‘Balkan Criminology’ One-Week Intensive Course

The ‘Balkan Criminology’ One-Week Intensive Course will be held from 5th to 9th October at the Inter-University Center in Dubrovnik.

The course provides in-depth and up-to-date knowledge about the state of art in crime research in the Balkans, while introducing its participants to the basics of criminological methodology, phenomenology and etiology. It is part of the overall scientific programme of the Max Planck Partner Group for Balkan Criminology, which is jointly established between the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and the Zagreb Faculty of Law – University of Zagreb/Croatia and funded by Germany’s leading research foundation – the Max Planck Society.

The course serves as a platform for the dissemination of criminological expertise gathered through the MPPG scientific activities: The MPPG research focuses, as well as the expertise gathered at the annual conferences. This concept of transforming newest research findings and expertise from and for the region into transmittable knowledge for course participants ensures a holistic approach that combines education with science and research. The added value for course participants is, besides the knowledge itself, the networking opportunity with colleagues from the region and the possibility to present their PhD/Master/Diploma thesis before internationally and regionally renown experts.

The programme offers 4 ECTS credits via the attendance certificate issued by the course director and IUC Dubrovnik, which are recognized by the Zagreb Faculty of Law. Precondition is the regular attendance of the course and the delivery of a participant presentation in oral and written form

Special feature: the best student paper of the 2015 BC Course will be selected for the publication in the European Journal of Criminology.

The winners are:

• Ms. S.L. Schot and Ms. L.M. Bruijn, (University of Groningen, Netherlands). The title of their paper was: Isolation in Disguise – An Explanation for the Increasing Violent Behavior against Refugees by Border Police across the Balkan Route in Macedonia and Serbia.

Given the overall quality of the papers and range of interesting topics, the Balkan Criminology Course directors extended the opportunity of publishing an abbreviated version of those papers which they considered meritorious in the Balkan Criminology Newsletter. Therefore, an invitation to publish in the Newsletter was extended to:

• Mr. Srđan Vujović (University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The title of his paper was: Corruption offences and Organized crime in the final judgements at Bosnian courts: Where is the link?
• Mr. Rok Hacin (University of Maribor; Slovenia). The title of his paper was: A comprehensive approach to the study of legitimacy in Slovenian prisons.
• Ms. Željka Bogović (Student Volunteer of the Max Planck Partner Group). The title of her paper was: The UGPOL Research Project: Fieldwork Report.

Congratulations to the winners and to all participants, and thank you again for your participation in the course. We wish you all the best with your studies and future projects and academic endeavors.

Delivery of a participant presentation in oral and written form is only mandatory in case the students want to gain the 4 ECTS points. If not, they are free to take part in the course and will only get an attendance certificate.

The Course fee for participants is 150 Euro which include enrolment, participation in the lectures and student materials. Participants are expected to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements and cover these costs – formal invitation letters for scholarship applications may be sent to dedicated participants. The fee must be paid in advance by wire transfer. Further information on payment of the fee will be sent with the registration confirmation. In addition to the Course fee, all participants are required to pay a 40,00 Euro fee to the IUC Dubrovnik upon arrival.

For early registration by 15th June 2015, a reduced early bird fee of 100 Euro is available. The course manger can provide help with organizing travel and accommodation arrangements.

Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg i. Br., Germany, will grant a scholarship of 240 EUR to a limited number of course participants. The scholarship is intended to cover the registration fee and parts of your accommodation and/or travel costs. Participants are expected to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

Precondition for the scholarship is the regular attendance of the course and the delivery of a participant presentation in oral and written form.

If you would like apply for a scholarship, please send your CV until 25.09.2015 on the email r.bezic@balkan-criminology.eu. Scholarships will be granted on an ‘first come – first get’ basis. Payments will be made via bank transfer after the course. Payout in cash is not possible.

MPPG contact for Balkan Criminology’ Course: Reana Bezić