Research programme

Criminal Justice: Societally Effective Criminal Justice 2023-2029

In the Criminal Justice research programme, (criminal) law researchers and social scientists – many of whom are criminologists – collaborate on various projects. The research programme focuses on the content and form of decisions that could be, should be and are taken in by actors in the criminal justice system (CJS), given task division and designated responsibilities. Research within the programme assesses these decisions from the perspective of democracy and the rule of law.

Contact: Miranda Boone

Decisions made within the criminal justice system by different actors at various stages involve both legislation and preventive measures, detection, enforcement, adjudication, enforcement of sanctions as well as ‘aftercare. Not only are these decisions chronologically sequential, but they can also ideally be considered links in a chain: interrelated, dependent, aligned and balanced. This implies that the tasks and powers assigned to CJS actors, enabling them to make those decisions, are tailored to their role in the overall system, which should also include the European and international legal order.

Societally Effective Criminal Justice

Following a successful review of the departmental research programme, the focus over the coming period will be on societally effective criminal justice. As such, this also will be the new title of our research programme for the coming years. This new title reflects our research goal, which is to identify, analyse and explicitly solve social and societal issues, particularly those currently faced by the criminal justice system.

This new focus also implies limitations. While we focus on themes that are also relevant beyond the faculty (for example, the university's research focus areas, the Dutch Research Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we will take a step back or seek collaboration with other academic disciplines where the application of criminal law cannot play a key role in solving today’s social and societal problems. This view is in line with an understanding of criminal law in which its effective application must always be consistent with the underlying values and principles of the applicable criminal law.

Fellows

PhD candidates

External PhD candidates

In the coming years, the research programme will focus on three key questions:

When can, and should, unacceptable or criminal behaviour be tackled, for example using CJS interventions? And when not?
Here, we address questions relating to criminalisation, investigative and prosecutorial decisions, the scope of criminal law compared to other areas of law, and undesirable consequences of a CJS approach, including sentencing.
How can crimefighting contribute to the solving of serious social and societal issues, and which factors play a role in the success or failure of measures to effectively tackle these issues?
Research on this question also covers questions about the evolving roles of actors in the European and national criminal justice system (e.g. the role of the judge and the role of the European Public Prosecutor's Office), as well as the evolving role and responsibility of companies, agencies and citizens in the investigation of serious social and societal issues.
What are the effects, intended or unintended, of crimefighting? How can sentencing processes be made increasingly effective, whilst retaining or increasing their humanity, as well as their compliance with fundamental human rights?

In addition to the two priorly existing research themes – Sentencing and Evidence: Fact-Finding – two new focus areas were established in 2023: Vulnerable Groups & Inequality and Tackling Subversive Financial and Economic Crime.

Related research

Criminal Justice: Societally Effective Criminal Justice 2023-2029
- Pre-Trial Detention of Juveniles in Dutch Practice