This course provides a grounding in comparative law study. It covers aspects of policing and prosecution but focuses in particular on criminal trial practice in various jurisdictions. Particular topics include socio-political traditions and the state’s participation in the criminal justice system, the convergence of processes globally and the dynamics of transplanting legal processes across legal systems. In addition the course examines how justice systems respond diversely to the perceived need for reform and the growth of lay participation (typically, jurors) in countries’ adjudication processes. Many of the above topics are considered in the specific context of their impact upon victims, defendants and witnesses.

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The course will provide an opportunity for students to develop knowledge and understanding of how other systems of criminal process function and their understanding of important legal and law-related issues within a comparative framework. It will offer an opportunity for students to sharpen their critical analytical skills and develop their ability to undertake independent high quality research and to structure, write and develop a research thesis on a criminal justice topic.

 

Recommended
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Additional course materials, available from the UNSW Bookshop from mid February and a course website will provide additional readings and be used, with email, for circulating messages relating to the course.