Criminal Law: Business and Organisations (LAWS70385)

Business and organisational crimes differ from the popular conception of ‘crime’ as involving the most unambiguously blameworthy sorts of conduct in which citizens can engage. This subject will examine how these crimes are dealt with under Australian rules on criminal responsibility, procedure, proof and punishment. It will also address, from a comparative perspective (including both Australian state systems and relevant overseas ones), the underlying legal, moral and policy concerns that distinguish fraud, dishonesty and organisational crimes (including regulatory offences by corporations) from ‘merely aggressive business behaviour’. The subject will be of interest to government lawyers, corporate counsel and litigators – anyone who is interested in the often blurry lines that distinguish criminal from non-criminal behaviour.

Note that this subject includes an advanced analysis of aspects of Australian criminal law. The classes and the take-home examination assume a prior knowledge of Australian criminal law as taught in the core curriculum of Australian law degrees

Principal topics include:

• The concept of dishonesty and the boundaries of fraud
• Corporate criminality and individual liability in an organisational setting
• Processes, proof and sentencing for business and organisational crime
• Examinations of particular offences in the context of one or more of the above topics.

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