Curriculum

The 2023 Summer School on Transnational Organised Crime covered the following topics:

1. Transnational organised crime and its various manifestations.
Including trafficking in persons, human smuggling, drug trafficking, environmental crime such as waste trafficking, illegal mining, crimes in the fisheries sector and wildlife crime, cyber organised crime, trafficking in cultural property, counterfeiting, trafficking in falsified medical products, and trafficking in firearms, etc.

2. Criminal justice responses to transnational organised crime.
Including prosecution, investigation, and law enforcement strategies.

3. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).

4. Linkages between organised crime and terrorism.

5. Data collection, research methods and risk analysis techniques applicable to the study of transnational organised crime.

The curriculum of the Summer School was presented through a variety of innovative pedagogy, enabling participants to learn in real-time via lectures and seminars, discussions, practical exercises, film screenings and social events. The flexible format also provided regular opportunities for peer-to-peer interaction and one-on-one engagement with faculty.

Beyond a rich programme of lectures led by scholars and international experts, including from the UNODC, the Summer School offered an opportunity to test the participants' ability to apply theory to practice by engaging them in practical exercises.

Participants were asked to research and write case briefs based on real-life examples of organised crime. The cases were submitted to the UNODC SHERLOC team, and considered for publication in the SHERLOC Case Law Database. Upon successful completion of the practical assignment and attendance of the programme, participants were provided with an ECPR and UNODC certificate of completion.