Colloquium "Mutations du droit pénal, entre affirmation de valeurs et protection des libertés?"

Thursday, June 29, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
3rd Journées Cambacérès
Faculty of Law and Political Science, Amphi Cambacérès, Building 1

After having focused on contract law reform in 2014 and the topicality of the "El Khomri" law for labor law in 2015, it was decided in 2016 to turn, for these 3rd Journées Cambacérès, to criminal law and, more specifically, to "changes in criminal law, between asserting values and protecting freedoms".
The Faculty of Law and Political Science has therefore entrusted the Montpellier criminal law team, through its director Professor Marie-Christine Sordino, with the task of organizing this scientific event, in partnership with the Montpellier Court of Appeal.
Since the serious attacks in France, the country has been in a state of emergency, raising important questions that call for further reflection.
It is, in fact, very important that a balance be struck in procedures, between administrative and criminal channels, so that the values of the Republic and freedoms are respected and affirmed. The public authorities have thus assigned this ambition to the law of June 3, 2016. It aims to express the values to which democracy is attached and attempts to ensure that this balance between the judicial judge, the natural guarantor of freedoms, and the administrative judge is respected.
But these changes in criminal law are not exclusively due to terrorist threats. The dual movement of constitutionalization and internationalization of criminal law has helped to diversify its sources and modify the content of the principle of the legality of offences and penalties. This trend has been perceptible for some years now.
The shift from formal to substantive legality, and the role of the judge in interpreting the penal norm, are all part of a considerable evolution that also calls for reflection. Does criminal law, as a vehicle for expressing the values of a social group, still express the values of the Republic with the same force? Can it still protect freedoms? And what of the principles of necessity and proportionality, enshrined in article 8 of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which express the full measure that the legislator must employ?
This one-day event, featuring a cross-section of academics and legal professionals - lawyers, magistrates and administrative court advisors - will explore these issues in greater depth, through a series of presentations and round-table discussions.
The day will be closed by Professor Christine Lazerges, President of the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights.

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