Prof Peter Ramsay NAB 6.27

This course is available on the LLM (extended part-time), LLM (full-time) and University of Pennsylvania Law School LLM Visiting Students. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

This course is capped at 30 students. Students must apply through Graduate Course Choice on LSEforYou.

Undergraduate study of criminal law (or equivalent).

This is a course in advanced criminal law theory. The central concern of contemporary criminal justice policy is public protection. The course examines the different security interests that are protected by the different categories of criminal offence and the issues at stake in the expansion of the scope of the substantive criminal law. Examples will be drawn mainly from the criminal law of England and Wales, but also from other jurisdictions. An introduction to the structure of the criminal law in the common law world will be included. The theoretical issues are universal.

Seminars cover:

the concept of security;

the concept of criminal law;

the presumption of innocence;

‘true crimes’;

public welfare offences;

inchoate offences;

pre-emptive offences;

fear, harassment and speech offences;

pre-crime;

the right to security.

Each seminar consists of a student presentation on a key question, class discussion and a teacher presentation. There is a reading week in Week 6.

20 hours of seminars in the LT.

There will be a Reading Week in week 6 of MT.

All students are expected to produce one 2,000 word formative essay during the course.

A Ashworth and L Zedner Preventive Justice (OUP 2014); I Dennis and GR Sullivan (eds), Seeking Security: Pre-empting the Commission of Criminal Harms (Hart, 2012); A Brudner, Punishment and Freedom (OUP, 2009); RA Duff, Answering for Crime (Hart, 2007);  P Ramsay The Insecurity State: Vulnerable Autonomy and the Right to Security In the Criminal Law (OUP, 2012); A Ashworth (et al), Prevention and the Limits of Criminal Law (OUP, 2013).

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours, reading time: 15 minutes) in the summer exam period.

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.