Maastricht Institute for Criminal Sciences
Located at the law faculty of the University of Maastricht, the MICS brings together scholars from all over the world with different academic and professional backgrounds such as law, forensic psychology, criminalistics, and criminology. The multidisciplinary research focuses on crime, criminal law, and criminal justice systems combining a legal comparative approach with a social scientific methodology. Our staff teaches a variety of bachelor and master courses both in Dutch and English. MICS is involved in numerous international academic and research networks.
Blogs
From Mayors to Sheriffs: How the Netherlands is Fighting Organised Crime (and Germany is Taking Notes)
- Law
The administrative approach to organised crime has redefined local governance in the Netherlands, where mayors wield powerful tools to disrupt illicit networks. As Germany begins to experiment with similar strategies, comparative insights become essential.
How Germany Almost Legalized Cannabis
- Law
The 1st of April 2024 marks the day when Germany adopted the most progressive legal approach to cannabis in Europe. While for the Dutch, this may sound like an April’s fool prank, it is far from it: The new German CanG (Cannabis Law) regulates the consumption, possession, and supply of the soft drug more consistently than the world-famous Dutch tolerance policy with its unique coffee shops ever did. But the road towards the regulation was rocky, full of aberrations and disappointments.
European Day for the Victims of Crime
- Law
On February 22, it's the 'European Day of the Victim'. On this day, various organizations at home and abroad pay attention to victims of criminal offenses. For example, Victim Support Europe organizes a symposium in Brussels titled 'Leave No Victim Behind: Victims' Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals'. This event is a good example of how victim organizations gratefully make use of international and supranational instruments - in this case, the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations - which aim (partly) to improve the position of victims.
The Cannabis Dilemma – Is the legalisation of cannabis in Europe possible?
- Law
Germany has elected a new government. One of the legal reforms coalition of Social democrats, the Green party and the free liberals want to put on the tracks is the legalization of cannabis. From a criminological point of view, this is the right decision.
Suspects' privilege against self-incrimination not violated when made to unlock smartphone with fingerprint, Dutch Supreme Court rules
- Law
On the 9th of February, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that forcing suspects to provide access to their smartphone with a fingerprint is not a breach of the privilege against self-incrimination. The case originated from an ex officio appeal ‘in the interest of the law’ in a case of the Court of North Holland. Appeals ‘in the interest of the law’ are introduced by the Prosecutor-General to encourage the Supreme Court to provide clarification of important legal principles.
Research
Research at MICS is multidisciplinary and covers fields of criminal law, criminology, psychology, neurosciences and forensics. Apart from studying the law in the books and the law in action, the normative, cognitive and operational assumptions that underlie criminal policies and law making are at the core of our research. Contemporary challenges posed by crime are no longer limited to the nation state but require a multidisciplinary and global analytical framework. Shifting paradigms within criminal justice systems broadened the view from the nation state over the cross-border and European level all up to the international level and cyberspace.
MICS conducts cutting-edge research on three main focus-themes:
- Quality standards for criminal justice systems
- Additional and alternative responses to criminal justice
- International cooperation in criminal matters.
MICS’s research takes place in the following four out of five streams:
1. Values
2. Institutions
4. Mobility
5. Digitalisation
News
Inaugural lecture Jan Willem van Prooijen
- Researchers
What drives people to embrace radical conspiracy theories, sometimes with far-reaching consequences for society?
No more room behind bars. How do we solve this?
Full prisons, staff shortages, and political disagreement about solutions – the Dutch prison system is under pressure.
NWO grant for research into effective participation in online criminal proceedings
Courts use digital tools more and more often in criminal proceedings.
Research on illegal intercountry adoption awarded with Edmond Hustinxprijs
Intercountry adoption often appears to be the ultimate humanitarian deed.
Awards for theses by PhD Candidates Hannah Brodersen and Alice Giannini
- Students
- Students going the extra mile
Two Law PhD candidates of the Maastricht Faculty received awards for their doctoral theses during the 21st
