Having a Bachelor's or University Degree.

The main objective of this subject is that students acquire knowledge in the access and use of sources of legal information typical to Criminal Theory and that, as a consequence, they are able to produce legal research papers and analyze them effectively. For that purpose it will be necessary to gain a deep knowledge of the general penal institutions and understand the constituent elements of every criminal incident. This implies that students will be able to identify the main problems that one might come across in practice, independently of the kind of crime that they are presented with, and the appropriate research strategies in each case as a consequence of the use of the institutions of the general part of the Penal Code. Such suggests that they master the basic principles of the general rules of crimes and offenses, and the sentences and safety measures, being able to assume different procedural roles ¿ prosecution or defense ¿ defending their arguments solidly in both cases, using the theoretical tools of the general part to which they have access, to reach the most precise and suitable decision for the procedural role that they are playing or the most favorable to the interests that they may have to defend in their professional future, applying them to each specific crime. For that it is necessary to have a solid methodological training which is is what this subject tries to offer. Ultimately, what is expected is that the student is able to provide the correct theoretical and practical treatment to the integrators of the penal system drawing conclusions that are coherent with criminal law research and solve the theoretical and practical problems that may arise when analyzing any criminal incident.

Advanced studies in Criminal Theory is an essential subject because in it the student will delve into the main theoretical and practical problems that are contemplated in the general part of Criminal Law. It¿s fundamental objective is the interpretation and systematization of the legal norms in force, particularly the ones that regulate the legal basis for the prohibition of conduct under threat of punishment and the ones that gather the general and particular characteristics of the punishable incident. Nevertheless, Criminal Theory, while consisting in the study of the elements that are common to all crimes, has it¿s outstanding features in complexity and high level of abstraction. To solve many and very complex criminal law issues, a good understanding of such issues is essential. Furthermore, in following modules the focus of the study will be various penal types, seeking to know their specific and differentiating characteristics. A good training in the general part of Criminal Law makes that learning process tremendously easier in other later modules. You can say that this subject provides the method for criminal law thinking. If one masters this method, the identification and solution of problems pertaining to each criminal type of the special part is almost automatic. On the contrary, a deficient training in Criminal Theory will cause the legal practicioner to get continuously confused in general matters while trying to understand the problems that are specific to the study of the crimes in particular. The program will study the different elements that generally define all crimes: statutory offense, illegality, culpability. And in more concrete terms, in each of those stages the focus will be, among other issues, on the problems problems relating to omission and negligence and objective imputation, perpetration and participation, self-defense, errors regarding the factual assumptions of the grounds for justification, decision-making in situations of uncertainty, and culpability. This subject is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, primarily goal 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

The educational and study activities will be structured as follows: Firstly, through in-person theoretical and practical training, including lectures and theoretical analysis of the various topics that comprise the course. This will also involve the analysis and discussion of practical cases related to the general institutions of Criminal Law, using diverse formats that may be useful in the different professional paths students may choose to pursue. Optional participation is also foreseen in the sessions of the Criminal Law Seminar at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where students will have the opportunity to engage with invited experts.