MICS Research

Research line 1: Quality and Fairness in Criminal Justice

A central challenge for modern criminal justice systems is to meet increasing demands for security while safeguarding the rule of law and human rights. This research line addresses this tension across both substantive criminal law and criminal procedure.

In substantive criminal law, we examine which forms of conduct should be criminalised, how the scope and limits of criminal liability are defined, and under what conditions individuals can be held responsible for criminal conduct. Scientific developments, including the growing role of artificial intelligence and automated systems alongside advances in neuroscience and behavioural sciences, challenge traditional assumptions about autonomy, rationality, and control.

In criminal procedure, we focus on procedural safeguards, including the rights of victims, and there is particular attention to fact-finding, evidence evaluation, and decision-making in practice. By combining legal and empirical perspectives, including insights from psychology, forensic sciences, and forensic medicine, we analyse how evidence is produced and assessed, the risks of error and bias, and the role of experts and evidence-based approaches in judicial decision-making. We also examine the impact of digitalisation and AI, including e-evidence, digital forensics, and the online courtroom, as well as the challenges posed by efficiency-driven and fast-track forms of justice.

Comparative law is used not only to situate these issues within a broader legal context, but also to uncover the underlying rationales and philosophical assumptions shaping different procedural models. This work builds on strong expertise in comparative law in both substantive criminal law and criminal procedure, while maintaining specific attention to Dutch criminal procedure.

Research line 2: Crime & Criminal Justice in a European and Global Context

Processes of Europeanisation and globalisation have led to new forms of cross-border crime, including organised crime, illegal markets, and other transnational activities. Our research examines how such forms of crime emerge, develop, and operate across borders, and how they are shaped by economic, social, and technological dynamics.

These developments pose significant challenges for criminal justice systems and crime policies. In response, new forms of international cooperation have emerged, and supranational organisations have become increasingly important. Law enforcement agencies operate in complex, multi-level networks, collaborating with national and international counterparts, other state authorities, and private actors, and increasingly relying on the exchange of data on crime and suspects.

Against this background, we analyse how legal frameworks and policies address cross-border crime. Our research focuses on European and international criminal law, including cooperation in criminal matters and broader forms of international collaboration. We examine how national criminal justice systems function within systems of multi-level governance, how responsibilities are distributed, and what these developments mean for the rule of law and the protection of fundamental rights.

Research line 3: Responses to Crime

Criminal justice systems are no longer the only framework through which societies respond to wrongdoing and social harm. Increasingly, alternative approaches to justice are being developed that complement or move beyond traditional criminal law. These approaches seek to address harm, responsibility, and conflict in ways that are not limited to punishment, but also focus on restoration, prevention, and social repair.

This research line examines a range of such approaches, including restorative justice and transitional justice. Restorative justice focuses on repairing harm through dialogue between victims and offenders, and by involving communities in processes of accountability and resolution. Transitional justice takes a broader perspective, exploring how societies respond to large-scale or systemic wrongdoing, for example through truth-seeking, reparations, institutional reform, and processes of reconciliation.

More broadly, this research explores how justice can be understood and organised beyond formal criminal law, including the role of informal mechanisms, community-based responses, and hybrid forms of governance. It also critically examines the relationship between these approaches and traditional criminal justice systems, including their potential, their limitations, and the conditions under which they can contribute to fair and effective responses to harm.