Summary of content

This course examines issues of contemporary importance in the criminal law through the lens of criminalisation. It introduces learners to a range of current issues and debates about the substantive criminal law and prompts them to critically assess (1) criminal law rules; and (2) the objectives, meaning, and consequences of criminal law change.

The course builds on the first-year level 1 criminal law module by looking beyond the criminal law that learners have previously been introduced to in order to develop a deeper understanding of the way in which legal rules have developed, the objectives of legal rules, how legal rules operate in practice, and how criminal law rules can be critically appraised from a socio-legal perspective.
Alongside Scots law, the course will draw upon comparisons from other international jurisdictions in order to facilitate further critical understanding of contemporary trends in the criminal law as well as relevant distinctions between the jurisdictions.

The course is structured in order to facilitate a critical understanding of new and emerging trends and developments in areas of the “special part” of the criminal law, such as property, sex, violence, and public order as well as new and emerging categories of crime. It will further look at important areas of the “general part” of the law, such as art and part liability, responsibility, and causation - both as distinct areas of study and within the specific offence categories.

Students will have the opportunity to critically reflect on the criminal law using a range of multi-disciplinary research. This course is therefore an opportunity for students to develop their critical understanding of the scope and function of substantive criminal offences from a socio-legal perspective by drawing upon a range of disciplines: including history, criminology, sociology, and political science.

Module structure

Assessment methods