Institute of Criminal Law / Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology
Boothstraat 6, 3512 BW Utrecht, tel. +31 30 253 71 25, email: wpi@uu.nl
The Willem Pompe Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology is the Institute of Criminal Law of Utrecht University’s Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance. Members of staff of this department provide education in the fields of criminal law, the law of criminal procedure, European and international criminal law, criminal law and human rights, criminology, and forensic psychiatry and psychology. They also carry out research in these fields in connection with the research programme entitled "Criminal law and fundamental values in a changing world – shifting boundaries in the risk society".
The Institute has a long history. In 1934 it was established as a Criminological Institute by the Utrecht Professor of Criminal (Procedural) Law Willem Pompe. From that time onwards members of staff from various disciplines have cooperated in connection with the Institute. The Willem Pompe Institute is currently located at Boothstraat 6, a historic building in the centre of Utrecht. The Institute currently has around 50 staff members. They are divided among the Criminal Law, Criminology and Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology sections.
In the field of education the aim is to allow students to gain knowledge of and an insight into criminal procedure, criminology and related areas, as well as to challenge them to develop their own opinions thereon and to substantiate these viewpoints. In this respect, students are introduced to the results of research carried out by members of staff so that they can profit from the expertise which has been built up. The internationalization of education is reflected in the subjects which are dealt with in the courses, the large choice of courses taught in English and the cooperation with foreign students within certain courses. In cooperation with the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM) the Willem Pompe Institute offers a LLM Specialisation International Law of Human Rights and Criminal Justice. In 2011 the Institute will start with a new Master’s track in Global Criminology. In summer an academic course on International Juvenile Justice is organised.
The research which is carried out is fundamental and transboundary. Occupying centre stage is the meaning of fundamental values of criminal procedure in changing and hardening relations in the current risk society. The research is thereby transboundary in many respects. It crosses the borders of several fields of study by means of the multidisciplinary approach which is often chosen. Other legal fields are also looked at (internal comparative law). The research has unmistakable international dimensions. By studying European criminal law, international criminal law and human rights and the direct effect thereof in national criminal procedure, the international influences on tendencies in criminal procedure are analysed and critically evaluated. Moreover, external comparative law is also engaged in by means of a comparison with the legal systems of other countries.
Researchers work together with researchers from within and outside Utrecht University. Researchers thereby participate in the University research focus areas of Conflicts & Human Rights and the Origins and Impact of Institutions. Outside the University there are cooperation agreements with the well known School of Human Rights Research.