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Fraud, Forgery and Dishonesty - JURD7594

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: 36 UOC of JURD courses for students enrolled prior to 2013. For students enrolled after 2013, pre-requisite: 72 UOC of JURD courses.

Excluded: JURD7378, LAWS3478, LAWS8994

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course examines the criminal law in NSW dealing with theft and fraud. It traces the development of the common law concepts of larceny and the legislative initiatives of false pretences through to more modern offences of forgery, obtaining by dishonesty, defrauding and computer-related offences. Emphasis is given to difficulties of applying the existing law to modern developments, in particular the use of the corporate vehicle in business and the problems of the meaning of property in electronic environments. The course is based on two streams of topics. The first provides a detailed analysis of the elements of current and proposed property and dishonesty offences. The second stream of topics examines definitions of fraud, the causes and motivations behind fraudulent activity, and particular forms of fraud that are currently prevalent.

The course is taught in a blended online and face to face format. There are two full day face to face classes - one held at the beginning and another towards the end of semester. The rest of the course conducted through online discussion boards.

Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

Upon completing this course, it is expected that students will:

Understand the main legal concepts and principles of theft and fraud law in NSW and other Australian jurisdictions
Be able to identify and apply the appropriate offence to prohibited conduct, demonstrating this ability in answers to short problem questions
Appreciate the complexity of the social and political history in which these offences have developed and current issues with their scope and enforcement
Be able to engage with policy debates on law reform in this area
Have completed an independent research essay on a topic related to fraud law

Main Topics

Larceny
Fraudulence and dishonesty
Fraudulent conversion
Fraud: false pretences, obtaining by deception and false statements
Fraud: obtaining credit, valueless cheques, false accounting, false instruments
Receiving
Conspiracy to defraud
Theft Act and Model Criminal Code
Property issues and computer crimes

Assessment

Class participation	Preparation and engagement in class	25%
Short problem questions	3 questions, 8% each, plus bonus mark	25%
Topic outline and literature review	500 words	5%
Research essay	4,000 words	45%