16 October 2026 13:00 - 14:00

This event is both online and in person.

SAL B.07, Basement, Sir Arthur Lewis Building, LSE, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH

Online participants are welcome:
Please contact Lia Bergin (Communications and Events Assistant) l.bergin@lse.ac.uk to receive event updates and a link to the seminar online.

About this event

The right to be heard is a fundamental principle underlying most legal systems and constitutes a basic human right. Legal scholars argue that the right to be heard is essential for the rule of law because it helps achieving truth and legitimizes judicial sentencing. However, the labor and time-intensive nature of hearings has led to an overloaded criminal justice system, particularly for mass crimes. In this study, we experimentally investigate the importance of hearings in the context of Switzerland's penal order system. Penal orders are prosecutorial indictments that, if the defendant does not insist on a judicial review, automatically become the final sentence, even for prison sentences up to six months. For most cases, prosecutors do not conduct any hearings and decide based on the police files only, de facto undermining the defendants' right of being heard. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in collaboration with a public prosecution office and randomly invited defendants to a prosecutorial hearing. allowing us to investigate the causal effect of hearings on prosecutorial sentencing and downstream effects on future crime.

Participants are expected to adhere to the CEP Events Code of Conduct.

Directions

This event will take place in SAL B.07, Basement, Sir Arthur Lewis Building, LSE, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH.

Online participants are welcome:
Please contact Lia Bergin (Communications and Events Assistant) l.bergin@lse.ac.uk to receive event updates and a link to the seminar online.

The building is labelled SAL on the LSE campus map. You can also find us on Google Maps. For further information, go to contact us.

European Seminars on the Economics of Crime are part of the CEP's Crime Research Group.