Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Penal Law 1
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Introduction
Criminal law is, without a doubt, the branch of the legal system that has the greatest impact, in daily practice, on the fundamental rights of the individual. The State’s punitive power is based on the need to protect social coexistence and the most basic rights of the person against the most serious attacks on individual and collective legal interests of greatest significance.
Essentially, throughout this course, we study the concept of criminal law and the legal principles that inspire the State’s punitive intervention, introducing us to the foundations of human conduct that is criminally relevant — that is, the conditions an act must meet to constitute a crime (unlawfulness); and criminally punishable — that is, the requirements for such conduct to be attributable to the person responsible (culpability) so that a legal consequence of a criminal nature (punishability) can be applied.
Finally, we study the first dogmatic categories that structure the legal theory of crime, without prejudice to the fact that in Criminal Law 2 the examination of all the remaining categories will be completed.
Objectives
This course covers the first half of the General Part of Criminal Law. It should enable the student, together with the content studied in Criminal Law 2, to address all the issues that, in general and for all types of offences, arise in the attribution of criminal responsibility. At the same time, it serves as an introduction to specific offences, since, to a large extent, the study of particular crimes is merely a concrete application of the problems and interpretative guidelines established in the General Part.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 02 - To acquire the ability to understand, analyse and synthesise
- 03 - To be able to express one's ideas and arguments in an orderly and coherent way both in oral and written form (written and oral techniques)
- 04 - To turn in documents that have been formally and thoroughly prepared to high standards
- 05 - To be able to develop skills for group work
- 11 - To acquire skills for autonomous learning
- 12 - To be able to organise and plan
- 14 - To be aware of the importance of the Law as a regulatory system for social relationships
- 16 - To be able to use constitutional principles and values as work tools when interpreting the legal system
- 17 - To understand and have knowledge of public and private institutional principles in their origin and as a whole
- 18 - To understand the different ways of creating Law within its historical evolution as well as its current state
- 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
- 30 - To master computer techniques for obtaining legal information (legal databases, jurisprudence, and bibliography)
Syllabus
Tema 1 Concepto y finalidades del Derecho penal
1.1
1.1 Introducción. Origen histórico. Primeras características del Derecho Penal y el Derecho Penal como medio de control social.
1.2 Concepto de Derecho penal. Sentido objetivo y subjetivo.
1.3 El Derecho penal y su relación con otras ciencias y disciplinas
1.4
1.1 Elementos de la definición del Derecho penal. Las consecuencias jurídicas del delito, las penas y medidas de seguridad como componentes del derecho penal.
1.5 Finalidades de la pena. Teoría retributiva y teorías preventivas en la fundamentación del ius puniendi
Tema 2 Principios y garantías del ius puniendi
2.1 Principios y garantías del ius puniendi
2.2 El principio de legalidad como exigencia de un Estado de Derecho y del derecho a la libertad
2.3 Principios derivados de un Estado social. Principio de utilidad de la intervención penal. El Derecho penal como ultima ratio: principios de subsidiariedad, intervención mínima y fragmentariedad. Derecho Administrativo sancionador y principio de non bis in idem. Principio de exclusiva protección de bienes jurídicos.
2.4 Principios derivados de un Estado democrático. Principio de culpabilidad. Principio de proporcionalidad. Principio de humanidad de las penas. Principio de resocialización.
Tema 3 Funciones del Derecho Penal. Las sanciones penales y otras consecuencias jurídicas del delito previstas en el Código Penal español: penas, medidas de seguridad y otras consecuencias
3.1 Las funciones del Derecho Penal. El sistema dualista de penas y medidas.
3.2 La privación de libertad y el régimen de suspensión de la pena. La pena de multa.
3.3 La Ley orgánica general penitenciaria, el reglamento penitenciario y el régimen de cancelación de los antecedentes penales.
3.4 La ejecución de las medidas de seguridad.
3.5 La responsabilidad civil derivada de delito.
3.6 Las costas procesales.
3.7 El comiso y las consecuencias accesorias aplicables a las personas jurídicas.
3.8 Las causas de extinción de la responsabilidad criminal.
Tema 4 Las circunstancias modificativas de la responsabilidad criminal
4.1 Introducción y consideraciones generales.
4.2 Reglas generales de aplicación de las circunstancias modificativas: inherencia, incompatibilidad y comunicabilidad de las circunstancias.
4.3 Efectos penológicos de las circunstancias modificativas.
4.4 Circunstancias atenuantes: eximentes incompletas y atenuantes ordinarias.
4.5 Circunstancias agravantes: objetivas y subjetivas.
4.6 Circunstancia mixta de parentesco
Tema 5 Las reglas generales para la determinación de la pena
5.1 Introducción y consideraciones generales.
5.2 El sistema vigente de individualización judicial de la pena.
Tema 6 La responsabilidad penal del menor y el sistema de Justicia Juvenil
6.1 El sistema previsto en la Ley Orgánica 5/2000 reguladora de la responsabilidad penal de los menores. Algunas particularidades procesales.
6.2 La remisión al Código penal a efectos de determinación de las conductas punibles.
6.3 El abanico de medidas sancionadoras-educativas aplicables.
6.4 La gran flexibilidad y amplio arbitrio judicial en la determinación de la medida aplicable.
6.5 Un principio regulador fundamental: el interés del menor.
Tema 7 Las normas jurídico-penales, la teoría (jurídica) del delito y las funciones de sus categorías sistemáticas
7.1 Las normas jurídico-penales. La distinción entre normas primarias y normas secundarias como imperativos de conducta.
7.2 Normas de mandato y normas de prohibición en el marco de la finalidad del ius puniendi.
7.3 La teoría del delito. Significado y función. Los distintos niveles sistemáticos del concepto de delito.
7.4 La tipicidad. El concepto de tipo penal y sus distintas modalidades. Vertiente objetiva y vertiente subjetiva de la tipicidad.
7.5 La antijuricidad en sentido estricto: la ausencia de causas de justificación.
7.6 La culpabilidad; significado y elementos.
7.7 La punibilidad.
Tema 8 La conducta humana como requisito del delito
8.1 Acción y conducta típica.
8.2 El comportamiento humano como elemento del delito (conducta humana externa y final). Actos humanos y actos del hombre.
8.3 Causas de ausencia de acción. Fuerza irresistible, actos reflejos e inconsciencia.
8.4 La doctrina de la actio libera in causa.
8.5 Evolución histórica de la responsabilidad penal de las personas jurídicas. Especial referencia al artículo 31 bis del Código Penal.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Assessment in the first examination period will consist of:
A) Class attendance and participation 10%: preparation and active participation in the reflective discussions prior to each topic.
Attendance is compulsory, and attendance will be taken daily at the beginning of class. If a student has more than 4 absences, they will receive a 0 for this section (absences will not be justified; these 4 non-penalised absences are intended to cover any exceptional circumstances that may arise during the semester and prevent attendance, such as short periods of illness or recovery —in serious cases, a formal request must be submitted to the Faculty Board—, traffic problems, family commitments, etc.).
Before the beginning of each topic, students must have worked on the preliminary reflection questions (a document will be provided). Students will be invited to participate in the discussion, and their contribution will be assessed.
B) 50% Midterm examinations.
There will be 2 midterm examinations.
The first midterm examination will cover Topics 1 to 4 and will consist of a section on positive law and a multiple-choice section. The first midterm examination will account for 30% of the final grade.
The second midterm examination will cover Topic 5 and will account for 10% of the final grade.
The final examination consists of 2 parts.
The first part will be a short multiple-choice test, which must be passed in order to proceed to the final examination. The questions will be straightforward and related to the course syllabus. The actual mark obtained in this test will not be relevant, as students will only be required to pass it in order to proceed to the final oral examination.
Example: What is meant by ius puniendi from a criminal law perspective?
a) The natural right of any person to defend themselves against an attack.
b) The function performed by Criminal Law.
c) The natural right of any person to defend themselves against an attack, within the limits established by law.
d) The exclusive power of the State to prosecute and punish criminal offences.
If the multiple-choice test has been passed (the result will be communicated immediately), the student will be called to sit the second part, which is the final examination. This examination will be oral and public and will determine the grade for this final assessment component. The examination will consist of a 10-minute oral presentation on one topic from the course syllabus. The student will have 5 minutes to prepare a written outline and must, in all cases, complete at least 10 minutes of oral presentation —otherwise, the examination will be graded with a zero—.
Second examination period:
Section A will not count towards the assessment. As regards Section B, only the second midterm examination will count, accounting for 20% of the final grade. The remaining 80% of the final grade in the second examination period will correspond to the mark obtained in the final examination, provided that the student has first passed the qualifying multiple-choice test.
IMPORTANT WARNINGS:
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of class. Lack of punctuality will be counted as an absence.
The 4 absences referred to in Section A include illness, force majeure, and other similar circumstances.
Copying or any attempt to commit fraud in any test or examination will result in the cancellation of the assessment and an immediate fail, with a grade of 0 for the course. The same sanction will apply to any student who assists another student in committing fraud or allows another student to copy their work.
During examinations, it is expressly forbidden to carry any type of electronic device. If any such device is detected, even if it is not being used, the student will receive a grade of 0 for the course.
If the use of unauthorised means of copying or any other form of academic fraud is detected, the matter will be reported to the Faculty Board and may result in the initiation of disciplinary proceedings.