Criminal Procedure and Courts

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the fundamental issues related to criminal procedure.

The course is designed to explain and critique the legal rules pertaining to the pretrial processing of criminal suspects and the conduct of criminal trials.

The topics are discussed from a comparative perspective.

The course also includes the analysis of the international fair trial standards created by the European Court of Human Rights.

Topics discussed during the course:

1) Criminal justice systems – structure and organs.
2) Judges, lay judges, juries.
3) Crime control vs. due process model.
4) Inquisitorial vs. adversarial system.
5) Pretrial proceedings and criminal trials.
6) The role of public prosecutor.
7) Victims and restorative justice.
8) Negociated justice.
9) Basic principles of criminal evidence.
10) Human rights in criminal proceedings.