Aims

To give priority to the study of certain specific international issues of criminal law that are becoming more and more important because of the principles concerned and the concrete effects of those problems on the public.

Main themes

First part: law of international cooperation in criminal matters: after studying the various boundaries within which such cooperation takes place, we examine the main forms of cooperation in detail.

Second part: the law on war crimes or criminal aspects of international humanitarian law. We study certain international law crimes as well as crimes against humanity.

The issues of the field of those offences, their legal basis, the implementation and control of the law on war crimes and the criminal liability of individuals which leads to their prosecution before national or international courts are then studied.

Content and teaching methods

If the number of students is high, the course consists of lectures, but starting from a concrete example. The active participation of students is sought, depending upon the number of students.

Summary

In the first part of the course we study international cooperation in criminal matters by defining the main "boundaries" within which this policy is established (UNO, Council of Europe, EU, Schengen, Benelux) and by examining the main terms of cooperation (extradition, judicial cooperation in criminal matters, international recognition of judgments in criminal matters, cross-border transfer of prisoners, and police and customs cooperation).

The second part is dedicated to the study of a category of major international crimes: war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

A detailed table of contents and a bibliography are available.

Other credits in programs