School Of LawCriminal LawWestern Sydney University Unit Code: 201047.1
Discipline: CRIMINAL LAW
Student Contribution Band: 4
Level: 7
Credit Points: 10
Corequisite
201046 Fundamentals of Australian Law
Unit Enrolment Restrictions
Students must be enrolled in course 2826 Juris Doctor.
About this Unit
This unit examines the principles and aims of criminal law and criminal procedure. Students will engage with the definition, elements and application of crimes in the context of fatal and non-fatal offences against the person, the major sexual offences, property offences, and relevant defences. Students will analyse the elements of offences and apply the principles of statutory interpretation of offence provisions. Concepts of criminal responsibility and strict liability, the roles of principal agencies in the criminal justice system, and the central elements of the criminal process and sentencing are examined. Students will be introduced to the institutional arrangements of criminal procedure and their respective legislative and policy rationales. Students will engage with contemporary and historical considerations of criminal law, criminal responsibility and the impact of the criminal justice process in a broad social, political and economic context with a particular focus on issues including domestic violence and the impact of the criminal justice system on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Students will be engaged with a range of practice-oriented exercises including Bail Applications.
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