F1IS 4405 - Law and (In)Security in the Pre-Crime Era

The course provides basic knowledge about structures, hierarchies and interrelations of normative framework essential for intelligence and security. It puts a strong emphasis on the human rights aspect of intelligence and security work. Therefore, a planned special feature of the course (TBC) is a PSIA funded one-day field trip to Interpol Headquarters in Lyon on 04/04/2025 (alternatively classes at SciencesPo). Transfer of skills is achieved through case studies and examples, ensuring that even students lacking a strong legal background can grasp main concepts. Particular attention is paid to crime phenomena that touch upon conventional criminal law and at the same time impact intelligence and security (e.g., organised crime, terrorism etc.). Teaching is fully in person.

Learning Outcomes
1. Analyse essential structures, hierarchies and interrelations of the core criminal law and human rights law normative framework as relevant for the intelligence and security community (ISC);
2. Identify and discuss the overlaps between intelligence law, criminal law, police law, human rights law and administrative law;
3. Evaluate the shift from post-crime to pre-crime approaches and its implications for the ISC;
4. Justify human rights restrictions due to (inter)national security threats, as well as their current limitations;
5. Create autonomous and innovative solutions for normative, operational and ethical challenges that regularly arise on the crossroads between intelligence and the rule of law.

Professional Skills
• communication, particularly by understanding relevant stakeholders and considering their particular priorities and concerns (e.g., intelligence, (private) security, law enforcement, (criminal) justice agencies, media, human rights organisations, oversight bodies etc.);
• management, esp. in terms of project management by analysing the flow of initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team to achieve specific goals in the context of intelligence relevant research projects;
• performance, primarily in the area of research and analysis by collecting and analysing information to increase understanding of the topic of their individual assignment;
• performance, through fostering critical thinking by engaging in reflective and independent thinking on matters such as ethics and intelligence or human rights and intelligence.

Anna-maria GETOS KALAC

Séminaire

English

- In class presence: 4 x 6 hours in selected teaching weeks / 24 hours per semester - Reading and Preparation for Class: 8 hours per scheduled teaching week / 32 hours per semester - Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 7.5 hours a week / 90 hours a semester

Proficiency in English language; Basic legal background is preferable, but not a prerequisite.

Spring 2024-2025

Students will be assessed on the basis of their individual course participation (10%). Students will also be assessed based on written assignment (60%): minor essay on one of the topics listed below. They will thus be assessed orally based on an oral assignment (30%): oral review of a book chapter, journal article or other source listed in the readings as relevant for the session in question and related to the topic of their individual assignment.

Topics for individual oral (presentation) and written student assignments (written assessment of minor essay) will be distributed among course participants upon course enrolment and discussed in detail during the first teaching block (21 & 22/02/2025):
1) Intelligence and Law Enforcement
2) Intelligence and Criminal (Procedural) Law
3) Intelligence and Human Rights – Role of the ECHR (Art. 2 and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights)
4) Intelligence and Human Rights – Surveillance (Art. 5, 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights)
5) Intelligence and Crime – Organised Crime
6) Intelligence and Crime – (Illegal) Migrations and Trafficking in Human Beings
7) Intelligence and Crime – Terrorism
8) Intelligence and Crime – (Cyber) Threats
9) Intelligence in the Context of Post-Crime and Pre-Crime
10) Overlaps between Intelligence and Criminal Justice in the Pre-Crime Era
11) Evidence Based Security Policy
12) Intelligence, Politics and the Law
13) The Role of Intelligence and Security Agencies in the Context of Criminal State Capture
14) Corruption and Intelligence
15) Intelligence and the Media
16) Intelligence and Freedom of the Press
17) Intelligence, Security and Torture
18) The Ticking Bomb Scenario
19) Intelligence Oversight – Main Features and Models
20) Intelligence Oversight – National Case Study (student picks the state)
21) The Ethics of Intelligence Collection
22) Intelligence, Surveillance and Ethics
23) The Future of Pre-Crime and its Impact on Intelligence
24) Big Data, Intelligence and the Rule of Law

Students will be provided immediate oral feedback with regards to the oral assessment of their individual course participation (oral presentations). Students will thus be provided feedback in relation to their individual assignments (written assessment of minor essay) within 3-4 weeks after submission, which may also be discussed in depth orally and individually (upon student's indication of interest for feedback).