LAWS6896: Internatl and Comparative Criminal Justice

Early Feedback Task (0%): This unit includes an Early Feedback Task that is designed to provide students with timely insights into their understanding and engagement with the unit content. The Early Feedback Task in this unit is a 30 minute quiz with 5 questions. The task will be available on Canvas from 27 March 2026 12pm until 28 March 2026 at 11:59pm, Sydney Australia time. It will be tailored to reflect key concepts from the first day of classes. Students will be provided with immediate automated feedback upon completion of the task.

Criminal Justice Presentation (20%) - in this assessment task, students will deliver a 10 minute in-person presentation on a topic chosen from a list available on the unit Canvas site. The presentation schedule and topics will be released on 9 March 2026 at 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time). Presentations will take place during class on 27 and 28 March and 10 and 11 April 2026. Students will present on the working of a specific legal system with a focus on policing, bail, prosecution, prisons, juvenile justice or sentencing. Students are required to identify and analyse key concepts and issues and provide a coherent argument, supported by relevant evidence and references. Students will be assessed on their ability to identify relevant key issues, structure and organisation of the presentation, presentation skills and the use of visual aids/slides. Information about the marking criteria will be discussed in class/made available via Canvas.

Group Comparative Report (20%) - in randomly assigned groups, students will create a 2000-word report, comparing and contrasting two criminal justice systems based on those presented in class (see previous task). The release date is 9 March 2026 at 9am (Sydney, Australia Time). Students will be assessed on their ability to analyse and describe the justice systems being discussed, compare them with a focus on similarities and differences, critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each and identify law reform potential within each system. Groups will need to write a report employing a coherent structure.  Information about the marking criteria will be discussed in class/made available via Canvas. The Group Comparative report must be submitted via Canvas by 27 April 2026 at 11:59pm (Sydney Australia time).  

Research Essay (60%) - Students will create a 5000-word research essay based on the in-person presentation compared to another criminal justice system of their choice. The research essay will ask students to research the selected topic at an in-depth level using critically selected primary and secondary sources as appropriate, employing relevant comparative legal research methodologies. Students will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate their understanding of the topic area, their analysis, application of the content discussed in the unit, the structure of their argument(s) and the presentation of their argument(s) and the presentation of their research consistent with the conventions of legal writing and the AGLC 4th ed. Information about the marking criteria will be discussed in class/made available via Canvas. 

• The release date is 9 March 2026 at 12.00pm (Sydney, Australia time) 
• Students must consult the unit coordinator by 13 April 2026 at 12.00pm to confirm their comparative research question and the systems compared therein.
• The research essay must be submitted via Canvas by 29 May 2026 at 11:59pm (Sydney Australia time). 

(Alternative) Capstone essay (70%) - LLM students who are undertaking this unit towards the end of their degree, and need a capstone experience to complete their degree, must apply to the unit coordinator to undertake the assessment option of a Capstone Essay. 

The Capstone Essay is worth 70% of your marks for the unit. The Capstone Essay must be a minimum of 7,000 words, but not exceed 7,500 words and is due on May 29th, 2026 11:59pm (Sydney, Australia time). 

(Alternative) Capstone essay proposal (0%)

Students wishing to take up this option are required to submit a 500-word topic proposal to Canvas as well as by email to the unit coordinator by March 28th 11:59pm. A copy of the approval email must be kept and included with the submission.  

Your essay topic should respond to the material covered in the present unit. However, at the same time, in order to serve as a capstone for your LLM, it should build upon the learning that has taken place during your LLM studies more generally.

For students undertaking the Capstone essay, the individual class presentation will be worth 30% and will be a 15 minute presentation.  Students completing the Capstone essay will not undertake the group comparative report. 

Word limit penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. Additionally, the Capstone essay will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for every 100 words, or part thereof, which is below 7000 words. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude all footnotes and any bibliography (if required), and exclude acknowledgements of assistance from editors, automated writing tools or generative AI (where use is permitted). 

Referencing: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer. A link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at Referencing and Citation Styles: AGLC4. 

Special consideration: Successful grants of Special Consideration may involve alternative tasks, as appropriate.  

Assessment requirements to pass a unit of study: A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.