2020/2021
Criminal Law I
Code: 102252 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500786 Law | FB | 1 | 1 |
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.
Contact
- Name:
- Mercedes García Arán
- Email:
- Mercedes.Garcia@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
- Some groups entirely in English:
- No
- Some groups entirely in Catalan:
- Yes
- Some groups entirely in Spanish:
- Yes
Teachers
- María José Cuenca García
- Margarita Bonet Esteva
- Fermín Morales Prats
- Jaume Antich Soler
- Antonio Cardona Barber
- Eduardo Celma Hernandez
Prerequisites
There are not prerequisites for this course. However, students will understand it more appropriately if they have already taken and passed the courses on Constitutional Organization of State and Theory of Law.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the specificity of Criminal Law as an instrument of conflict resolution. The course mainly aims to make students knowledgeable about concepts such as: criminal norms, constitutional basics of criminal law, sentencing and security measures. Moreover, it is intended for enabling students in using the concepts and terminology of criminal law in a proper way. In order to do this, the reading of legal texts and the working out of practical cases will be carried out.
Competences
- Acquiring the basic knowledge from the several legal dogmas and presenting them in public.
- Arguing and laying the foundation for the implementation of legal standards.
- Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
- Drawing up and formalising works, reports, documents, rulings.
- Efficiently managing information, being capable of assimilating a considerable volume of data in a limited amount of time.
- Identifying, knowing and applying the basic and general principles of the legal system.
- Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
- Mastering the computing techniques when it comes to obtaining legal information (legislation databases, jurisprudence, bibliography...) and in data communication.
- Planning and organising: managing of time, resources, etc.
- Presenting in front of an audience the problems of a concrete law suit, the applicable legal regulations, and the most consistent solutions.
- Searching, interpreting and applying legal standards, arguing every case.
- Using the main constitutional principles and values as a working tool in the interpretation of the legal system.
Learning Outcomes
- Arguing the implementation of criminal laws in the resolution of criminal problems.
- Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
- Distinguishing the applicable legislation between the criminal code and special criminal laws.
- Distinguishing the basic knowledge of criminal law.
- Drawing up and formalising works, reports, documents, rulings.
- Efficiently managing information, being capable of assimilating a considerable volume of data in a limited amount of time.
- Identifying and knowing the main principles of criminal law.
- Identifying, knowing and applying the legislation and criminal principles to a concrete case.
- Introducing in the classroom the defence or accusation of criminal cases.
- Laying the foundation for the implementation of criminal laws in the resolution of criminal problems.
- Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
- Planning and organising: managing of time, resources, etc.
- Searching criminal sentences in databases.
- Solving interpretation and application problems of criminal laws.
- Using the main constitutional principles and values as a working tool in the interpretation of the legal system.
- Verbally explaining the resolution of problems related to criminal laws.
Content
. Criminal Law: Criminal Law as an instrument of social control. Norms of criminal law: structure, elements and functions. Relationship between criminal law and administrative law penalties.
. Sciences of Criminal Law and other related disciplines: Criminology, Crime Policy, Dogmatic of Criminal Law, and so on. Relationship between substantive and procedural criminal law.
. Sources of criminal law and their interpretation: direct and indirect sources. Interpretation and subsumption. Conceptual tools for interpretation, especially analogy.
. Legitimacy of Criminal Law. Theories of punishment: absolute, relative and mixed theories. State of play in the Spanish criminal system.
. Constraints to the punitive power of the State. Principle of minimum intervention. Principle of exclusive protection of legal goods. Principle of equality. Principle of liability. Principle of humanity. Principle of legality.
. Principle of legality: foundations. Constitutional guarantees derived from the principle of legality. Principle of reservation to “ley orgánica”. Legal certainty. “Non bis in idem”. Legislative techniques in criminal law.
. Time in criminal law. Principle of non-retroactivity. Reforms of criminal law and transitional situations.
. Space in criminal law. The principle of territoriality. Exceptions: extraterritoriality cases. Prosecution of crime within European Union. International criminal law and national criminal law in the international context .International Criminal Court Extradition.
. Individuals in criminal law. Principles of equality, inviolability, immunity, privileged jurisdiction.
. Sanctioning in the Spanish criminal system. Principles and classification. Capital punishment. Civil liability as a result of a crime.
. Sentencing implementation. Basic principles of the Spanish prison system. Phasing in model in penitentiary regime and rehabilitation programs. Judicialcontrol on sentencing implementation.
. Alternative sentencing: conditional sentences, strangers, conditional release. Mediation
. Security measures in the Spanish criminal system. Regime, typology, implementation . The juvenile justice system in Spain (L.O. 5/2000).
Methodology
1) Directed activities (seminars, theorical classes. work in the classroom). 2) Tutorials. 3) Autonomous activities. Attendanbcew alt seminars, exceptin some case of justified reason, will be compulsory for students
During the health risk, the theorical classes will be virtual, the practical classdes, face-to-face. The methodology may change due to sanitary norms
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Practical classes | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 2, 3, 10, 7, 8, 5, 14, 15 |
| Theorical classes | 20 | 0.8 | 4, 7, 8, 15 |
| Work in the classroom | 16.5 | 0.66 | 1, 2, 16, 10, 6, 11, 12, 5, 14 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials | 1.5 | 0.06 | 12 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and preparation of Works | 100 | 4 | 1, 13, 2, 3, 10, 11, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15 |
Assessment
Continuous evaluation and overall final score. The continous evaluation and course activities represent 50% of the final grade. The overall final score in anhother 50%
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final content test | 50% | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 4, 16, 6, 11, 7, 8, 12, 5, 15 |
| Fuirst activity. Theoretical questions | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 4, 3, 7, 12 |
| Second. Test | 25% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 13, 10, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15 |
Bibliography
MUÑOZ CONDE,Francisco-GARCIA ARAN,Mercedes. Derecho Penal. Parte General. Tirant lo Blanch, 2019
QUINTERO OLIVARES (con la colaboración de MORALES PRATS). Parte General del Derecho Penal. Aranzadi, 2015