MVV376K Introduction to German Criminal Law

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Stefanie Glotzbach (seminar tutor), doc. JUDr. Tereza Kyselovská, Ph.D. (deputy)
doc. JUDr. Tereza Kyselovská, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Tereza Kyselovská, Ph.D.
Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Supplier department: Faculty of Law
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MVV376K/01: Mon 18. 9. 14:00–15:40 041, 16:00–17:40 041, Tue 19. 9. 12:00–13:40 041, 14:00–15:40 041, Wed 20. 9. 14:00–15:40 041
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Introduction to German Criminal Law teaches the basics of German criminal and criminal procedure law. Furthermore, it introduces the students to German law studies und give them a glimpse of what to expect from the first semester in Germany. Apart from that the course is characterised by groupwork, in which the students will compare the German system to their own system.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
- understand the basics of German criminal and criminal procedure law;
- solve a simple case according to German criminal law in “Expertise style”;
- understand the similarities and differences of the German and Czech criminal law system.
Syllabus
  • 1. Principles of German criminal law
  • • Structure of the German Criminal Code
  • • Ultima ratio principle
  • • Principle of legality
  • • Principle of guilt
  • • Group work: similarities and differences to the Czech criminal system
  • 2. Introduction to German criminal law studies
  • • Structure of German criminal law studies
  • • Structure of an offense
  • • Introduction to the “Expertise style”
  • • Offenses: assault, manslaughter
  • 3. Case study
  • • How to work with the facts of a case
  • • How to solve a case in “Expertise style”
  • • Exercises with first-semester cases
  • • Discussion: Is it easier or harder than Czech law studies? Are there similarities or is it completely different from the German system?
  • 4. Principles of german procedure criminal law
  • • Structure of the Geman Criminal Procedure Code
  • • Trial Proceedings
  • • Role of the judge, the prosecutor and the defense attorney
  • • Group work: How are the criminal trial proceedings in the Czech Republic? What ist the role of the judge, the prosecutor and the defense attorney in the Czech Republic? Are there any other persons participating the trial proceedings apart from the witnesses? Are there similarities and differences to the German procedure criminal law?
  • 5. Border/Wall Shooter Cases
  • • Historical background
  • • Legal solution of the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof)
  • • Group work: How did the Czech Courts decide the Border/Wall Shooter Cases? Are there similarities or differences to the German judgements?
  • • Discussion
Literature
  • Michael Bohlander, Principles of german criminal law, ISBN: 9781841136301

    Michael Bohlander, Principles of german criminal procedure, ISBN: 9781509935338

    Michael Bohlander, The german criminal code, a modern english translation, ISBN: 9781841138312

Teaching methods
Lecture with case studies
Assessment methods
Oral group examination
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2023/MVV376K