DIGICRIMJUS: New challenges for teaching researching and practicing criminal law in the digital age

Interuniversity Strategic Partnership on New Challenges for Teaching, Researching and Practising Criminal Law in the Digital Age

Szeged University, University of Konstanz and Istanbul University established a new strategic  education partnership called DIGICRIMJUS. The triple project which is focusing on the development, possibilities and problems of the digital age in the field of criminal justice, was ranked first by the Tempus Public Foundation in the evaluation of applications made in Hungary. It is supported by the European Union Erasmus + with an amount of over 150.000 Euros.

The four pillars of DIGICRIMJUS are digitization, criminal justice, comparison of country laws and the development of education based on learning outcomes. The main theme of the project is new challenges in teaching, research and practicing criminal law in the digital age, the participants will conduct scientific research activities for three years on the issues that may arise in terms of criminal liability in the context of artificial intelligence, use of autonomous vehicles, and application of methods such as cyber investigations or online prisoners in criminal justice. They will make the results of the project widely available in the form of teaching aids based on learning outcomes.

This inter-university collaboration attaches importance to the production of new and innovative curricula for current and future law students and practitioners and also pays special attention to the dissemination of scientific knowledge. After all, one of the goals of the strategic partnership is to create a joint LL.M. program to lay a foundation in the higher education.

The Digicrimjus Knowledge Hub is one important pillar of Digicrimjus Project and this knowledge hub is undertaken by Istanbul University Faculty of Law Criminal Law and Criminology Research and Application Center. The main theme of this knowledge hub, where up-to-date information will be presented especially on the problems and discussions related to criminal justice, is the new possibilities that can be utilized in the implementation of criminal law in today’s information society, as well as the problems that may arise in the context of developments in the digital field. IU Faculty of Law Criminal Law and Criminology Research and Application Center, which is led by Prof. Dr. Adem Sözüer, has important knowledge and experience due to carrying out many international events such as Turkish Criminal Law Days, International Crime and Punishment Film Festival, Law on the Bosphorus Summer School. For this reason the Center has undertaken the mission to establish a knowledge hub. The goal of the knowledge hub is to create a new data center by presenting up to date information on developments such as artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles related to the research, learning and implementation of criminal law in the digital age.