Faculty of Law
Criminal Law and Justice
The Faculty of Law has always had a strong focus on criminal law and justice, and with several new members of staff concentrating in this subject, it seems well set to continue as New Zealand’s leading faculty in this area.
Faculty of Law criminal law and justice specialist academics in clockwise order: Khylee Quince, Warren Brookbanks, Scott Optican, Julia Tolmie, Peter Sankoff, John Ip and Kevin Heller (no longer at The University of Auckland). (Absent - Kris Gledhill and Alison Cleland).
The faculty offers a number of courses focusing upon criminal justice issues, and examines the classic conflict between the individual and the state from a variety of perspectives.
Students have written their LLB Honours dissertations and masters and doctoral theses in criminal justice-related subjects. Recent topic areas include:
- Crime and the Media
- Criminology
- Criminal Justice
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Evidence
- International Criminal Law
- Juries and the Criminal Trial Process
- Police Investigations
- Restorative Justice and Tikanga Māori
- Torture as an Investigative Tool
- Victims and Criminal Justice
- Victims’ Claims Act
- Whakamama in the Criminal Justice System
Criminal Law (LAW 201) is taught as one of the compulsory courses that every law student must take in Part II. In addition, the faculty offers the following courses that focus upon criminal justice issues, or concentrate on criminal law related matters as a major component of the course.
The following members of staff conduct teaching or research in the area of criminal law and justice:
| Name | Field of research |
|---|---|
| Brookbanks, Warren | Criminal Law, Criminal Defences, Mental Health Law, Fitness to Plead, Therapeutic Jurisprudence |
| Cleland, Alison | Child witnesses, Juvenile Justice, Child care and protection, Family law disputes involving children |
| Gledhill, Kris | Mental Health Law, Prisoners Rights, Risk Assessment in Sentencing and Parole, Human Rights |
| Ip, John | Counterterrorism Law and Human Rights, Sentencing. |
| Mousourakis, Georgos | Criminal Law, Criminology, Criminal Defences, Civil Law |
| Optican, Scott | Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Comparative Criminal Procedure, Criminal Justice, Criminal Trial Processes, Police Investigations, Criminology |
| Quince, Khylee | Māori and the Law, Jurisprudence and Tikanga Māori, Criminal Law, Penology |
| Tolmie, Julia | Criminal Defences, Domestic Violence, Intoxication/Alcoholism, Feminist Legal Theory |
