbally transmitting ideas to an audience.
- Working autonomously.
Content
I. Constitution and criminal procedure
1. The constitutionalization of procedural rights
2. The consequences of the constitutonalization of procedural rights
3. Types of procedural rights
3.1. Right to an effective judicial protection
3.2. Prohibition of lack of defence
3.3. The right to the ordinary judge predetermined by the law
3.4. The right of defence
3.5. The right to be informed of the accusation
3.6. The right to a public trial
3.7. The right to proceedings with all the guarantees
3.8. The right to proceedings without undue delay
3.9. The right to the presumption of innocence
II The principles of the criminal process
1. Principles arising from the Constitution
2. Technical Principles
III. Systems of criminal prosecution
1. The accusatory system
2. The inquisitive system
3. The mixed system
4. The different functions of the criminal process
IV. The Spanish judicial organization
1. The criminal jurisdiction
2. Limits of the criminal jurisdiction
2.1. Territorial limits
2.2. Subjective limits
2.3. Objective limits
3. The criminal jurisdiction
3.1. The objective jurisdiction
3.2. The functional jurisdiction
3.3. The territorial jurisdiction
3.4. Connection between crimes
V. The activity of the parties in the criminal process
1. The criminal action
2. The civil action derived from the crime
VI. The parties in the criminal process
1. The concept of party in the criminal process
2. The prosecuting parties
2.1 The public prosecutor
2.2. The popular actor
2.3. The offended party
2.4. The private prosecutor
2.5. The civil actor
3. The accused parties
3.1. The investigated person
3.2. The responsible person in the civil action
4. The legal representation in the Criminal process
VII. Prevention measures in the criminal process
1. Notion and function of the prevention measures
2. Requirement to apply prevention measures
3. Elements
4. Kinds of preventive measures
5. Detention
6. Bail
7. Pre-trial detention
8. The procedure for adopting prevention measures.
VIII. The initiation of the criminal process
1. The criminal report
2. The criminal complaint
3. The initiation by the judge
IX. The investigation (Pre-trial stage)
1. Investigation measures
2. The end of the investigation
3. The dismissal
X. The trial stage
1. The accusation pleading (or provisional qualification)
2. Preliminary questions
3. The evidence
3.1. The trial as the only scenario of the evidence
3.2. The right to submit evidence
3.3. Means of proof
3.4. The evaluation of the evidence
3.5. The procedure of evidence
4. Suspension and interruption of the trial
XI. The end of the trial
1. The criminal judgement
2. The prejudicial questions
3. Effects of the judgment: res judicata
4. Challenging res judicata
XII. The appeal
1. Appeal and its effects
2. Appeals against the interlocutory orders.
3. Appeals against final judgments
3.1. The Ordinary appeal
3.2. The ordinary appeal against the judgments and interlocutory orders given by the Jury
3.3 The appeal in front the Supreme Court.
XIII. Ordinary criminal proceedings
1. The process for minor offenses
2. The abbreviated process
3. The process for serious offenses
4. The process for the trial by Jury
XIV Ordinary criminal proceedings (Cont.)
1. Summary judgements
2. The procedure for juvenile offenders
Methodology
Teaching will be mixed: lectures will be online and seminars face-to-face.
Teaching and assessment methods may be submitted to change in case health authorities impose restrictions to access to campus.
Teaching of “criminal process” will combine lectures and seminars. The first part of the class will be based on the lecturer’s explanation.
The second part of the class will be dedicated to the preparation, correction and commentary of works presented by the students, as well as to doubts and questions about topics raised by students.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Discussion and resolution of practical cases | 4.5 | 0.18 | 5, 4, 7, 8, 1, 10 |
| Practical cases | 15 | 0.6 | 5, 4, 7, 6, 8, 1, 10, 9 |
| Resolution of doubts, discussions and conferences | 4.5 | 0.18 | 2, 3, 5, 4, 7, 8 |
| Tasks revision | 15 | 0.6 | 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Assessment | 5 | 0.2 | 3, 5, 7, 6, 1 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study of the subject | 106 | 4.24 | 5, 4, 7, 8, 1, 9 |
Assessment
There is only one evaluation model: the “continuous evaluation”. Failure to comply with duties due to illness or other exceptional circumstances will be considered, provided there is a valid certification.
The final grade for the course will be obtained by the sum of the different works and papers that the student has to present (25%+25%), as well as by adding the score achieved in the test (50%).
The student that cheats or attempts to cheat in the exam will fail it and will lose the right to a second chance. Plagiarism will conduct to fail the essay.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exam | 50% | 0 | 0 | 2, 3, 7, 6, 1, 11, 9 |
| Papers | 25% | 0 | 0 | 2, 3, 5, 4, 7, 8, 9 |
| Works at class | 25% | 0 | 0 | 2, 3, 5, 4, 7, 6, 1, 10, 11 |
Bibliography
SOME POSSIBLE HANDBOOKS TO CONSULT:
Navarro-Villanueva, Carmen and Tamarit-Sumalla, Josep M. (2017). Introducción al derecho procesal penal: jurisdicción, competencia, partes y estatuto jurídico de la víctima. In M. Cugat-Mauri, J. Baucells-Lladós and M. Aguilar-Romo (Coords.). Manual de litigación penal (pp. 179-206). Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
Ramos-Méndez, Francisco (2016). Enjuiciamiento Criminal. Barcelona: Atelier.
Gimeno-Sendra, Vicente (2018). Manual de derecho procesal penal. Madrid: Castillo de Luna.
Nieva-Fenoll, Jordi and Bujosa Vadell, Lorenzo (Dirs.) (2016). Nociones preliminares de derecho procesal penal. Barcelona: Atelier.
Nieva-Fenoll, Jordi and Bujosa Vadell, Lorenzo (Dirs.) (2017). Nociones preliminares de derecho procesal penal para criminólogos. Barcelona: Atelier.
Nieva-Fenoll, Jordi (2019). Derecho procesal III: Proceso penal. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
Moreno-Catena, Víctor and Cortés-Domínguez, Valentín (2019). Derecho Procesal Penal. Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
Armenta-Deu, Teresa (2019). Lecciones de Derecho Procesal Penal. Barcelona: Marcial Pons.
Montero-Aroca, Juan, Gómez-Colomer, Juan L., Barona-Vilar, Silvia, Esparza-Leibar, Iñaki and Etxeberria-Guridi, José F. (2019). Derecho Jurisdiccional III. El proceso penal, Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.
Asencio-Mellado, José María (2019). Derecho Procesal Penal, Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch.