How To Get A Law Degree In Leiden

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1 Universiteit Leiden Institute for Criminal Law & Criminology Master Criminal Justice Handbook Academic Year

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3 Table of Contents Page Welcome to Leiden University! 5 Contact Details of Faculty Staff Members 6 Orientation in the Leiden Law School 7 Main Objectives of master Criminal Justice 9 Course Overview 10 Important Points 11 Important Dates 14 Course Descriptions 17 Other Activities 22 Library Facilities

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5 Welcome to Leiden University! Dear candidate, The purpose of this handbook is to provide practical information for the academic year with respect to the structure of the program, the coursework and course requirements, schedules, dates, deadlines, and so forth. Please read it very carefully and keep it as a ready reference for frequent referral. For queries relating to housing, visa matters, computer facilities, library passes, copying cards, student ID cards, accounts, residence permits, and town hall registration, please contact the International Office (Pieterskerkhof 6, 2311 SR Leiden: ). For questions relating to registrations, exams, certificate, graduation, please contact the Onderwijs Informatie Centrum (OIC) (Kamerlingh Onnesgebouw, Steenschuur 25, room C 0.33, , onderwijsinformatiecentrum@law.leidenuniv.nl). For IT-problems ( accounts, usis, Blackboard, etc.), please contact the IT Help Desk ( , helpdesk@i-groep@leidenuniv.nl). For questions relating to academic matters, please contact the Programme Co-ordinator, Maartje van der Woude (C 1.16 in Leiden, criminologie@law.leidenuniv.nl). The contact details of all faculty members can be found on the following page. We wish you a challenging, productive, and successful academic year! Prof. Dr. Paul Nieuwbeerta - 5 -

6 Contact Details of Faculty Staff Members Leiden University, Leiden Law School Criminal Law and Criminology, Department of Criminology Visiting address: Steenschuur 23, 2311 ES Leiden Postal address: P.O.Box 9250, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands Name Function Department Room Number Programme Coordinator / Assistant Professor Mr. dr. Maartje van der Woude Ms. Natasja van der Schee Telephone Criminology C (0) m.a.h.vanderwoude@law.leidenuniv.nl Secretary Criminology C (0) n.vanderschee@law.leidenuniv.nl Prof. dr. Joanne Professor Criminology C (0)71 van der Leun j.p.vanderleun@law.leidenuniv.nl Prof. dr. Paul Professor Criminology C (0)71 Nieuwbeerta p.nieuwbeerta@law.leidenuniv.nl Prof. Dr. Marlèn Professor Criminal Law C (0)71 Dane n.m.dane@law.leidenuniv.nl Dr. E. Devroe Associate Criminology C (0)71 Professor e.devroe@law.leidenuniv.nl Mr. dr. Pinar Assistant Criminal Law C (0)71 Ölcer Professor f.p.olcer@law.leidenuniv.nl Mr. dr. Ard Associate Criminal Law C (0)71 Schoep Professor g.k.schoep@law.leidenuniv.nl Mr. Bas Leeuw Assistant Criminal Law C (0)71 Professor b.j.g.leeuw@law.leidenuniv.nl Dr. Johan van Associate Criminology C (0)71 Wilsem Professor j.a.van.wilsem@law.leidenuniv.nl Dr. Veroni Assistant Criminology C (0)71 Eichelsheim Professor v.i.eichelsheim@law.leidenuniv.nl Anouk Bosma, PhD Fellow Criminology B (0)71 MSc a.q.bosma@law.leidenuniv.nl Most members of Staff can be contacted by . Please make reasonable use of this medium and only contact staff members when necessary - 6 -

7 Orientation in the Leiden Law School - 7 -

8 Orientation in the Leiden Law School - 8 -

9 Main Objectives of the master Criminal Justice Criminal justice is a rapidly expanding field of academic study central to the research programme and mission of The Institute for Criminal Law & Criminology at Leiden University. The concept of criminal justice alludes to the system of principles, rules, practices and institutions through which the state administers sanctions against socially undesirable behaviour. The aim of this one-year full-time master s programme in Criminal Justice is to equip its graduates with an advanced understanding of criminal justice by providing a multidisciplinary programme addressing key institutions, processes and cross-national issues on crime (prevention), law and policy. A unique feature of the programme is its international comparative perspective, which involves an in-depth analysis of differences in criminal justice systems, legislation, and policies between common law and civil law countries. Moreover, special attention will be paid to the major role The Netherlands have played in the development of national and supranational crime legislation. The various courses offer both a theoretical and practical insight into criminal justice, and apply empirical research methods to study them. Therefore, during the courses the students will not only have the privilege to learn from academic scholars as well as from professionals working in the criminal justice. The students will also be challenged to intensively work with (inter)national empirical research. By the end of this Master students will have an advanced notion of the complex field of criminal justice and are able to critically reflect upon and think about how legislation, prevention, detection, maintenance, judgment and sanctions can be kept in congruence with one another. They are also able to take into consideration the findings of criminology and the forensic sciences, the internationalization of law, the demands and ideals of the Rule of Law, social developments, the expectations of the citizen and the requirements of effectiveness

10 Course Overview The programme consists of the following courses and a thesis. 1ST SEMESTER ECTS Level Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, Effectiveness, Accountability Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Sentencing and Corrections Risk, Security and the Rule of Law Criminal Justice Actors in Comparative Perspective ND SEMESTER ECTS Level Criminal Justice Policy Evaluation Crimmigration Criminal Justice, Human Rights and EU Criminal Law Thesis

11 Important Points Ensuring your success Success in the programme is premised on hard work. Students must thus be prepared to devote considerable time, effort and energy to their studies as well as remain focused at all time on the programme. Organizing her/his time and assessing the time necessary to study and write essays and prepare assignments is the prime responsibility of each student. This being said, in case of serious difficulties in coping with the workload or level of the programme do not hesitate to contact any member of the staff. Taking on extra-curricular activities may provide relevant and fruitful experience. Yet, it may also hinder the students capacity to devote most of her/his energy to the programme and deflect her/his attention. Students should not underestimate the amount of work necessary to succeed and should accordingly be careful before accepting any extra curricular activities. Extracurricular activities do not automatically entitle students to any sort of special treatment nor to miss classes where her/his presence is required. In case of doubt, consult the programme co-ordinator. Contact with the academic staff A student facing exceptional difficulties related to their private situation should never hesitate to inform any member of the staff or to seek help. Members of the staff will do their best to assist students in such situations and to accommodate the programme to them. Confidentiality is always assured. Students are encouraged to respond pro-actively to any practical problem they may encounter and first seek a solution themselves before contacting the academic staff. This includes refraining from sending s to the staff when such communication is not necessary and unrelated to the substance of the courses. Every year, some students experience IT problems (for instance related to registration on usis or Blackboard). These problems should be reported to the IT Help Desk (see contact details above). Attendance Attendance of both the lectures and the working groups is compulsory. Students should arrange to arrive before each lecture starts and cannot leave before it ends. Mobile phone must be switched off at all time during lectures and working groups. The use of laptops is allowed, provided this does not disturb the lecture and that students remain focused on the course. The use of laptops during lectures for purposes alien to the course can lead to the exclusion of the student concerned

12 Blackboard usis There is a blackboard environment for most courses ( Blackboard will constitute the main channel of communication between the staff and the students as regards the organization and the content of courses. Most of the time, there will be no additional reader and the materials necessary for the course will be uploaded on Blackboard. It is therefore absolutely necessary that students secure their access to Blackboard as quickly as possible. The Blackboard environment of each course will be constantly adapted. New information and new documents will be regularly uploaded. It is accordingly necessary that students frequently consult the Blackboard environments. usis is the operational system whereby students can register to courses, working groups and exams. It is also the system through which they will be able to see the marks attributed to them once they have been communicated to the OIC by the lecturer. For this reason, it is also important that students secure their access to usis as soon as possible. Feedback Teaching staff will always try to provide feedback on the marks earned by the students. Priority will however always be given to students who have failed and students should understand that in some circumstances and given the large number of students registered to the programme it will not always be possible to give individual feedback to students having been awarded good marks. Essays, papers and oral presentations Students will be requested to write essays and (research) papers for all courses. More specific information on the number of papers and formal requirements will be provided in the several course descriptions. Some courses will include oral presentations or other types of assignments. Details about the requirements will be made available in due course. A last general remark on papers, presentations and assignments. It is impossible to prescribe in detail the exact requirements of oral and written presentations and students are presumed to be familiar with the basic requirements of such academic assignments (such as understandable and clear language, good articulation in oral presentations etc.). Only the requirements that are specific to a certain course will be explained

13 Marks Exams The final mark for each subject-matter will be rounded off. From 0.01 to 0.49, the mark will be rounded down. From 0.50 to 0.99, the mark will be rounded up. For instance, a 7.49 will result in a 7, while a 7.5 will result in an 8. Cum Laude (Honours) is awarded to students who will achieve an overall grade of 8.5. The overall grade is not subject to any rounding off. This means that students wishing to receive a Cum Laude should have an average of an 8.5 or higher. Exams can be written or oral. Written exam can be take-home, open-book or closed-book. Students will be informed about the modalities of each exam at the beginning of each course. Write clearly at the exam; anything we cannot read will be not marked. Always remember that you must sign up for any exam in advance (the exact time when registration starts will be determined by the OIC). Registration after the deadline may cost you 75.. Registration to exams take place at the OIC or during the exam. All students who have failed a course are entitled to a re-take. Please take note that only those students that have failed the overall course have the right to retake the exam. This means that students having earned a 6 or a higher mark will NOT be entitled to re-take the exam. Recommendations Students having earned good marks may ask for a letter of recommendation or a reference letter. If you do not have been awarded good marks, it is unnecessary to ask any member of the academic staff. Students that qualify can only ask for a reasonable amount of letters of recommendations. Last-minute requests will not be accepted

14 Important Dates ACADEMIC YEAR Semester I: 3/09/ /01/2013 Semester II: 28/01/ /07/2013 The academic year comprises 2 semesters, each of 20 weeks, in which lectures, examination, implementation of tasks etc. take place. In July and August re-sits may take place. - Introduction days for international students: Thursday 30 August and Friday 31 August - Introductory meeting: Tuesday 30 August 2012, , KOG, room A008. After there will a small informal reception to get to know each other! - First course: Monday 3 September 2012, (KOG, room B025) (Criminal Justice: Legitimacy Effectiveness, Accountability) - Library Induction: Students need to sign up for a library session and there is a maximum of 25 people per session. Signing up can be done via at s.bruce@law.leidenuniv.nl, or by visiting BIO (office International Education) in KOG, room C Updated information on course schedules can be found on the website (in Dutch): (Lectures) (Working Groups) - The dates of the exams will be announced at the following website: PUBLIC HOLIDAYS / COMPULSORY VACATION DAYS - Leidens Ontzet (Relief of Leiden): 3 October Opening Academic Year in 2012: 3 September - Christmas and New Year: 24 December 2012 until 1 January Dies of Leiden University: 8 February Good Friday: 29 March Easter: 31 March and 1 April Queen's Birthday: 30 April Liberation Day: 5 May Ascension Day: 9 and 10 May Whitsun: 19 and 20 May

15 FIRST SEMESTER Locations: Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw (KOG), Leiden Law School, Steenschuur 25, 2311 ES, Leiden Sterrewacht, Sterrenwachtlaan 11, 2311 GP Leiden (how to get there see: ) - Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, Effectiveness, Accountability (10 ECTS) Lectures on Mondays 3, 10, 17, 24 September; 1, 15, 22, 29 October, and 5, 12 November 11:00-13:00 hrs in B025, KOG, Leiden. Working groups on Tuesday 4, 11, 18, 25 September; 2, 16, 23, 30 October, and 6, 13 November from 13:00-15:00 hrs in A051A, KOG, Leiden - Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Sentencing and Corrections (5 ECTS) Lectures on Wednesdays 28 November; 12, 19 December; Friday 14 December, 09:00-11:00 hrs, C102, Sterrewacht, Leiden and Wednesdays 28 November; 12, 19 December, 15:00-17:00 hrs, C102, Sterrewacht, Leiden. Working groups on Wednesdays 28 November; 12, 19 December, 11:00-13:00 and 13:00-15:00 hrs, C002 or C005, Sterrewacht, Leiden and Friday 14 December, 11:00-13:00 hrs and 13:00-15:00 hrs, C002 of C005, Sterrewacht, Leiden - Risk, Security and the Rule of Law (5 ECTS) Lectures on Tuesdays 4, 11, 18, 25 September; 2 October, 09:00-11:00 hrs, B031, KOG, Leiden - Working groups on Fridays 7, 14, 21, 28 September; 5 October, 11:00-13:00 hrs, C014, KOG, Leiden - Criminal Justice Actors in Comparative Perspective (10 ECTS) Lectures on Mondays 1, 15, 22, 29 October; 5, 12, 26 November; 3, 10, 17 December, 15:00-17:00 hrs, B025, KOG, Leiden Working groups on Tuesdays 2, 16, 23, 30 October; 6, 13, 27 November; 4, 11, 18 December, 09:00-11:00 hrs, B017, KOG, Leiden Course descriptions can be found in the e-prospectus at: - Updated information on course schedules can be found on the website: (Lectures) (Working Groups) (Exam dates)

16 SECOND SEMESTER - The schedule for the second semester will be made available in due course. Students are advised to check the e-prospectus (see link above) - Students should expect the end of the courses around the beginning of April. They will then have almost 3/4 months to complete their thesis. - The date of graduation depends on the date of completion of the thesis. The possible dates for graduation will be Tuesday 25 June or 27 August

17 Course Descriptions Further information about the courses can be found in the e-prospectus: Additionally, an extensive outline of each course and the list of the required materials (incl. the necessary textbooks) can be found on the Blackboard environment of each course ( In case of conflict between the information on Blackboard and on the website of the e-prospectus, Blackboard prevails. Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, Effectiveness, Accountability Criminal Justice as a concept refers to (the system of) practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts. Whereas this definition seems rather clear-cut, depending on an individual s culture, nationality and disciplinary background, the definition will be explained differently and, accordingly, there will be different areas of emphasis and theoretical underpinnings. In order to create a thorough and common understanding of the complex and interdisciplinary nature of the concept of criminal justice, this opening course of the master s programme in Criminal Justice: Legitimacy, accountability, effectiveness aims to provide an introduction to and overview of the systems of criminal justice currently operated in common law and civil law countries. The core components that both constitute and bind criminal justice and its actors and processes despite continental boundaries legitimacy, accountability and effectiveness are introduced and explained as important leading components, before students are introduced to contemporary issues and controversies in criminal justice. Beginning with an overview of law in society, the lectures will be structured following the chronology of the criminal justice policy cycle. During the lectures, emphasis will be placed upon contemporary challenges in the definition of laws and policies, the enforcement of law, (strategies of) policing, judicial systems, sentencing strategies, correctional practices, and emerging forms of justice. While the focus will be on practices in the Netherlands, the course also looks at other cultures and their criminal justice systems, although this comparative element will be further elaborated upon in the other courses of the curriculum. Lecturers: E. Devroe, P. Ölcer Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Sentencing and Corrections This course will familiarise students with the history, structure and performance of Dutch as well as international sentencing and correctional systems. Moreover, recent developments in sentencing law and practice will be discussed, thereby offering students a state-of-the-art insight into converging and diverging trends in sentencing and corrections within an international context. Sentencing is the process by which criminal sanctions are imposed in individual cases following a criminal conviction. The term corrections deals with the implementation and evaluation of criminal sentences after they are handed down. In fact, the two subject areas are inseparable. This course will examine sentencing and corrections from international and historical perspectives, from the viewpoint of legal sentencing structures and substantive laws on sentencing, from

18 theoretical and policy perspectives, and with close attention to many problem-specific areas. Students will be invited to explore sentencing theories and their application, the nature, scope and function of corrections, the impact of mass incarceration on crime and communities, the effectiveness of rehabilitation, the relationship between sanctions and crime, and the consequences of prisoner re-entry. These topics will be considered as they play out in current political and policy debates. Guest lectures may include presentations by judges, prosecutors, victims, offenders, politicians and correctional officers. Basic elements of the criminology curriculum will be integrated in the current course. Methodology and statistics of criminological research will be used in different group assignments. We will closely focus on the organisation of the correctional system and judicial policy in which there is room for integration of the different elements of justice, policy and organisation. Since punishment is an important intervention in the life course and criminal career of offenders, we will pay attention to another basic element of the criminology curriculum, namely the development of criminal behaviour. Lecturer: P. Nieuwbeerta, G.K. Schoep, J. de Keijser & A.Q. Bosma Risk, Security and the Rule of Law Over recent decades the Netherlands, in line with the US and the UK, has transformed into a fully-fledged Garlandian-style culture of control. Collective safety and security are dominating both the public and political discourse, thereby contributing to a growing body of actuarial criminal law. Whereas legislation should always be the best response to a specific problem, that is, the result of a careful process of considering all the values and interests at stake, the current safety and security discourse seems to obstruct this process by propagating the overriding importance of collective safety as a matter of course. The various safeguards embedded in the Dutch legislative procedure do not seem to be able to adequately counterbalance this focus on collective safety. The more serious the perceived criminal threat, the more easily infringements of human rights and civil liberties are accepted, both by the public and by the government. As research has shown, especially with regard to counterterrorism, the possibility and the fear of future terrorist attacks seem to have almost automatically caused the legislator to choose the protection of collective safety and security over the protection of civil liberties. Jonathan Simon (2007) speaks of governing through crime, referring to the development that policy and legislation are increasingly linked to the pursuit of safety based on the assumption that measures already in place are insufficient to do so. Despite its claimed limited effectiveness with regard to increasing collective safety, the answer to the perceived increase in crime and insecurity is mostly found in a more preventive criminal law, also referred to as actuarial justice. The term actuarial justice refers to the increasing focus within criminal law and criminal justice on the early detection and prevention of possible criminal threats and risks. The development of actuarial justice can be problematic seen from the Rule of Law. Whereas the Government has the responsibility under the Rule of Law to protect its citizens, under the same Rule of Law it is also responsible for drafting legitimate and efficient legislation with all due care and consideration, whilst respecting civil liberties as much as possible. Mitigating or even infringing civil rights and freedoms by means of legislation, including criminal legislation, in order to protect the foundations of democratic society is in itself neither objectionable nor unthinkable, particularly not in the face of terrorism. However, where extraordinary safety and security risks may require extraordinary legislation, there must be safeguards to ensure that such legislation is also drafted with exceptional care and that it is not simply the result of incident-oriented political impetus aimed at securing a future electorate. Although both collective safety and individual civil liberty

19 should be taken into account by the legislator, in the current culture of control especially after 9/11 with regard to counterterrorism only one side of the constitutional medal seems to matter. Both in public and political discourse collective safety and individual civil liberty are increasingly seen as mutually exclusive parameters. This specialism will chart how the complex task of the legislator has become even more complex in the present-day security culture, based on anti-terrorism legislation that has been introduced in the Netherlands since Where the legislator in implementing new legislation on public order and safety may have inadequately considered both sides of the constitutional coin, both collective security and individual legal protection, this seems to have become more troublesome and maybe even impossible as a result of the increased influence of public opinion and populist politics. Lecturers: M.A.H. van der Woude Criminal Justice Actors in Comparative Perspective By means of a combined focus on both criminal justice in the books (how should the system and its institutions function) and criminal justice in action (how does the system actually function), this course will provide a realistic insight into the complexity of the functioning of criminal justice systems in various jurisdictions. Not only will the Dutch criminal justice system be compared to other countries (e.g. the USA and the UK), the dynamics and impact of the European Union in relation to the criminal justice systems of its member states will also be addressed and further elaborated upon in Criminal Justice, Human Rights & EU Criminal Law. A broad overview will be provided of the theoretical origins and development, including the historical development. of policing, prosecution, sentencing, corrections and re-entry in various jurisdictions. This course provides students with a deep understanding of the organisations operating within criminal justice systems as well as the administration of criminal justice. Students will examine the central institutions and actors that make up the criminal justice process and ask how the daily practices of these organisations relate to and perhaps even influence the nature and quality of criminal justice. The focus will be on the five main institutions present in almost every criminal justice system: the police, the public prosecutor, the courts, the correctional system and the parole system. The course will explain how these institutions and corresponding actors operate, and will examine the nature of their interrelationships. By tracing the progress of a criminal case through the criminal justice process, students will discover what happens as we move from one institution to the next. Although criminal justice in the books might assume that the institutions and actors of the criminal justice system act as a coherent and unified system with aligned interests, this course will illustrate how the institutions carry out their respective mandates independently, generating systemic or institutional fragmentation. Diverse organisational objectives and differences in the use of discretionary powers exacerbate the fragmentation, contributing to the more realistic view of the criminal justice system as a network of interrelated, yet independent, individual agencies and actors. Lecturers: E. Devroe and several guest-lecturers Criminal Justice Policy Evaluation Criminal justice policy evaluation is concerned with the analysis, interpretation and communication of the way crime-reduction programs are set up and why they work out the way they do. As such, this course trains students in becoming able to point out how such programs could be improved, or even, if they should be continued. For this task, the

20 course is split up into critical discussions of various types of evaluation research, depending on the stage of the process. First, ex ante evaluations are done prior to the actual implementation of the intervention program, and are concerned with the program s theoretical basis. Why would this program work, and are unintended sideeffects to be expected from it? A second type of evaluation research concerns process evaluation, aimed at the actual implementation. It involves the documentation of the intervention s key aspects in order to evaluate if they are implemented as planned (e.g. uniform treatment of subjects in the experimental group). The final stage of evaluation is oriented toward the program s impact. Did it work out the way as planned? How large is the policy effect, and as such, does it offer value for money? (cost-benefit analysis) And are there any unintended side-effects (e.g. crime displacement, offender stigmatization)? In order to underline the difficulties in determining causality in impact evaluation, we will pay close attention to the methodological standards developed by the Campbell Collaboration. Also, we will discuss meta-analysis and systematic reviews as instruments to determine the evidence-base of criminal justice policies. Students will familiarize themselves with the three stages of evaluation research by means of literature study, and especially, by writing a research proposal for evaluation of a specified criminal justice policy program, and elaborate on their choices during a presentation. Lecturers: J. van Wilsem, V. Eichelsheim Crimmigration Over the past years, migration policy and criminal law have increasingly become merged. This has first been noted and labeled as crimmigration in the United States, but the trend is visible across the globe. On the one hand immigration law violations are increasingly addressed as criminal offenses, on the other hand immigration law is also increasingly used as an instrument of crime control: rather than being rehabilitated and re-integrated in the country of residence, non-citizen criminals may lose their residence permits, in order to be excluded from the territory with the help of immigration law. Rising rates of immigration detention, an increase in the number of declared undesirable aliens and recent proposals to criminalize illegal residence are some examples of the crimmigration-trend. In Europe, the literature is often framed in terms of securitisation. Strongly related to the crimmigration trend in Europe is the development of a political and public discourse in which immigrants are increasingly seen and addressed as dangerous others if not as criminals. Although this othering or framing of immigrants as a potential risky group dates back to the late nineties, the post 9/11 global war on terror and the rise of the security state seem to have intensified this negative stereotyping of immigrants. These developments have not let the field of policing and law enforcement untouched: recently various NGO s have reported an increase in policeinitiated action relying on the race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the behaviour of an individual or information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity. This course deals with crimmigration from an international and interdisciplinary perspective. Lecturers: J. van der Leun & J. Stumpf Criminal Justice, Human Rights and EU Criminal Law Traditionally, the criminal justice systems of European countries have always had their own specific and characteristic system of protection. At their core, these systems are sometimes related, but have further developed in a long and dynamic national process