Criminal Law Reform Now explores contemporary problems in the criminal law and justice, asking how such problems might be resolved or mitigated through legal reform. Legal problems are introduced through lecture format: outlining the background/context of the problem; the points of present contention; as well as introducing some of the reform focused literature. Following a period of guided independent research, seminar discussion will focus on the reform options, analysing and evaluating the competing ways forward.
The substantive topics will change each year, in line with the evolution of the criminal law and the research interests of staff. With this in mind, by way of illustration only, typical topics might include: uncertain approaches to complicity liability; the role and definition of consent in sexual offences; the use and abuse of comparative law reform; challenging the intoxication rules as an unfair legal fiction; legal responses to antisocial behaviour; the construction of ‘terror’ offences; etc.
The purpose of the module is to expose and engage with the debates that shape our criminal law. Students will be guided in their understanding and research into a range of current legal problems, and then challenged to take a position as to how such problems should be tackled.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
critically examine a range of ‘problems’ within criminal law and justice that have given rise to reform debates; identifying how such problems arose, and appreciating their social and moral context;
identify and critically examine options for reform, and to make choices as to which options should be preferred;
demonstrate a deep understanding of each of the topics discussed;
demonstrate an appropriate level of research and critical engagement with one of the topics through an extended essay.
