Criminal behaviour concerns everyone both in business life and in private life. It is important to know how to react when confronted with criminal investigations be it as a witness, an accused, a victim or as an employee in a company that is under investigation.

This module gives an overview of the criminal justice system. By analyzing true crime cases you will develop a profound understanding of the basic principles of criminal law. Although the lecture focuses primarily on German criminal law we will also discuss differences in other jurisdictions as well as the challenges of criminal cases in an international context.

During the course we will discuss a variety of different cases. A focus will be on white collar crime.

Upon completion of the module you will have knowledge of:

• the functioning of the criminal law enforcement system
• the most relevant criminal offenses especially in the business world
• important criminal law cases / precedents in Germany
• the necessary steps to take when confronted with a criminal investigation
• the typical problems in cross-border criminal proceedings

Furthermore you will achieve the following skills:

• to identify criminally relevant behavior and to research criminal law issues independently
• to draft and file a criminal complaint
• to better understand criminal cases you read about and put them in context
• to identify areas of business and private life where committing a crime is more likely
• to manage criminal cases in your company including internal investigations

• Gerhard Robbers, An Introduction to German Law, 7^th edition, 2019
• Robert Cryer, An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure, 4^th edition, 2019

Präsenszeit: 24 UE
Selbststudium: 50 UE

Gesamtaufwand: 74 UE

*UE = Unterrichtseinheit = 45 Min