2025

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.31178/AUBD/2025.04

Abstract:

The ideas presented here stem from the way scientific research is evolving in the field of law, particularly with regard to criminal law. Anticipating natural questions is followed by recommendations that are not intended to be decisive in choosing a topic or the direction of the research, but rather serve to support the integrity and coherence of the research process. Although the topic is geared toward clarifying the structure of a doctoral dissertation, the recommendations are applicable to any type of research in the field of legal sciences, whether it be an article or a study.

A doctoral dissertation must contribute something new to research in the field under study and clarify an ambiguity that may arise from the interpretation of the law, the application of the law, the assessment of the effectiveness or constitutionality of an existing regulation, or the assessment of the need for a new regulation. The originality of a dissertation must pertain both to its basic idea (what the work aims to demonstrate) and to its content (what conclusions are reached regarding the objective pursued in the analysis of the criminal law institution or concept under study).

The purpose of this thesis and its research objective will be linked to the questions the thesis seeks to answer and the hypotheses to be tested. Each section of the thesis will aim to analyze, from the perspective of criminal law, criminal procedure, and, secondarily, criminology, the legal framework governing the most important components of the institution/concept of criminal law under study and their effects on social relations: for example, to examine the relationship between certain legal relationships in criminal law, to evaluate the effectiveness of an institution or norm in relation to the legislator’s intended purpose, to investigate the elements of conventionality or constitutionality of a norm, to analyze changes in the conditions under which a studied institution or norm exists, etc.

Neither the validity of the hypothesis tested in the paper nor the scientific nature of the paper depends on whether the study reaches a positive or negative conclusion. However, the paper should not limit itself to solutions that cannot reasonably be expected to be applied in national law, either because they are incompatible with the criminal justice system as a whole or because they would entail logistical and personnel costs that are not compatible with what we envision could be invested in the justice system or the criminal justice system.

Keywords: doctoral dissertation , methodology, outline, content.