Checking date: 06/05/2025 16:51:32


Course: 2025/2026

International courts and criminal law
(13629)
Bachelor in Law (2008 Study Plan) (Plan: 149 - Estudio: 206)


Coordinating teacher: FIODOROVA , ANNA

Department assigned to the subject: Criminal Law, Procedural Law and History Law Department

Type: Electives
ECTS Credits: 3.0 ECTS

Course:
Semester:




Requirements (Subjects that are assumed to be known)
Spanish Judicial System Public International Law Legal Theory of Crime Criminal Procedural Law Crime against people and against society
Objectives
- To get knowledge on the competences and procedures of the international tribunals related to the Criminal Law. - To get knowledge on the Rome Statute and International Criminal Court. - To get knowledge on the principle of universal jurisdiction and its application in Spain. - To get capacity of critical analysis of the case-law and legislation in force.
Learning Outcomes
K3: Master the fundamental concepts and principles of the different sectors of the legal system. K4: To know the importance of fundamental rights and public freedoms, as well as their scope and content. K6: To know the legal tools and instruments applicable to the interpretation and integration of the legal system, as well as to the resolution of conflicts, in the field of Public Law. K8: To know the phases, procedures and specific procedural principles of the different jurisdictional orders. K10: To know the institutional organisation of the State and the international and community organisations of which it is a part. K11: Understand the Spanish legal system in relation to European and international law. K12: Understand the ethical dimension of law and the need to act responsibly in the defence of fundamental rights and social justice. S1: Plan and organize teamwork by making the right decisions based on available information and gathering data in digital environments. S2: Use the information by interpreting relevant data avoiding plagiarism, and in accordance with the academic and professional conventions of the area of study, being able to evaluate the reliability and quality of such information. S3: Apply the necessary skills to search for information in the different legal sources (legal, jurisprudential and doctrinal). S5: Correctly diagnose legal problems and apply the appropriate tools for their solution. C1: Know how to analyse, elaborate and defend individually a problem in the disciplinary field of the Bachelor's Degree by applying the knowledge, skills, tools and strategies acquired or developed in it. C3: Select and interpret legal and conventional regulations, jurisprudence and judicial doctrine applicable to different legal systems. C6: Prepare contracts, reports, lawsuits and other legal documents with technical precision.
Description of contents: programme
The programme consists of two parts: PART I 1. JURISDICTION AND COMPETENCE - Universal jurisdiction versus national jurisdiction - The role of the International Criminal Court a. History of the International Criminal Court b. Composition, nature and functioning of the International Criminal Court 2. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND JUSTICE - European Court of Human Right - Inter-American Court of Human Rights - Court of Justice of the European Union - International Criminal Court 3. THE PROCEDURE WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT - Legitimating - Commencement of proceedings - The intermediate phase - The trial - The verdict and its implementation PART II 4. GENERAL PRINCIPLES AND ELEMENTS OF THE CRIMINAL LAW IN THE STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT - - Principles: legality, not time-barred crimes, immunities - Crime author and participation - Intentionality. Error - Imperfect forms of execution - Grounds for excluding criminal responsibility 5. INTERNATIONAL CRIMES I - Concept and evolution - The crime of Genocide: Background. The Convention of 1948. Elements of the crime: a) Intentional element, b) Protected groups, c) Exclusion of cultural and political groups, d) The so-called self-genocide, e) Methods of commission - Crimes against humanity: a) evolution and concept, b) active and passive subjects, c) constitutive elements: in particular the massive and systematic nature of the conducts, d) commission modalities 6. INTERNATIONAL CRIMES II - War crimes: a) Origin and basis of the Ius in bello: the Hague and Geneva Conventions, b) The concept of armed conflict, c) Subjects and elements of the crime and elements of the crime - The crime of aggression: a) Concept, b) The question of legitimate self-defence 7. INTERNATIONAL CRIMES III - Other international crimes: torture and disappearance of persons, racial discrimination and apartheid - Ethnic cleansing as an international crime. Gender violence and armed conflicts - The international fight against terrorism. The concept of terrorism in United Nations and European Union legislation
Learning activities and methodology
The contents are organised through theoretical lessons (where the teacher will present the basic concepts of the course using visual /audio-visual materials) complemented with readings and videos and practical lessons (in which students, guided by the teacher shall apply the knowledge previously acquired in other practical cases).
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination/test 40
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 60

Calendar of Continuous assessment


Extraordinary call: regulations
Basic Bibliography
  • A. Cassese. International Criminal Law. Oxford. 2008
  • Kai Ambos (ed.). Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article-by-Article Commentary. Journal of international criminal justice, 2022-10, Vol.20 (3). 2022
  • M. Glasius. The International Criminal Court : a global civil society achievement. Taylor & Francis. 2006
Recursos electrónicosElectronic Resources *
Additional Bibliography
  • Anna Fiodorova. "Terrorism as subject to Spanish Universal Jurisdicction" en Moreno Catena, V., Soleto Muñoz, H., Terrorism in Spain: a procedural approach. Tirant lo Blanch. 2017
  • Jean Marcel Fernandes. La Corte Penal Internacional : soberanía versus justicia universal . Reus. 2008
  • K. Ambos. Treatise on International Criminal Law: Volume 1. Oxford. 2013
  • K. Ambos. Treatise on International Criminal Law: Volume II: The Crimes and Sentencing . Oxford. 2013
Recursos electrónicosElectronic Resources *
(*) Access to some electronic resources may be restricted to members of the university community and require validation through Campus Global. If you try to connect from outside of the University you will need to set up a VPN


The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.