European criminal law [ LDROP2122 ]

Several issues will be successively addressed :

- the approximation of substantive criminal law (crimes and sanctions),

- the approximation of criminal procedure law,

- the judicial cooperation and the principle of mutual recognition,

- the progressive establishment of European actors in criminal matters.

The course aims to evaluate the realizations of the Council of Europe and the European Union in the field of criminal law, and to propose a critical reflection on what is at stake with this gradual emergence of criminal matters on the European scene.

- Deepening of the students' understanding of the criminal law and criminal procedure instruments adopted by the Council of Europe and the European Union

- Study of the question of interstate cooperation in the criminal law area, which is gradually evolving towards a process of legal integration

- Consultation and rigorous analysis of the relevant legal instruments (treaties, acts, etc.) and of the decisions delivered by the European or Belgian courts

- Improvement of the speaking and writing skills

The course is based on participatory teaching methods (learning through projects or problems, review of the relevant case-law and doctrine, debates with guest speakers, field studies ...) which allow the students to develop independently a critical, forward-looking and inventive look on public international law. Students are encouraged to participate and to get involved in learning, which has both an individual and a collective dimension.

The evaluation takes the form of a written exam in English, covering both theoretical and practical questions.
Students may use their casebook, which includes all the rules and case-law examined during the course. They're allowed to underline or highlight texts in these documents ' but not to write notes on them.