Criminal Procedure

Teacher(s)

Beernaert Marie-Aude;

Language

French

Main themes

The subject matter includes the rules of judicial organisation, competence in criminal matters and criminal procedure as such. The topics covered include the general principles governing the law on criminal procedure, the rules related to public and civil actions, the pre-trial phase (police inquiries, judicial investigation, detention on remand), the trial itself, and the means of recourse against the verdict. The training focuses mainly on Belgian law, but also takes account of comparative law and sometimes examines possible reforms. This course is given in a large auditorium and takes the form of lectures. Given its objectives, it describes the status of the law and case law, and seeks to create analytical interchanges with the students. A continuous attention is paid to the formal sources of the subject. Compulsory sessions of practical training (8 hours) provide the students with the opportunity to develop a practical approach of the subjects taught. These sessions are prepared by the students, whose performances are evaluated by an assistant. Together with the head of the department, the teacher sees that the practical training and the lectures are coherent and well connected, including with respect to the evaluation.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The course is intended to provide students with understanding of the major issues linked to criminal trials, from the pre-trial phase (police inquiries or judicial investigation) to the trial itself and the use of remedies. It includes a study of the organisation of the judiciary and police, of competence in criminal proceedings and of the various stages of the criminal trial as such.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Bibliography

Précis (Introduction à la procédure pénale de M.-A. Beernaert, N. Colette-Basecqz, C. Guillain, P. Mandoux, M. Preumont et D. Vandermeersch, 4e éd., 2012, Bruxelles, la Charte, 420 pp) vendu au service cours.

Faculty or entity

BUDR