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Criminal Law III

Code: 102245
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Law OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Míriam Cugat Mauri
Email :
miriam.cugat@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Rafael Rebollo Vargas
Maria Jose Rodriguez Puerta
Maria Jose Pifarre De Moner

Teaching staff (external to UAB)

Mónica Aguilar Romo,
José López Sánchez
María Calvo López
Víctor Muñoz Casalta

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites


For an understanding and a correct follow-up of this subject it is advisable to have passed the two previous subjects (Criminal Law I and Criminal Law II). With respect to other subjects under study in the first year, it is also especially a good knowledge of the basic institutions object of the Constitutional Law programs.


The teaching of the subject will be taught taking into account the perspective of the sustainable development objectives.

Objectives

The essential content of the subject is regulated in Book II of the Criminal Code, which contains the so-called “special part” of criminal law.

The course focuses on the groups of offences that most frequently come before our courts and explains the main practical problems they raise.The aim of the course is for students to become familiar with the key aspects of the main offences and to learn the method of resolving criminal cases, and in particular:

a) to identify the criminally relevant elements of a factual scenario in light of the constituent elements of the various offences.

b) to apply the legal theory of crime to the resolution of cases.

c) to practise legal argumentation.

Learning outcomes

  1. Managing bibliographic and documentary resources: databases, browsing, etc.
  2. Use different information and communication technologies.
  3. Students must be capable of making decisions.
  4. Demonstrating a sensible and critical reasoning: analysis, synthesis, conclusions.
  5. Identifying and solving problems.
  6. Planning and organising: managing of time, resources, etc.
  7. Students must be capable of learning autonomously and having an entrepreneurial spirit.
  8. Working in teams, being either a member or a coordinator of working groups, as well as making decisions affecting the whole group.
  9. Students must be capable of perceiving the impact and implications of the decisions taken.
  10. Memorising and using the criminal specific terminology.
  11. Identifying and knowing the limiting principles of labour law.
  12. Identifying, knowing and applying the interpretative principles of criminal law.
  13. Drawing up resolutions of criminal cases.
  14. Drawing up documents of specific criminal content linked to the process, fundamentally of provisional conclusions, appeals, and sentences.
  15. Solving interpretation and application problems of criminal laws.
  16. Finding the applicable legislation between the criminal code and special criminal laws.
  17. Identifying and assessing the jurisprudence of Provincial Courts and the Supreme Court in criminal matters.
  18. Using the arguments of criminal and constitutional jurisprudence for the resolution of criminal problems.
  19. Verbally explaining the resolution of problems related to criminal laws.
  20. Acquiring the basic knowledge of criminal law.
  21. Arguing the implementation of criminal laws in the resolution of criminal problems.
  22. Laying the foundation for the implementation of criminal laws in the resolution of criminal problems.
  23. Identifying the conflicts of interest underlying in a general criminal law suit.
  24. Identifying the conflicts of interest underlying in a concrete criminal law suit.
  25. Becoming aware of the importance of the ethical commitment of the lawyer in the criminal proceeding.
  26. Defining defence strategies of the criminal legal interests.
  27. Introducing in the classroom the defence or accusation of criminal cases.
  28. Presenting in an oral or written way the legislative reforms and the jurisprudential changes that are carried out in criminal matters.
  29. Distinguishing the important connexion between the substantive criminal law and the procedural criminal law.
  30. Defining the link between the criminal law and the constitutional principles and values.
  31. Distinguishing the dependence and autonomy relations between criminal law and the rest of branches of the legal system (civil, labour, administration, finances).
  32. Using the main constitutional principles and values as a working tool in the interpretation of the legal system.
  33. Searching criminal sentences in databases.
  34. Interpreting the criminal laws as criminal policy decisions.
  35. Defining the main criminal institutions.

Contents



The syllabus is divided into compulsory (O) and optional (F) topics. From the optional topics, the lecturer in charge of each group will select a maximum of three which, together with the compulsory topics, will form the course syllabus.


Basic compulsory topics


1. INTRODUCTION: Systematisation of protected legal interests and classification of offences.

2. CRIMES AGAINST HUMAN LIFE. a) Offences against independent human life: Homicide. Murder. Inducement to and assistance in suicide, with particular reference to euthanasia. b) Offences against dependent human life: Abortion.

3. OFFENCES AGAINST HEALTH AND PHYSICAL INTEGRITY. a) Bodily harm: basic, minor, aggravated and reckless forms. The specific criminalisation of domestic and gender-based violence. Participation in a brawl. The relevance of the victim’s consent. Organ trafficking. b) Injury to the foetus.

4. CRIMES AGAINST LIBERTY. a) Unlawful detention and abduction. b) Threats. c) Coercion. d) New forms of infringement of liberty.

5. OFFENCES AGAINST MORAL INTEGRITY, TORTURE AND TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS. a) Degrading treatment and similar conduct. b) Habitual domestic and gender-based violence. c) Torture and other attacks on moral integrity by public officials. d) Trafficking in human beings.

6. OFFENCES AGAINST SEXUAL FREEDOM AND INTEGRITY. a) Sexual assaults. Sexual assaults on children under the age of sixteen. c) Sexual harassment. Exhibitionism and sexual provocation. c) Offences relating to prostitution, sexual exploitation and the corruption of minors. d) Common provisions.

7. OFFENCES AGAINST PRIVACY, THE RIGHT TO ONE’S OWN IMAGE AND THE INVIOLABILITY OF THE HOME. a) Discovery and disclosure of secrets. b) Trespassing on dwellings, the premises of legal persons and establishments open to the public.

8. OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY (I). a) Protected legal interest and the concept of property. Property offences involving enrichment through misappropriation: Theft and aggravating circumstances. Burglary of property. Robbery involving violence or intimidation against persons. c) Reference to extortion, the theft and unauthorised use of motor vehicles, and unlawful occupation.

9. OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY (II). Property offences involving enrichment and fraud: Concept and general considerations regarding fraud. Fraud: basic and aggravated forms. Misappropriation. Breach of fiduciary duty.

10. OFFENCES AGAINST PUBLIC SAFETY. a) The criminalisation of offences posing a danger. b) Special reference to drug trafficking. c) General aspects of offences against road safety.

11. FORGERY. a) Protected legal interest, concept, requirements and classification of forgery. b) Documentary forgery: concept and types of documents; main forms of documentary fraud. c) Personal forgeries: unauthorised practice of a profession.


Optional topics


1. GENETIC MANIPULATION.

2. FAILURE TO RENDER ASSISTANCE.

3. OFFENCES AGAINST HONOUR: Constitutional issues. Defamation. – Insults. Common provisions.

4. OFFENCES AGAINST FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS: Illegal marriages. Falsification of childbirth and alteration of a minor’s paternity, status or condition. Offences against family rights and duties: non-payment of maintenance.

5. OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY (Continued). Punishable insolvency offences: concealment of assets and insolvency proceedings. Property offences without enrichment. Damages: concept and forms.

6. OFFENCES AGAINST THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ORDER. Price manipulation in tenders and auctions. Offences relating to intellectual and industrial property. Offences relating to the market and consumers. Corruption in business. Reference to the misappropriation of one’s own property for purposes other than its social utility. Corporate offences. References to handling stolen goods and money laundering.

7. ILLEGAL FINANCING OF POLITICAL PARTIES.

8. OFFENCES AGAINST THE PUBLIC TREASURY AND SOCIAL SECURITY. Tax fraud. – Reference to fraud and the misappropriation of grants. Reference to offences against Social Security.

9. OFFENCES AGAINST WORKERS’ RIGHTS.

10. OFFENCES AGAINST THE RIGHTS OF FOREIGN NATIONALS.

11. OFFENCES RELATING TO LAND USE PLANNING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE PROTECTION OF HISTORICAL HERITAGE AND THE ENVIRONMENT. Reference to offences relating to land-use planning, town and country planning and the historical heritage. Offences against natural resources and the environment. Reference to offences relating to the protection of flora and fauna.

12. OFFENCES AGAINST THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. Malfeasance in office. Bribery. Embezzlement of public funds. Breach of confidentiality. Disobedience. Trafficking in influence. Use of inside information.

13. OFFENCES AGAINST THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE. Judicial malfeasance. False accusations and complaints. Simulation of an offence. Perjury. Concealment. Obstruction of justice and professional misconduct. Failure to prevent offences. Breach of sentence.

14. OFFENCES AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION: Classification of offences covered by this title. – Special consideration given to: Rebellion. Offences relating to the exercise of fundamental rights and public freedoms: unlawful association. Offences committed by public officials against constitutional guarantees.

15. OFFENCES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER: Considerations regarding the legal interest. - Classification. - Special consideration of: a) Attacks, resistance and disobedience. - b) Terrorism.

16. OFFENCES OF TREASON, AGAINST THE PEACE OR INDEPENDENCE OF THE STATE AND RELATING TO NATIONAL DEFENCE. Classification and general concepts. - OFFENCES AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Seminars 22 0.88 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35
Elaboration of the various activities of the seminars 35 1.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33
Study 56 2.24 3, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 28, 30, 31, 35
Tutorials 0 0
Realization of schemes, conceptual maps and summaries. 10 0.4 3, 6, 10, 16, 20, 35
Theoretical classes. 22 0.88 11, 12, 15, 17, 21, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35


To follow the course effectively, students must undertake three types of activities:

1. Guided activities.

1.1. Lectures delivered in the classroom by the lecturer, covering the theoretical content of the course (50 per cent of the time).

1.2. Seminars: Once the fundamental content of each of the course’s topics has been presented, it is explored in seminars or workshops. The work carried out in these sessions is predominantly practical and may consist of reading texts, analysing court rulings, conducting mock trials and giving presentations on complementary topics, either individually or in groups, to prepare for the assessment tests (50 per cent of the time).

2. Independent activities. These activities complement the above and are designed to enable students to work on the course content either individually or in groups. There are two types of such activities:

Group work on the materials to be analysed in the weekly workshops/seminars.

Individual work on the seminar topics and readings.

3. Supervised activities: Tutorials.

The methodology applied to the Law + Business Administration and Management dual degree may vary. The lecturer in charge will specify when and how the practical activities and seminars will take place.

Note: 15 minutes of one class, within the timetable set by the institution or the degree programme, will be set aside for students to complete evaluation surveys on the lecturer, the course or the module.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Individual work (solution of cases with jurisprudence, comments on sentences or doctrinal articles) 50% 3 0.12 10, 11, 12, 20, 28, 30, 35
Overall final test 50% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34

1. Continuous Assessment Model

Classes start and finish on time; students will not be permitted to enter after the class has begun or leave before it has finished.

Assessment will take place throughout the term. This requires regular attendance at classes (80%) and the completion of the activities detailed below.

Continuous assessment (50% of the final mark). The continuous assessment activities are of two types:

1. Individual activities will consist of solving 2 case studies (50% of the final mark). The first will be worth 20% and the second 30%.2. Final exam: multiple-choice questions/short-answer questions/essay questions (50% of the final mark).

If a student does not attend any of the individual assessment activities, they can only be rescheduled if the absence is justified.

2. Single assessmentStudents who opt for the single assessment will have to pass an exam consisting of 2 activities to be completed in 3 hours on the day of the final exam:

Multiple-choice/short-answer/essay questions, same as for students on the continuous assessment (worth 50% of the final mark).The solution of 2 case studies (worth 50% of the final mark).

Like the rest of the students, those opting for the single assessment will have the right to request to see the module's lecturer during the entire semester, at the scheduled tutorial times.The same recovery system as for continuous assessment will apply.

The same “not assessed” criterion as for continuous assessment will apply.

3. Rules for passing the module and re-assessment

A student will be assessed provided they have completed a set of activities whose weighting is equivalent to at least two-thirds of the total course mark. If the value of the activities completed does not reach this threshold, the course tutor may consider the student to be not for assessment.

To pass the module, a mark of 5/10 is required (in both the continuous and single assessment models) and a minimum of 2/5 of the final summative assessment. Otherwise, a re-assessment will be required.

4. Resit

Those students who have failed and those wishing to improve their mark may sit the resit, whether for the final group assessment or for one of the continuous assessment tasks. There is no requirement to have achieved a minimum mark in the previous assessments in order to sit the resit.

The final group assessment subject to the resit will be of the same type as the one previously undertaken and counts for up to 5 marks towards the final mark for the module.

The continuous assessment activity subject to resit will be of the same type as one of those carried out during the academic year and will count for the same mark as the one it replaces, i.e. 2 or 3 marks, as applicable.

IMPORTANT:

In the event that a student copies, commits plagiarism, or is caught with a prohibited device in any assessment, the lecturer will mark them with a 0 for that assessment,

and will report the incident to the Faculty Dean, submitting a report on the circumstances and evidence of the incident to request the opening of a potential disciplinary case against the student. This assessment activity will not be recoverable. In the event that more than one irregularity occurs in the assessment exercises for the same module, the final grade for that module will be 0.

Restricted AI Use: For this module, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searching, text correction or translations. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. A lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a partial or full penalty on the activity's mark, or more severe sanctions in more serious cases.

Bibliography

Mandatory readings

-In order to prepare the course, three manuals are recommended. Is mandatory to know the content of the handbbok to pass the course. Students are free to choose among one of the following three:

- To prepare the seminars, specific and complementary bibliography will be provided via Moodle.

Each professor responsible for the subject may recommend complementary bibliography through the Moodle.

Software

Westlaw and other case law databases.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 11 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 12 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 13 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 21 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 22 Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 23 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 51 Spanish first semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 70 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 511 Spanish first semester afternoon
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 512 Spanish first semester afternoon
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 513 Spanish first semester afternoon
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 701 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(SEM30) Seminaris (30 estudiants per grup) 702 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed