Law and Criminology (R0)

This book flags and contemplates the lurking problem of space crimes that may escalate and expand with diversification of space activities, greater footfall on the celestial bodies and passage of time, for the lack of appropriate solutions. It appraises the incumbent problems to evolve solutions and make recommendations regarding space crime situations. Recognizing current situation where commercial space travel has commenced, and space tourism is not far behind, the book takes a pole position on discussing the topic with its endemic challenges. Space transportation is expected to lead to commercial mining of celestial mineral resources from the Moon and asteroids, as has been found technically feasible and commercially viable. Space-specific products have been identified for industrial mining, processing, and manufacturing, for which manpower would be necessary, howsoever minimal, despite artificial intelligence devices. Blueprints for space habitations on the Moon and Mars are being prepared. In this scenario, where outer space and celestial bodies may soon be inhabited by multi-nationality, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural groupings of tourists, workers, and residents, given cramped and not so comfortable or private living spaces, attitudinal disparities and conflicting beliefs, differences, disputes, conflicts, and crimes are sure to raise their head. Economic activity and business culture may usher in crimes of competition and spying on intellectual property. Space crimes through technologies like cyber, lasers, etc., may also permeate the space domain for ill-intentioned abuses. The criminals may be individuals or collective groups or incognito terrorists. 

The book also discusses crimes and near-crimes that have already occurred in space but have been ignored or condoned. Absence of sovereignty on celestial bodies coupled with crimes in space or on celestial bodies, presents problems of jurisdiction, extradition, and other legal procedures. The dilemma of multi-national judicial systems, legal codes and norms of social justice need to be resolved by a specialized treaty reconciling major bends in the existing system vis-à-vis the nature of space crimes. Limitations in handling such crimes by the existing judicial system under established doctrines of international law by International Court of Justice or International Criminal Court, is highlighted in the book. It has strong take-aways for research scholars, law fraternity, diplomatic corps, judicial administration, policy-makers and the political class, enabling them to pro-actively initiate action for suitable answers.

The advent of the Internet for global advancement and development has opened the world to new crimes. This is the first comprehensive book on the subject matter, considering the absence of textbooks in teaching the subject matter in higher learning institutions. Hitherto, the book is distinctive and timely in the wake of the inclusion of the subject matter as a new curriculum in many African universities. The book focuses on South Africa, where the Internet has been misused by individuals to perpetuated crime which has been on the increase and unabated.  The book's contents and its discourse are significant to students in higher institutions, researchers, and organizations, to give in-depth insights into varied cybercrime on various forms and the manners in which cybercrimes have been executed. Lastly, the book contains instances where the Internet has been used to perpetuate crimes in recent times in South Africa.

This is the first socio-legal multi-jurisdictional study on hazing (ragging). This book considers four countries: the USA, India, Sri Lanka, and Australia. It states the legal position, identifies lacunas in law, and proposes possible legal solutions. Unfortunately, laws, regulations, and policies have failed to stamp out hazing from university campuses and residential colleges.

Hazing has spiralled out of control in a number of countries. It has descended into a cruel, barbaric, and inhuman practice. The number of students subjected to hazing and sexual abuse is alarming. According to a 2022 survey, more than half (53%) of American students who were part of a fraternity or sorority experienced hazing. Students are murdered, harmed, abused, and suffer long-term trauma. The prevention of hazing is one of the most important responsibilities of 21st century universities.

The theme of the book is that universities are in the best position to protect students from hazingand must play a vital role. As a sociological study, the book also considers why hazing occurs and what can be done to prevent it. Without engaging with the underlying causes, legal punitive measures continue to address the symptom rather than the cause. The book, therefore, explores how a more innovative approach to regulation can help tackle the cause.

The book will be of interest to policy makers, regulators at universities, education and legal academics, and personal injury lawyers.

The war in Ukraine is fast approaching its second anniversary since its commencement on 24 February 2022 as a blatant aggression by Russia. As we discuss in detail in this book, there are multiple international legal issues that arise and require addressing. What is more, the very international legal order is under threat, insofar as the fundamental international law obligations are not being complied with and the basic international rules are utterly ignored. This book discusses a number of international law issues arising from the war in Ukraine. It covers not only the traditional subjects of war, such as jus ad bellum, international criminal law, and the law of neutrality, but also the relatively new issues arising from the economic sanctions against Russia, including aspects of the WTO law and international investment law. This book provides the readers with opportunities to reconsider the various legal aspects of the war in Ukraine.

This book summarises the latest findings of Australian and international crime prevention researchers and suggests how future policies based upon their evidence could and should be better shaped and employed by policymakers. Governments all over the world are constantly endeavouring to make their communities safer and the lives of their citizens less fearful. For decades now, criminological researchers, challenged to assist in this task, have been asking: “What is working to reduce crime?” “What could work better in preventing crime before it erupts?” “What have we not tried, but could try in the field of crime control?” Pleasingly, the research outputs on this subject are voluminous and growing. They regularly inform policymaking in productive ways. This, in turn, has led and continues to lead to good crime prevention outcomes, but a lot more could be done. The author sets out twelve key priorities, designed to reduce victimisation, and tackle street crime and white-collar crime especially, each of them based upon a social justice framework. These priorities draw upon his extensive writings on the topic of law and criminology over the past forty years. There is, he concludes, far more value in tackling the societal factors that allow crime to emerge, grow and persist than applying a strict application of the criminal law and the justice system that feeds upon it.

This open access book explores the rise of ecological jurisprudence, a transformative legal theory that challenges traditional legal boundaries. Drawing on over 15 years of research and teaching, the book offers a comprehensive theoretical exploration of this new approach to law, via a comprehensive examination of a wide range of initiatives from around the world, as well as a deep theoretical engagement with the implications of this novel legal theory.  

Covering a breadth of topics never before brought together with such clear and wide-ranging scope, this book points to the emergence of an ecological jurisprudence not only as a profound transformation of legal norms, but as a radical reimagination of law itself, and serves as a vital resource for scholars and practitioners interested in the future of environmental law

Along with Stone’s Do Trees Have Standing? (1972), Cullinan’s Wild Law (2002), and the Ecuadorian Constitution (2008), we can now name Pelizzon’s Ecological Jurisprudence as a key milestone in the field. (Herman F. Greene, JD, DMin, Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence, The Earth Law Center)

An immense gift to the field and to generations of lawyers to come, Ecological Jurisprudence contains teachings from which one could learn for a lifetime. (Katarina Hovden, University of Copenhagen)

Alessandro Pelizzon's Ecological Jurisprudence is deeply-rooted in how the law can best serve the natural world, inspiring future lawyers with the kind of jurisprudence the natural world so urgently needs to exist. (Maria Mercedes Sánchez, Former Coordinator of the United Nations Harmony with Nature Programme)

Pelizzon coins the term ‘ecological jurisprudence’ and mobilises it to create deep normative foundations for future environmental law developments. Any serious environmental scholar will have to engage with him because of the breadth and depth of what he achieves in this book. (Professor Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, QUT)

This book mainly adopts the theoretical analysis approach for the argument regarding issues in criminal law. As one of the most influential scholars in criminal law research in China, with his profound knowledge and experiences in criminal law research, the author Professor Mingkai Zhang, has made in-depth argument demonstrating matters in the field, covering the basis of illegality and culpability, the prior act of criminal omission, the illustration of Lehre Vonder Objektive Zurechnung (causation and results imputation), behavioral utilitarianism, defense by accident, risk assumption, specific method errors, anticipated possibility, discontinuation of crime, joint crimes, and concurrence. In this way, the book makes an effort in building critical and distinguished theses of the aforementioned domains. Legal scholars who do research concerning criminal law, law school students who have some previous understanding of criminal law, practitioners who seek for further academic support can find it's beneficial to read the book since the utmost and latest theoretical results of criminal law research in current China are provided here. To be mentioned, the most outstanding features of this book are its theory-orientated argumentation and critical-characterized thinking logics, based on such efforts and on the literature references linking to the pioneers in other civil law countries, audience can be better equipped with the comprehension on criminal law issues.