Supporting interdisciplinary case studies: development and implementation of a joint learning environment for students in forensic science and criminal law

Scientific reporting and communication is a challenging topic for which traditional study programs do not offer structured learning activities on a regular basis. This paper reports on the development and implementation of a web application and associated learning activities that intend to raise the awareness of reporting and communication issues among students in forensic science and law. The project covers interdisciplinary case studies based on a library of written reports about forensic examinations. Special features of the web framework, in particular a report annotation tool, support the design of various individual and group learning activities that focus on the development of knowledge and competence in dealing with reporting and communication challenges in the students' future areas of professional activity.

Quelques conséquences de l'application du nouveau code pénal suisse sur la psychiatrie légale [Some consequences of the application of the new Swiss penal code on legal psychiatry]

The new text of the Swiss penal code, which entered into effect at the beginning of 2007, has many incidences on the practice of the psychiatrists realizing expertises in the penal field or engaged in the application of legal measures imposing a treatment. The most notable consequences of this text are, on the one hand, a new definition of the concept of penal irresponsibility which is not necessarily any more related to a psychiatric diagnosis and, on the other hand, a new definition of legal constraints that justice can take to prevent new punishable acts and which appreciably modifies the place of the psychiatrists in the questions binding psychiatric care and social control.

Prévention de la toxicomanie auprès des jeunes : le rôle de la police, des tribunaux et des juges des mineurs

[Table des matières] 1. Introduction. 2. Méthode. 3. Contexte juridique dans une perspective fédérale. 4. Présentation de deux exemples de collaboration à l'étranger. 5. Présentation des exemples. 6. Synthèse des modèles d'interventions. 7. Réponses aux questions d'évaluation. 8. Conclusions et recommandations. 9. Annexes.

Suchtprävention bei Jugendlichen : die Rolle der Polizei und der Jugendgerichte

[Inhaltsverzeichnis] Zusammenfassung. 1. Einleitung. 2. Methode. 3. Der rechtliche Rahmen auf Bundesebene. 4. Einblicke in zwei Beispiele der Zusammenarbeit aus dem Ausland. 5. Präsentation der Beispiele. 6. Kurzdarstellung der Interventionsmodelle. 7. Evaluationsfragen. 8. Schlussfolgerungen und Empfehlungen. 9. Anhänge.

Les Neurosciences au Tribunal: de la responsabilité à la dangerosité

In recent years, an explosion of interest in neuroscience has led to the development of "Neuro-law," a new multidisciplinary field of knowledge whose aim is to examine the impact and role of neuroscientific findings in legal proceedings. Neuroscientific evidence is increasingly being used in US and European courts in criminal trials, as part of psychiatric testimony, nourishing the debate about the legal implications of brain research in psychiatric-legal settings. During these proceedings, the role of forensic psychiatrists is crucial. In most criminal justice systems, their mission consists in accomplishing two basic tasks: assessing the degree of responsibility of the offender and evaluating their future dangerousness. In the first part of our research, we aim to examine the impact of Neuroscientific evidence in the assessment of criminal responsibility, a key concept of law. An initial jurisprudential research leads to conclude that there are significant difficulties and limitations in using neuroscience for the assessment of criminal responsibility. In the current socio-legal context, responsibility assessments are progressively being weakened, whereas dangerousness assessments gain increasing importance in the field of forensic psychiatry. In the second part of our research we concentrate on the impact of using neuroscience for the assessment of dangerousness. We argue that in the current policy era of zero tolerance, judges, confronted with the pressure to ensure public security, may tend to interpret neuroscientific knowledge and data as an objective and reliable way of evaluating one's dangerousness and risk of reoffending, rather than their responsibility. This tendency could be encouraged by a utilitarian approach to punishment, advanced by some recent neuroscientific research which puts into question the existence of free will and responsibility and argues for a rejection of the retributive theory of punishment. Although this shift away from punishment aimed at retribution in favor of a consequentialist approach to criminal law is advanced by some authors as a more progressive and humane approach, we believe that it could lead to the instrumentalisation of neuroscience in the interest of public safety, which can run against the proper exercise of justice and civil liberties of the offenders. By advancing a criminal law regime animated by the consequentialist aim of avoiding social harms through rehabilitation, neuroscience promotes a return to a therapeutical approach to crime which can have serious impact on the kind and the length of sentences imposed on the offenders; if neuroscientific data are interpreted as evidence of dangerousness, rather than responsibility, it is highly likely that judges impose heavier sentences, or/and security measures (in civil law systems), which can be indeterminate in length. Errors and epistemic traps of past criminological movements trying to explain the manifestation of a violent and deviant behavior on a biological and deterministic basis stress the need for caution concerning the use of modern neuroscientific methods in criminal proceedings.

Durcissement des lois sociales et santé des migrants forcés: trois ans après (a Loi sur l'asile (LAsi) [Social policy hardening and forced immigrant's health: 3 years after the Asylum Law (LAsi)'s introduction].

In the canton de Vaud, General Practioners (GPs) caring for asylum seekers under the "aide d'urgence" regime can ask for an adaptation of their housing conditions, by filling out a specific form and addressing it to the medical commission responsible for advising the EVAM (the housing institution for asylum seekers) on these issues. The forms addressed to the commission are indicative of a worrisome state of health in this population, especially for mental health. More than 70% report at least one psychiatric diagnosis. Most frequent are anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as many posttraumatic stress disorders, associated with traumatic events both in the country of origin and in Switzerland. Adapting the housing conditions, based on vulnerabilities that the GP has specifically documented, may contribute to improve the health of the most vulnerable asylum seekers.