Chair for German, European and International
Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure Law
Innstrasse 40
94032 Passau

Phone: +49 / 0851 / 509-2250
www.hrcp.uni-passau.de
mail:hrcp@uni-passau.de

Head

Professor Doctor Robert Esser
Website
mail: Robert.esser@uni-passau.de

The Research Centre for “Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings” (HRCP), established in 2010, is a research and advanced training centre and an expert helpdesk specialized in all branches of international protection of human rights in criminal proceedings.

A merging Europe should be based on a homogeneous community of values. But as to that, the legal systems of the national states in Europe still show differences to a great extent. For both law scientists and law practitioners, it is a question of whether Europe-wide and worldwide minimum standards concerning criminal law proceedings can develop from the basis in shape of the European Conventions on Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Therefore the HRCP Centre focuses on the judicature of the ECHR in Strasbourg and the precedents of the Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee Against Torture by interpreting and systemizing them.

In addition to law reporting and summing precedents the HRCP Centre conceives lectures and reports, organises expert conferences and develops advanced training events in the field of human rights protection for judges, state attorneys and criminal defence lawyers.

In periodical intervals the HRCP Centre organises (in cooperation with the Group “Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings” and local organisations of criminal defence lawyers) a superregional “Day of Human Rights” (2008, 2009, 2011 in Cologne).

Moreover, a special focal point of the HRCP Centre is the support of foreign governments in their efforts and endeavours of phrasing and establishing human rights standards in their national criminal proceedings – especially in South East Asia and Eastern Europe.

The HRCP Centre offers teaching units concerning issues of human rights to foreign universities.

The service of the HRCP Centre includes creating and providing legal expertise related to all relevant issues of the protection of human rights.