Archives

  • Autumn 2023
    No. 1 (2023)

    Foreword

    I am very pleased to introduce the first edition of our student journal, the Sunderland Journal of Law and Criminology.  I would like to thank all of the students and staff involved in the editorial team and all of our peer reviewers who helped in the creation process of the journal.  In particular, I thank Dr Helen Williams for acting as the liaison between me and the school of criminology and in promoting the journal in her department to allow us to be a cross faculty publication.   Thanks must also go to Dr Donna Peacock (now of the University of Strathclyde) for all of the support and advice she gave us in setting up the journal and to Dr Ashley Lowerson (Northumbria University) for the ground work that she put in place with our previous iteration, the Sunderland Law Journal, without which we would not have had as solid a foundation to build upon.  Finally, thanks go to our student authors who’s hard work and enthusiasm in producing their articles and case notes allows us to create this publication to showcase all of their excellent work. 

    The journal is a cross faculty production which showcases work from our students across all levels and programmes in the schools of law and criminology respectively.  In this issue, Louise Ward discusses the rise in fake news and how, in the digital age, social media is able to amplify this.  In her article she asks whether the spreading of untruths should be considered a social harm and how it can be used to drive moral panic.  Kayleigh Atkins presents a case study on the Covid-19 pandemic and uses zemiology as a means of making sense of the responses that the UK government implemented during the crisis.  Next, Paige Scully explores the tragic killing of Lee Irving and how discrimination played a key role in his murder.  She asks whether further research is needed within the fields of law and criminology to recognise the diverse number of disabilities in society and whether reform is needed to protect those with disabilities within the criminal justice system.  In her second article of the issue, Louise Ward asks whether our understanding of crime should move away from asking why people commit offences and instead ask why individuals stop committing crimes.  She goes on to explore whether desistance is an individual act rather than a social act.   Finally, Joshua England considers the case of Joseph McCann, a serial sexual offender, and uses this case study to ask whether we can do better in balancing out the approaches of rehabilitation and retribution when sentencing offenders.

    This issue also contains two case notes, the first of which, by Ismail Anil Kuru, explores how a decision of the German Supreme Court ending the recognition of the ‘British style’ limited company used by German after the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, impacts German businesses going forwards.   Next, Miurin Kanijude Amarnath considers a recent Sri Lankan case which looks at the use of corporal punishment in that jurisdiction, asking whether a higher degree of protection is needed for children subjected to physical punishment.   

    I hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together and we look forward to bringing you issue 2 in the Autumn of 2024. 

    Zach Leggett

    Editor in Chief

  • Winter 2024
    No. 2 (2024)

    Foreword

    I am pleased to introduce the second issue of the Sunderland Journal of Law and Criminology.  Once again, I would like to thank our staff and student editors for all of their hard work in preparing this issue for publication.  I would also like to extend my thanks to the students who took their time to peer review the articles and case note which appear in this issue, and for their very helpful and constructive feedback. 

    In this issue, we will explore the development of Zemiology in the first of three articles by criminology student, Joshua England.  Next, Keeley Davidson will analyse how the criminal justice system is able to respond to domestic violence, evaluating its effectiveness.  Sophie Pattison then reviews how social and personal factors can act as barriers to the desistance journey for offenders.  Kayleigh Atkins then poses the question whether society can be just and fair when it criminalises protest.  This article examines the impact of the Public Order Act 2023.  Next are two more articles by Joshua England.  First Joshua looks at media violence, its origins and its through the lens of  zemiology and penology.  This is followed by his evaluation of appropriate adult schemes when dealing with the needs of vulnerable women and ethnic minorities.  We end with a case comment by Masters of Laws student, Nustratullah Nabeel Rahimi where he considers the consequences of the Court of Appeal’s decision to invalidate the UK’s Rwanda Policy on deporting asylum seekers under the Rwanda Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP).  I would like to thank our authors for their hard work and choosing to publish in our journal.  And I hope you, as our readers, enjoy reading this issue of the SJLC. 

    Zach Leggett (Editor in Chief)