LAU TBC Criminal Law and Justice in the Information Age

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate specialised, self-directed knowledge of an area of law through examination of a ‘real-life’ legal research problem or a theme within a research group;
• Collaborate with peers and act in leadership roles;
• Constructively evaluate the work of others;
• Synthesise and evaluate a variety of legal research methods, legal sources, findings and analysis;
• Critically analyse an area of law through independent research;
• Consult with and respond to the needs of research users;
• Effectively communicate research findings.

Module Content

This capstone group provides students with the opportunity to explore the impact of technological innovation on both the substantive criminal law and the criminal justice system. The widespread adoption of information and communication technologies and the internet means that information is being created and distributed at a scale and speed unimaginable at any other period in history. As we reap the benefits of increasing connectivity, we must also grapple with how to address both emerging and transformed harms in environments which are made up of bits rather than matter.

With this, significant questions are raised around the assumptions and values which underpin each stage of the criminal justice process.

Students will be afforded a broad scope to pursue topics within this overarching theme including (but not limited to):

• The role and/or appropriateness of criminal law as an intervention to address harms and wrongs online;
• Challenges to traditional concepts of territoriality and state sovereignty arising from the increasingly borderless nature of crime, and the mechanisms established to foster international cooperation in response to these challenges;
• The increasing importance of e-evidence in criminal investigations and prosecutions. This includes legal developments intended to facilitate its collection and use, and the inherent risks which e-evidence poses to the rights of the accused;
• Issues surrounding procedural powers and constraints during investigations which involve information and communication technologies and/or the internet.

Assessment Details

• Individual Project: 85%
• Group Presentation: 15%
• Reflective Journal: Pass/Fail
• Participation: Pass/Fail