Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Penal Law 3
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Introduction
Once students are equipped with the necessary conceptual background by studying the General Part of Criminal Law, the specific types of crime can be examined. Adequate knowledge of the various types of crime and the problems of interpretation are a basic instrument that serve to identify what is criminally prohibited, not only for criminal law specialists, but for lawyers practicing any branch of law.
Pre-course requirements
Having completed Criminal Law 1 and 2
Objectives
In order to effectively carry out a legal-criminal analysis of case studies, the student must acquire the necessary skill set. This entails an in-depth knowledge of particular crimes, the elements that constitute them and their jurisprudential interpretation.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 04 - To turn in documents that have been formally and thoroughly prepared to high standards
- 11 - To acquire skills for autonomous learning
- 14 - To be aware of the importance of the Law as a regulatory system for social relationships
- 17 - To understand and have knowledge of public and private institutional principles in their origin and as a whole
- 20 - To have knowledge of the basic aspects of legal argumentation
- 23 - To identify the state, doctrinal and legal framework of a complex legal issue
- 24 - To acquire the skills to resolve problems and make decisions using relevant information and by applying correct methods while placing the issue within a legal system context
- 29 - To be able to gather and interpret economic documentation
Learning outcomes of the subject
1. To know and understand the requirements and elements of the different types of crime the special part
2. To be able to classify and criminalise real and complex cases
3. To know and understand the specific problems posed by crimes that fall within Economic Criminal Law
4. To develop the habit of formally and thoroughly preparing documents to a high standard
5. To have skills in the resolution of legal conflicts related to the contents of the module
6.To be able to work independently and plan and organise their learning
7. To be able to apply the knowledge of this area in the subsumption related to practical cases
8. To be able to identify and interpret financial documentation
Syllabus
Topic 1 Homicide and its forms
1.1 Introduction: constitutional perspective
1.2 Homicide
1.3 Murder
1.4 Inducement and cooperation in suicide. Euthanasia
Topic 2 Abortion
2.1 Introduction. Legal interest and constitutional perspective
2.2 Crime of abortion: common elements
2.3 Crime of abortion: legal types
2.4 Legal requirements for voluntary termination of pregnancy
2.5 Criminal policy considerations
Topic 3 Bodily harm
3.1 Introduction. Legal interest
3.2 Basic type
3.3 Mitigated subtype: minor injuries
3.4 Aggravated subtypes
3.5 Negligent injuries
3.6 Participation in a brawl
3.7 Consent of the injured person
3.8 Illegal trafficking and transplantation of human organs
Topic 4 Crimes against liberty and crimes against moral integrity
4.1 Introduction: criminal protection of liberty
4.2 Illegal detentions and kidnappings
4.3 Coercion
4.4 Threats
4.5 Introduction. Constitutional perspective. Concept of moral integrity
4.6 The crime against moral integrity: basic type and special subtypes: workplace harassment and housing harassment
4.7 The crime of torture
Topic 5 Crimes against sexual freedom
5.1 Introduction. Political-criminal perspective. The reform introduced by Organic Law 10/2022 and Organic Law 4/2023, of April 27
5.2 Sexual assaults
5.4 Sexual assaults on minors under 16 and cybersexual harassment crimes
5.5 Sexual harassment
5.6 Exhibitionism, sexual provocation and prostitution
5.7 Corruption of minors
5.8 Common provisions
Topic 6 Crimes against privacy, the right to one’s own image and the inviolability of the home // Crimes against honour
6.1 Introduction. Constitutional perspective. Protected legal interest and concept of privacy
6.2 Basic type: discovery and disclosure of secrets
6.3 Aggravated and mitigated subtypes
6.4 Computer intrusions
6.6 On sexting
6.7 Common provisions
6.8 The crime of trespassing on a dwelling and the domicile of legal persons
6.9 Crimes against honour. Introduction. Constitutional perspective, legal interest and concept of honour
6.10 The crime of slander, the crime of libel and common provisions
Topic 7 Crimes against family relations. Gender violence and domestic violence. NOTE CHANGES REGARDING COURSE 24/25
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Illegal marriages
7.3 Simulation of childbirth and alteration of paternity, status or condition of the minor
7.4 Crimes against family rights and duties
7.5 Gender violence and occasional domestic violence
7.6 Crime of habitual violence
Topic 8 Crimes against property (I)
8.1 General considerations and common provisions
8.2 Theft and its forms
8.3 Robbery with force in things
8.4 Robbery with violence and intimidation
8.5 Theft and unlawful use of vehicles
Topic 9 Crimes against property (II)
9.1 Crime of fraud and its forms
9.2 Crimes of embezzlement and disloyal administration
9.3 Extortion
9.4 Usurpation
9.5 Damage
Topic 10 Document forgeries. NOTE MODIFICATIONS REGARDING COURSE 25/25
10.1 General theory. Document forgeries. Legal interest, material object
10.2 Forgery in public, official or commercial documents
10.3 Forgery in private documents
10.4 Counterfeiting of currency, stamped effects, certificates and credit cards
10.5 Usurpation of civil status, usurpation of public functions and professional intrusion
Topic 11 Crimes against Public Administration and against the Administration of Justice
11.1 General issues: protected legal interest and concepts of “authority” and “public official”
11.2 Crime of administrative prevarication
11.3 Crime of bribery
11.4 Crime of embezzlement of public funds and influence peddling
Topic 12 Crimes against the Administration of Justice
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Crime of (judicial) prevarication
12.3 Omission of the duty to prevent crimes or to promote their prosecution. Brief reference to the crime of omission of the duty to provide assistance
12.4 Crime of concealment
12.5 Crime of arbitrary exercise of one’s own rights
12.6 Crimes of false accusation and complaint and simulation of crimes
12.7 Crime of perjury
Topic 13 Crimes against public health and crimes against road safety
13.1 The basic type of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code
13.2 Aggravated and mitigated modalities
13.3 Introduction: criminal protection of road safety
13.4 Crime of driving at excessive speed or under the influence of alcohol or drugs
13.5 Crime of reckless driving
13.6 Refusal to undergo breathalyzer and drug tests
13.7 Concurrence of crimes
13.8 Driving without a licence or permit
Teaching and learning activities
In person
The Schedule for the subject is included in Teaching Materials, which includes the timetable for the different educational activities.
The difficulty and high level of abstraction of the concepts contained in the theory of crime makes it essential to always start the teaching process with a case study. This gives a basis to understand the problems that arise and the different solutions that can be found in practice.
Consequently, both in the explanation in class and in the study and evaluation of the subject, the factual circumstances are key. In addition, the explanation of the topic of the day will assume that students have studied it up front and have worked on the related case studies.
TRAINING ACTIVITY COMPETENCES
Activities in the classroom to monitor students (individual and in groups)
Presentation in the classroom of the concepts and their practical application
Independent study of the student
Individual and group work
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | COMPETENCES |
|---|---|
| Classroom activities in order to follow up on students (both individual and in a group) | 20 24 29 |
| Presenting concepts and their practical application in the classroom | 14 17 |
| Student independent study | 04 11 17 23 24 29 |
| Individual and group projects | 04 23 24 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Evaluation in the first examination period will consist of:
A) 10% practical seminars and class participation.
Attendance and class participation: Attendance to class is mandatory. Attendance will be taken, and class participation may be evaluated through a simple multiple-choice test on the topics covered in class.
Groups will analyze real cases by preparing a mock oral trial for resolution. To consider:
-
The involvement of all group members will be evaluated individually.
-
The grade for section A will be the grade for the practicals, which may be reduced after 5 absences from class or in the case of failing the participation tests.
B) 40% partial exams on the dossier of positive law and key concepts.
B.1. The first partial exam will cover the dossier of Positive Law and key concepts from topics 1 to 7, which can be found on the course Moodle. The exam will have two parts:
-
The first part, on positive law, will ask about the content of the articles highlighted in bold, with maximum accuracy.
-
The second part, regarding key concepts, will be in the form of multiple-choice questions.
Students who pass both parts of the exam and achieve an average grade of 7 or higher may choose to exempt themselves from these topics and will not have to prepare or take them in the final exam.
B.2. Partial exam 2 will have the same structure as the first, but it will not be exempting.
C) 50% final exam.
The final exam will consist of 2 parts:
-
A brief multiple-choice test, which must be passed in order to access the final exam. These will be simple questions related to the course syllabus. The grade obtained is irrelevant, as passing it is only necessary to take the oral final exam.
-
If the test is passed (results will be given immediately), the student will be called to the second part, which is the final exam. This will be oral and public, and it will determine the grade for this final section.
This exam consists of a 10-minute presentation of a topic from the course syllabus (if the student has exempted topics with a grade of 7 or higher on the first partial, they may choose to be examined only on the second part of the syllabus). The student will have 5 minutes to prepare a written outline and must complete the full 10-minute presentation —otherwise, it will be counted as a zero.
Second examination period:
In the second examination period, the final exam will have two parts: a multiple-choice test and the oral exam. The multiple-choice test is eliminatory. If it is not passed, the student cannot take the oral exam.
As a general rule, the grade for the second examination period will be the one obtained in the oral exam.
Incidents and exceptional cases:
If there are exceptional circumstances that justify an absence, a change of exam date, or a modification of the test format, the professor must be informed at least 2 weeks before the scheduled date. In unforeseen cases where prior notice is not possible, the professor must be informed as soon as the circumstance causing the change is known.
If it concerns an adaptation of the final exam system, it must be requested through an official application to the faculty board at least one month in advance.
In cases where a change of date or exam methodology is allowed, the professor may alter the test format, and the student may be assessed using a different methodology than the one established in this teaching guide.
Promotion of ethical behavior and anti-fraud measures
Academic fraud of any kind, through behaviors such as certificate falsification, plagiarism, attempts to cheat, unauthorized notes, possession and/or use of unauthorized devices (earpieces, mobile phones, etc.), will result in a direct grade of 0 in the course for that examination period.
Depending on the severity of the fraud, the attitude of those involved, and the means used to commit the violation, a disciplinary procedure may be initiated. In serious cases, this could also result in the loss of the right to take the second examination period of the course.
The institution promotes an academic environment based on integrity and honesty, and all students are encouraged to act according to these principles, remembering that ethical behavior is essential for their personal and professional development.
Bibliography and resources
El manual donde se fundamentarán las explicaciones de clase, y donde encontraréis respusta a las cuestiones clave que van formulándose para su resolución es este: Silva Sánchez, J.-Mª. (et. al). Lecciones de Derecho Penal, Parte Especial, Atelier, 2025 10ª ed.).
Otra bibliografía de consulta:
Corcoy Bidasolo, M., Mir Puig, S. (dir.). Comentarios al Código Penal. Tirant lo Blanch, 2015.
Gimeno Sendra, V. Manual de Derecho Procesal Penal, Colex, 2010 (2ª ed.).
Mir Puig, S. Derecho Penal. Parte general. Reppertor, Barcelona, 2015 (10ª ed.).
Muñoz Conde, F., García Arán, M. Derecho Penal. Parte General. Tirant lo Blanch, Valencia, 2015 (9ª ed.).
Muñoz Conde, F. Derecho Penal, Parte Especial. Tirant lo Blanch 2015 (20ª ed.).
Sánchez-Ostiz Gutiérrez, P. (coor.). Casos que hicieron doctrina en Derecho Penal, Ed. La Ley, 2011.
Silva Sánchez, J.-Mª. y Miró Llinares, F. (dir.). La teoría del delito en la práctica penal económica, La Ley, 2013.
VV.AA., Código penal comentado, Colex, 2015 (15ª ed.).
VV.AA., 113 cuestiones básicas sobre la prueba en el proceso penal (actualización de LA PRUEBA EN EL PROCESO PENAL (II) – 99 cuestiones básicas sobre la prueba en el proceso penal 99. CGPJ, Madrid, 2013.
VV.AA., Memento Penal . Francis Lefebvre, Madrid, .