Since the beginning of the pandemic and even shortly before, digital justice has been deployed on a large scale on both sides of the channel. If the advantages are real in many ways, the impact on fundamental rights should be questioned as far as the European cooperation is concerned with a special focus on France, England and Wales and their Criminal justice systems. In view of their symposium, the organisers would welcome proposals from academics, policy-makers legal practitioners (lawyers, judges, etc.) and opinion formers.

Argument

Since the beginning of the pandemic and even shortly before, Digital Justice has been deployed on a large scale on both sides of the Channel. If the advantages are real in many ways (it saves time, resources, money and avoids backlogs which have accumulated in recent years with the rising rates of crime especially white-collar crime), the impact on fundamental rights should be questioned as far as the European cooperation is concerned with a special focus on France, England and Wales and their Criminal justice systems. In this respect, despite its undeniable benefits, the development of Digital justice and its consequences on the structure of the Criminal Justice need to be addressed (while) taking into account the scope of the fundamental rights granted to any individual involved in criminal proceedings.The right to a fair trial, the right to liberty and security, the principle of legal certainty and many others may be concerned in a European context where the digitalisation of cross-border police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters is also at stake.

In view of their symposium, the organisers would welcome proposals from academics, policy-makers legal practitioners (lawyers, judges, etc.) and opinion formers on the following issues which may affect the United Kingdom (UK) and/or France:

• The implementation of Digital Criminal Justice in France and in the UK: the challenges to be met on a national level
• The implementation of Digital Criminal Justice and the challenges of the cross-border cooperation between member States and on a European level
• To what extent is the protection of fundamental rights possible? Are these rights protected effectively in France and in the UK? What are the obstacles and how can they be overcome?
• What is the future of Criminal Justice in the digital era? What balance can be achieved – on a national and on a European scale – between the enforcement of public order and the crime control model on the one hand and the protection of fundamental rights and the due process values on the other hand?
• What will the structure of the French and the English Criminal Justice systems be like in the coming years regarding their foundations (i.e., the sources and the basis of law) as well as their procedural architecture?

This conference is organised with the support of the CERSA (UMR 7106, Paris 2) and of the CDPC (UMR 7318, Toulon).

Submission guidelines

The language of the conference will be English or French. The symposium will be followed by a publication in English and/or French.

Communications will last 20 minutes each and will be followed by a discussion.

Please send your proposals of approximately 400 words and a short biography (in English) by 10 March 2022 to the organisers:

• Geraldine Gadbin-George: geraldine.george@gmail.com 
• Akila Taleb-Karlsson: a.talebkarlsson@yahoo.fr 

Scientific committee

• Akila Taleb-Karlsson (Université de Toulon– UFR droit), MCF en droit pénal, droit privé et sciences criminelles
• Geraldine Gadbin-George (Université Paris–Panthéon –Assas), MCF-HDR en anglais juridique / droit anglais