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Identical coursesMethodology Seminar: Comparative Criminal Justice (B-KUL-C09C8A)
Cannot be taken as part of an examination contractAims
Knowledge: to gain a clear insight into the specific methodology of comparative law and criminology
Capacity: obtain skills for a adequate use of comparative (legal) research (in function of the Master Thesis)
Attitude: critical attitude towards different legal systems, institutions etc.
Previous knowledge
Final attainment level of Bachelor
Order of Enrolment
Mixed prerequisite:
You may only take this course if you comply with the prerequisites. Prerequisites can be strict or flexible, or can imply simultaneity. A degree level can be also be a prerequisite.
Explanation:
STRICT: You may only take this course if you have passed or applied tolerance for the courses for which this condition is set.
FLEXIBLE: You may only take this course if you have previously taken the courses for which this condition is set.
SIMULTANEOUS: You may only take this course if you also take the courses for which this condition is set (or have taken them previously).
DEGREE: You may only take this course if you have obtained this degree level.
SIMULTANEOUS(C00D8A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C01D3A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C01D7A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C02D2A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C02D6A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C03D0A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C01J2A) OR SIMULTANEOUS(C02J2A)
The codes of the course units mentioned above correspond to the following course descriptions:
C00D8A : De Masterproef ifv. Pijler 'rechtshandhaving' (No longer offered this academic year)
C01D3A : De Masterproef ifv. Pijler 'criminaliteit en (on)veiligheid' (No longer offered this academic year)
C01D7A : De Masterproef ifv. Pijler 'persoons- en gemeenschapsgerichte criminologie' (No longer offered this academic year)
C02D2A : Master's thesis Law enforcement (No longer offered this academic year)
C02D6A : Master's thesis Criminality and (in)security (No longer offered this academic year)
C03D0A : Master's thesis Person and community oriented criminology (No longer offered this academic year)
C01J2A : Masterproef criminologische wetenschappen
C02J2A : Master's Thesis Master of Criminology
This course unit is a prerequisite for taking the following course units:
C01J2A : Masterproef criminologische wetenschappen
Is included in these courses of study
Activities
1.5 ects. Methodological Support and Feedback for Compiling, Processing and Reporting (B-KUL-C00D0a)
Content
1. Comparative (legal) research: the context
- globalization
- internationalization of insecurity, crime and law enforcement
- developments in the Benelux, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations
2. Comparative (legal) research: the importance and the relevance for Criminology
- theoretical perspective
- criminal-political perspective
- practical perspective
3. Comparative (legal) research: design
- the formulation of the research questions
- the objectives of the research
- dogmatic vs. functional method
- normative and empirical research
- selection of countries and legal systems
- comparability of countries and legal systems vs. "comparison by juxtaposition"
- ideological, political, economical, social, cultural and historical context
- "law in the books" vs. "law in action"
4. Comparative (legal) research: bottlenecks and problems
- unclear research questions
- compiling of the data
- analysis and interpretation of the data
- knowledge of foreign practices
- language problems
- standards for comparison
- interpretation of similarities and differences
- evaluation of results
- "common errors"
- risk of idealization
- usefulness and practicability of "foreign solutions"
5. Case-studies
- selection of own research projects of the didactic team
- topics Master Thesis
1.5 ects. Methodological Support and Feedback for Topic Selection and Exploration (B-KUL-C09C9a)
Content
1. Comparative (legal) research: the context
- globalization
- internationalization of insecurity, crime and law enforcement
- developments in the Benelux, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations
2. Comparative (legal) research: the importance and the relevance for Criminology
- theoretical perspective
- criminal-political perspective
- practical perspective
3. Comparative (legal) research: design
- the formulation of the research questions
- the objectives of the research
- dogmatic vs. functional method
- normative and empirical research
- selection of countries and legal systems
- comparability of countries and legal systems vs. "comparison by juxtaposition"
- ideological, political, economical, social, cultural and historical context
- "law in the books" vs. "law in action"
4. Comparative (legal) research: bottlenecks and problems
- unclear research questions
- compiling of the data
- analysis and interpretation of the data
- knowledge of foreign practices
- language problems
- standards for comparison
- interpretation of similarities and differences
- evaluation of results
- "common errors"
- risk of idealization
- usefulness and practicability of "foreign solutions"
5. Case-studies
- selection of own research projects of the didactic team
- topics Master Thesis
Evaluation
Evaluation: Methodology Seminar: Comparative Criminal Justice (B-KUL-C29C8a)
Explanation
The evaluation is based on two papers. Students are expected to apply the methodology of comparative law and criminology in both papers.
The first paper contributes to one third (1/3) of the score and is submitted during the first semester. Aside from a general description of the (proposed) research, the first paper requires a depiction of the search strategy.
The second paper contributes to two thirds (2/3) of the score and is submitted during the second semester. The students need to report on the methodology of their research, which includes a discussion about features such as the specific comparative method that has been used, selection of countries/institutions, …