Criminal Law and Expert Evidence

Course manual 2021/2022

Course content

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the fundamentals and functions of criminal law, the position of experts in different stages of the criminal process and the use of expert evidence. The peculiarities of the communication between experts and non-experts in court will be addressed. Students will be invited to 'think like a lawyer'. Because students will not have a background in law and be of different nationalities, the course will not focus on any particular legal system, but instead take a more general perspective. The different aspects of a fair trial as is guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights will serve as a framework for discussing the role of forensic experts and their contribution towards judicial fact-finding. Besides gaining knowledge of criminal law and criminal procedure, the course aims to make students aware of the difficulties regarding the communication between forensic experts and legal professionals.

Study materials

Literature

Objectives

• Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental principles of criminal law (i.e. theories of punishment, legality and criminalisation).
• Explain the framework of criminal liability and meaning of the elements of crime (actus reus and mens rea) in a comparative manner.
• Evaluate the following fundamental concepts of substantive criminal law in a comparative manner: intent, recklessness, negligence, attempt, preparation and circumstances excluding criminal liability.
• Explain the following fundamental concepts of procedural criminal law in a comparative manner: legality, the sword and shield function, the right to a fair trial, basics of the law of evidence and exclusionary rules.
• Evaluate a(n aspect of a) given criminal justice system in light of the right to a fair trial (article 6 ECHR).
• Critically evaluate the role of the actors (including the expert) in criminal proceedings and their contribution to judicial fact finding.
• Present and explain their scientific findings to members of the criminal justice system in an understandable manner.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Learning activities

Attendance

This programme does not have requirements concerning attendance (OER part B).

Additional requirements for this course:

There is no compulsory attendance required. However, it is highly recommended to follow the lectures. Experience from previous years taught us students who did not attend the lectures, failed to achieve high results on the exam.

Assessment

All components will be graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with a maximum of one decimal after the point. These grades are used to calculate the final grade. In order to pass the course, all components and the final grade have to be sufficient, i.e. at least a five and a half. When a student has not fulfilled this requirement, the examiner will register the mark ‘did not fulfil all requirements’ (NAV) whether or not the averaged grade is sufficient.

The components will be weighted as follows:

1. Written assignment: information supplement of a forensic expert report (20%)
2. Exchange with law students (0%)
3. Written exam (80%)

Examination consists of a written assignment in which an expert report is explained in such a way that lawyers can grasp the meaning of the report and a written exam at the end of the course. 

The final grade will be announced at the latest on June 27th (= 15 working days after the final course activity). Between June 27th to July 25th (=35 working days after the final course activity) a post-exam discussion or inspection moment will be planned. This will be announced on Canvas and/or via email.

Table of specification: the relation between the Learning Outcomes (LO) of the course, the assessment components of the course and the Exit Qualifications (EQ) of the Master’s Forensic Science (described in the Introduction in the Course Catalogue)

Assignments

Component 1: Written Assignment - Expert Report (20% of final grade)

Expert reports can be quite short and lacking of background information. The Netherlands Forensic Institute provides information supplements with general information about forensic topics. In these supplements they explain which methods are used and give general background information on that particular forensic field. Students are asked to write such an information supplement on a specific topic that is provided to you. This is an individual assignment. The target audience are members from the judiciary.

Chain of Evidence

You are asked to write an information supplement on either DNA or glass, however, in each group of the course Chain of Evidence, one student needs to write a report on DNA and one on glass. After handing in your written assignment you are asked to choose one DNA report and one glass report that will be attached to your expert report in Chain of Evidence. This will contribute to the preparation of the non-scientists present during the moot court.

Component 2:        Exchange with Law students (not graded)

In week 4 an exchange with law students will take place. Further information will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Component 3:      The final examination (80% of the final grade)

The exam of this course will be a written examination based on the content covered during the lessons. The final exam will be assessed on an individual basis.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Contact information

Coordinator

• mr. C. Ganzeboom