law and ethics assignments

legal ethics

Primary tabs.

Legal ethics broadly refer to the unique responsibilities of lawyers and the legal system given the important role and influence they have in society. Because of their role and their close involvement in the administration of law, lawyers are subject to special standards, regulation, and liability. Most commonly, legal ethics refers to these rules of professional responsibility : the actual responsibilities lawyers must follow by law such as client confidentiality. However, legal ethics can also refer to the discussion on broader moral principles that societies place on lawyers that may not be legally required. 

Professional Responsibility

The law governing the professional responsibility of lawyers, since they are admitted to practice by states, is largely governed by the law of each state. However, all states follow more or less the Model Rules of Professional Conduct created by the ABA , and federal courts and agencies set their own practice rules and apply specific rules like those in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act . While the laws of each state actually govern, the Model Rules and their comments greatly influence the decisions of courts applying professional responsibility laws. The Model Rules set mandatory and discretionary rules and principles on a wide variety of lawyer practice including: client confidentiality , conflicts of interest , fiduciary responsibilities , commingling , and general malpractice . Should a lawyer breach these rules, state courts and enforcement agencies have wide discretion to punish the lawyer and breaching some of the rules like conflicts of interest can impact the outcome of the lawyer’s matters. 

Broader Legal Ethics

Legal ethics can refer to a higher set of norms that lawyers should follow that may not be required by set legal rules. Many of the model rules try to include some of these broader principles. However, the model legal rules tend to be considered a floor of expected requirements of lawyers. Legal ethics can refer to the broader principles lawyers should strive for to ensure the protection and adequate representation of clients. While codes try their best to encourage ethical conduct of lawyers, the legal profession for centuries has struggled with balancing client protections with the often conflicting interests of lawyers and other clients. Thus, legal ethics often involves discussion of the ideals of lawyer conduct, irrespective of the mandates of legal rules.

Further Resources

For more information on the legal ethics rules and debates, see the Model Rules for Professional Conduct , this ABA Guide to State Ethics Resources , this Duke Law Guide to Legal Ethics Requirements , and this Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, & Public Policy Article on the differences between and limitations of legal codes and ethical principles. 

[Last updated in March of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team ] 

• ACADEMIC TOPICS
• legal education and writing
• legal history
• THE LEGAL PROCESS
• legal practice/ethics
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Assignments

Table of contents, quick note on terminology, step 1: select an article and identify the argument, step 2: offer a rebuttal argument, step 3: provide an alternative argument, step 4: offer a recommendation, deliverables, assignment 1: critical analysis and argumentation.

This assignment is designed to assess your ability to critically analyze a technology from a moral standpoint and cultivate a new perspective on the news stories and media that we all encounter everyday.

For this assignment, you will write a paper that examines an ethical issue raised in a news article with respect to the design or usage of a computer technology. In this paper, you will summarize the argument, identify its shortcomings, and propose an alternative argument. Finally, you will provide a recommendation as to whether this technology should be used (explaining how to mitigate the potential dangers) or not (explaining how to achieve similar benefits in another way).

You will complete this assignment individually . Please read the rest of this document carefully as it breaks down this assignment into concrete steps and describes the deliverables that you will need to submit by the due dates.

When discussing philosophy works, it is important that we correctly identify the argument being made, consisting of a conclusion and supporting premises.

In philosophy, an argument is a connected series of statements, including at least one premise , intended to demonstrate that another statement, the conclusion , is true. The statements that serve as premises and conclusions are sometimes referred to as propositions and the process by which we reason in order to reach a conclusion is referred to as inference .

A premise is a statement that supports, or helps lead to, an argument’s conclusion.

A conclusion is the statement that is inferred (reasoned) from the argument’s premises.

A common task when “doing philosophy” is to examine the arguments made to support a claim. If the arguments are not strong enough, we might be able to identify a defect, or a fallacy , in an argument that involves mistaken reasoning. Sometimes fallacies are committed purposefully, to influence or mislead the reader or listener, but often mistakes in reasoning occur unintentionally, especially when dealing with complex topics. Fallacies may also become evident only at a later point when new evidence supporting or contradicting the conclusion becomes available.

In this assignment, you are asked to devise an objection (or rebuttal ) argument to demonstrate that the original argument contains a fallacy. A rebuttal argument, too, is a claim (conclusion) supported by reasons (premises).

You must pick an article that contains an argument around an ethical issue that exists today with a computer technology (e.g. a platform, an app, an algorithm, etc.).

You should follow these guidelines when selecting the article:

• The ethical issue(s) that the article presents should either be relevant today or become relevant in the near future; the article itself can be as old as you wish.
• The article should come from a reputable media source, a newspaper, a science or engineering journal or magazine, a specialized journal or magazine from a different discipline, or similar.
• You may not use an article that was assigned for reading for H195 or 195 prior to this assignment release date.

Once you have selected your article, identify the argument containing the ethical issue itself (i.e., the conclusion) and the premises that provide evidence for the existence of the issue. If the article discusses multiple ethical issues, focus on the one that you find the most interesting.

For instance:

The ProPublica article “Machine Bias” argues that the COMPAS algorithm, used by courts to assign a score for the risk of recidivism, is biased against black defendants. The authors of the article offer the following premises in support of their conclusion: The algorithm falsely flags black defendants as future criminals at almost twice the rate as white defendants. White defendants are mislabeled as low risk more often than black defendants, even controlling for the effects of criminal history and recidivism, as well as defendants’ age and gender.

Note that you will be asked to offer an objection to the argument that you identify . For this reason, you should not pick an article that merely mentions something with an ethical component but does not promote a position that can be easily identified or challenged. Instead, focus on selecting an article with a viewpoint that can be critiqued and which has at least one fallacious line of reasoning.

Once you have chosen an article, your next step is to offer a single, persuasive objection to the argument being made in the article. In other words, you have to demonstrate that the original argument contains a fallacy that leads to mistaken reasoning.

There are several ways in which an argument can be defective, including:

• The premises do not support or contradict the conclusion of the argument;
• The assumptions (both explicit or implicit) that form the basis of the argument are misleading, incorrect, or invalid in some other way; or
• The premises themselves contain incompatible, incorrect, or inconsistent claims. Once you have identified the fallacy, you can use it to form a critique of the original argument.

Going back to the “Machine Bias” article, you could question the definition of the “bias” or “fairness” used by ProPublica that leads to the claim that the COMPAS algorithm is biased and, therefore, unethical (i.e., focusing on the assumptions forming the argument). Alternatively, you could question whether their methodology is correct or identify a mistake in their analysis (i.e., focusing on the premises themselves).

Although you can certainly attempt to do this yourself, we also encourage you to use other sources when forming your rebuttal argument. These sources can also include any assigned readings, but it does not have to be limited only to them.

In their Washington Post article, Sam Corbett-Davies et al. point out that we could employ an alternative definition of ‘bias’ that differs from the one used by ProPublica. We could consider a risk-scoring algorithm to be biased, if and only if, for a given score produced by the algorithm, the proportion of defendants who subsequently reoffend differs depending on the race. The proportion of white and black defendants who reoffend is approximately the same for a given risk score produced by the COMPAS algorithm. Therefore, it follows that the claim that the COMPAS algorithm is biased against black defendants is invalid.

After you have identified the fallacy in the original argument and formed the rebuttal argument, your task is to produce an independent, persuasive argument for or against the original position. As before, you may consult additional sources when forming your argument.

Your argument must either adopt the original conclusion or the negation of the original conclusion. Looking at the previous example, you could argue that

• COMPAS algorithm is biased against black defendants (original conclusion) ; or
• COMPAS algorithm is not biased against black defendants (negation of the original conclusion) .

Note the difference between the rebuttal argument and the alternative argument. The rebuttal argument aims to demonstrate that the original argument does not provide sufficient support for the stated conclusion. The alternative argument is an independent argument for or against the original conclusion.

Furthermore, it is important to note the difference between expressing your personal opinion and arguing for a position as an exercise in philosophical discourse. Although it may feel intimidating, you do not necessarily have to advance a popular viewpoint or an argument that aligns well with your personal beliefs. Your paper will be evaluated on the basis of the validity and soundness of your arguments, as opposed to the popularity of the conclusion that you are arguing for .

In preparing your arguments, ensure that you make your assumptions explicit and avoid obvious mistakes and fallacies. You may wish to consult this document from the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University that offers a brief guide to writing successful philosophy papers.

Finally, you will summarize the paper by providing a recommendation as to whether this computer technology should be used (explaining how to mitigate the potential dangers) or not (explaining how to achieve similar benefits in another way).

Your recommendation does not have to depend on the position that you argued for in the previous part.

Your first deliverable is a link to your chosen article together with the argument containing the ethical issue itself and the premises that provide evidence for the existence of the issue.

The output of the main assignment is a paper containing the following parts:

• An introduction that provides a brief overview of the computer technology and the ethical issue at hand.
• A description of the argument (including its premises and the conclusion) that the authors of your chosen article are making.
• Your rebuttal argument: an objection made to the original argument.
• Your alternative argument: an independent, persuasive argument for or against the original conclusion.
• A recommendation as to whether this computer technology should be used or not.
• Sources and references used when preparing your paper.

The expected length of your paper is around 1000 words (± 10%). Please submit your paper double-spaced in PDF format. Do not forget to include the list of references used when writing your paper. You may use any citation style as long as it is consistent throughout the paper.

BUSN311 - Law and Ethics in the Business Environment

Course details.

Course Code: BUSN311 Course ID: 2939 Credit Hours: 3 Level: Undergraduate

This course develops skills for inquiry into the business environment from a legal and ethical perspective. Students explore the relationships between modern business and the environment, in addition to the ethical issues that arise when diverse interests intersect. Relevant topics will include contracts, commercial law (sales, secured transactions and creditors remedies), forms of business entities (including limited liability companies and corporations), agency, employer-employee relationships, real property concepts, bankruptcy, and negligence and strict liability concepts. Students will examine corporate governance and business ethics, with emphasis on case studies.

Course Schedule

Previous syllabi.

Not current for future courses.

• Download Archived Course Syllabi

Doha Declaration

Education for justice.

• Agenda Day 1
• Agenda Day 2
• Agenda Day 3
• Agenda Day 4
• Registration
• Breakout Sessions for Primary and Secondary Level
• Breakout Sessions for Tertiary Level
• E4J Youth Competition
• India - Lockdown Learners
• Chuka, Break the Silence
• The Online Zoo
• I would like a community where ...
• Staying safe online
• Let's be respectful online
• We can all be heroes
• Respect for all
• We all have rights
• A mosaic of differences
• The right thing to do
• Solving ethical dilemmas
• UNODC-UNESCO Guide for Policymakers
• UNODC-UNESCO Handbooks for Teachers
• Justice Accelerators
• Introduction
• Organized Crime
• Trafficking in Persons & Smuggling of Migrants
• Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice Reform
• Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice & SDGs
• UN Congress on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice
• Commission on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice
• Conference of the Parties to UNTOC
• Conference of the States Parties to UNCAC
• Rules for Simulating Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice Bodies
• Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice
• Engage with Us
• Contact Us about MUN
• Conferences Supporting E4J
• Cyberstrike
• Play for Integrity
• Running out of Time
• Zorbs Reloaded
• Developing a Rationale for Using the Video
• Previewing the Anti-Corruption Video
• Viewing the Video with a Purpose
• Post-viewing Activities
• Previewing the Firearms Video
• Rationale for Using the Video
• Previewing the Human Trafficking Video
• Previewing the Organized Crime Video
• Previewing the Video
• Criminal Justice & Crime Prevention
• Corruption & Integrity
• Human Trafficking & Migrant Smuggling
• Firearms Trafficking
• Terrorism & Violent Extremism
• Introduction & Learning Outcomes
• Corruption - Baseline Definition
• Effects of Corruption
• Deeper Meanings of Corruption
• Measuring Corruption
• Possible Class Structure
• Core Reading
• Advanced Reading
• Student Assessment
• Additional Teaching Tools
• Guidelines for Stand-Alone Course
• Appendix: How Corruption Affects the SDGs
• What is Governance?
• What is Good Governance?
• Corruption and Bad Governance
• Governance Reforms and Anti-Corruption
• Guidelines for Stand-alone Course
• Corruption and Democracy
• Corruption and Authoritarian Systems
• Hybrid Systems and Syndromes of Corruption
• The Deep Democratization Approach
• Political Parties and Political Finance
• Political Institution-building as a Means to Counter Corruption
• Manifestations and Consequences of Public Sector Corruption
• Causes of Public Sector Corruption
• Theories that Explain Corruption
• Corruption in Public Procurement
• Corruption in State-Owned Enterprises
• Responses to Public Sector Corruption
• Preventing Public Sector Corruption
• Forms & Manifestations of Private Sector Corruption
• Consequences of Private Sector Corruption
• Causes of Private Sector Corruption
• Responses to Private Sector Corruption
• Preventing Private Sector Corruption
• Collective Action & Public-Private Partnerships against Corruption
• Transparency as a Precondition
• Detection Mechanisms - Auditing and Reporting
• Whistle-blowing Systems and Protections
• Investigation of Corruption
• Introduction and Learning Outcomes
• Brief background on the human rights system
• Overview of the corruption-human rights nexus
• Impact of corruption on specific human rights
• Approaches to assessing the corruption-human rights nexus
• Human-rights based approach
• Defining sex, gender and gender mainstreaming
• Gender differences in corruption
• Theories explaining the gender–corruption nexus
• Gendered impacts of corruption
• Anti-corruption and gender mainstreaming
• Manifestations of corruption in education
• Costs of corruption in education
• Causes of corruption in education
• Fighting corruption in education
• Core terms and concepts
• The role of citizens in fighting corruption
• The role, risks and challenges of CSOs fighting corruption
• The role of the media in fighting corruption
• Access to information: a condition for citizen participation
• ICT as a tool for citizen participation in anti-corruption efforts
• Government obligations to ensure citizen participation in anti-corruption efforts
• Teaching Guide
• Brief History of Terrorism
• 19th Century Terrorism
• League of Nations & Terrorism
• United Nations & Terrorism
• Terrorist Victimization
• Exercises & Case Studies
• Radicalization & Violent Extremism
• Preventing & Countering Violent Extremism
• Drivers of Violent Extremism
• International Approaches to PVE &CVE
• Regional & Multilateral Approaches
• Defining Rule of Law
• UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
• International Cooperation & UN CT Strategy
• Legal Sources & UN CT Strategy
• Regional & National Approaches
• International Legal Frameworks
• International Human Rights Law
• International Humanitarian Law
• International Refugee Law
• Current Challenges to International Legal Framework
• Defining Terrorism
• Criminal Justice Responses
• Treaty-based Crimes of Terrorism
• Core International Crimes
• International Courts and Tribunals
• African Region
• Inter-American Region
• Asian Region
• European Region
• Middle East & Gulf Regions
• Core Principles of IHL
• Categorization of Armed Conflict
• Classification of Persons
• IHL, Terrorism & Counter-Terrorism
• Relationship between IHL & intern. human rights law
• Limitations Permitted by Human Rights Law
• Derogation during Public Emergency
• Examples of States of Emergency & Derogations
• International Human Rights Instruments
• Regional Human Rights Instruments
• Extra-territorial Application of Right to Life
• Arbitrary Deprivation of Life
• Death Penalty
• Enforced Disappearances
• Armed Conflict Context
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
• Convention against Torture et al.
• International Legal Framework
• Key Contemporary Issues
• Investigative Phase
• Trial & Sentencing Phase
• Armed Conflict
• Case Studies
• Special Investigative Techniques
• Surveillance & Interception of Communications
• Privacy & Intelligence Gathering in Armed Conflict
• Accountability & Oversight of Intelligence Gathering
• Principle of Non-Discrimination
• Freedom of Religion
• Freedom of Expression
• Freedom of Assembly
• Freedom of Association
• Fundamental Freedoms
• Definition of 'Victim'
• Effects of Terrorism
• Access to Justice
• Recognition of the Victim
• Human Rights Instruments
• Criminal Justice Mechanisms
• Instruments for Victims of Terrorism
• National Approaches
• Key Challenges in Securing Reparation
• Topic 1. Contemporary issues relating to conditions conducive both to the spread of terrorism and the rule of law
• Topic 2. Contemporary issues relating to the right to life
• Topic 3. Contemporary issues relating to foreign terrorist fighters
• Topic 4. Contemporary issues relating to non-discrimination and fundamental freedoms
• Module 16: Linkages between Organized Crime and Terrorism
• Thematic Areas
• Content Breakdown
• Module Adaptation & Design Guidelines
• Teaching Methods
• Acknowledgements
• 1. Introducing United Nations Standards & Norms on CPCJ vis-à-vis International Law
• 2. Scope of United Nations Standards & Norms on CPCJ
• 3. United Nations Standards & Norms on CPCJ in Operation
• 1. Definition of Crime Prevention
• 2. Key Crime Prevention Typologies
• 2. (cont.) Tonry & Farrington’s Typology
• 3. Crime Problem-Solving Approaches
• 4. What Works
• United Nations Entities
• Regional Crime Prevention Councils/Institutions
• Key Clearinghouses
• Systematic Reviews
• 1. Introduction to International Standards & Norms
• 2. Identifying the Need for Legal Aid
• 3. Key Components of the Right of Access to Legal Aid
• 4. Access to Legal Aid for Those with Specific Needs
• 5. Models for Governing, Administering and Funding Legal Aid
• 6. Models for Delivering Legal Aid Services
• 7. Roles and Responsibilities of Legal Aid Providers
• 8. Quality Assurance and Legal Aid Services
• 1. Context for Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officials
• 2. Legal Framework
• 3. General Principles of Use of Force in Law Enforcement
• 4. Use of Firearms
• 5. Use of “Less-Lethal” Weapons
• 6. Protection of Especially Vulnerable Groups
• 7. Use of Force during Assemblies
• 1. Policing in democracies & need for accountability, integrity, oversight
• 2. Key mechanisms & actors in police accountability, oversight
• 3. Crosscutting & contemporary issues in police accountability
• 1. Introducing Aims of Punishment, Imprisonment & Prison Reform
• 2. Current Trends, Challenges & Human Rights
• 3. Towards Humane Prisons & Alternative Sanctions
• 1. Aims and Significance of Alternatives to Imprisonment
• 2. Justifying Punishment in the Community
• 3. Pretrial Alternatives
• 4. Post Trial Alternatives
• 5. Evaluating Alternatives
• 1. Concept, Values and Origin of Restorative Justice
• 2. Overview of Restorative Justice Processes
• 3. How Cost Effective is Restorative Justice?
• 4. Issues in Implementing Restorative Justice
• 1. Gender-Based Discrimination & Women in Conflict with the Law
• 2. Vulnerabilities of Girls in Conflict with the Law
• 3. Discrimination and Violence against LGBTI Individuals
• 4. Gender Diversity in Criminal Justice Workforce
• 1. Ending Violence against Women
• 2. Human Rights Approaches to Violence against Women
• 3. Who Has Rights in this Situation?
• 4. What about the Men?
• 5. Local, Regional & Global Solutions to Violence against Women & Girls
• 1. Understanding the Concept of Victims of Crime
• 2. Impact of Crime, including Trauma
• 3. Right of Victims to Adequate Response to their Needs
• 4. Collecting Victim Data
• 5. Victims and their Participation in Criminal Justice Process
• 6. Victim Services: Institutional and Non-Governmental Organizations
• 7. Outlook on Current Developments Regarding Victims
• 8. Victims of Crime and International Law
• 1. The Many Forms of Violence against Children
• 2. The Impact of Violence on Children
• 3. States' Obligations to Prevent VAC and Protect Child Victims
• 4. Improving the Prevention of Violence against Children
• 5. Improving the Criminal Justice Response to VAC
• 6. Addressing Violence against Children within the Justice System
• 1. The Role of the Justice System
• 2. Convention on the Rights of the Child & International Legal Framework on Children's Rights
• 3. Justice for Children
• 4. Justice for Children in Conflict with the Law
• 5. Realizing Justice for Children
• 1a. Judicial Independence as Fundamental Value of Rule of Law & of Constitutionalism
• 1b. Main Factors Aimed at Securing Judicial Independence
• 2a. Public Prosecutors as ‘Gate Keepers’ of Criminal Justice
• 2b. Institutional and Functional Role of Prosecutors
• 2c. Other Factors Affecting the Role of Prosecutors
• Basics of Computing
• Global Connectivity and Technology Usage Trends
• Cybercrime in Brief
• Cybercrime Trends
• Cybercrime Prevention
• Offences against computer data and systems
• Computer-related offences
• Content-related offences
• The Role of Cybercrime Law
• Harmonization of Laws
• International and Regional Instruments
• International Human Rights and Cybercrime Law
• Digital Evidence
• Digital Forensics
• Standards and Best Practices for Digital Forensics
• Reporting Cybercrime
• Who Conducts Cybercrime Investigations?
• Obstacles to Cybercrime Investigations
• Knowledge Management
• Legal and Ethical Obligations
• Handling of Digital Evidence
• Digital Evidence Admissibility
• Sovereignty and Jurisdiction
• Formal International Cooperation Mechanisms
• Informal International Cooperation Mechanisms
• Data Retention, Preservation and Access
• Challenges Relating to Extraterritorial Evidence
• National Capacity and International Cooperation
• Internet Governance
• Cybersecurity Strategies: Basic Features
• National Cybersecurity Strategies
• International Cooperation on Cybersecurity Matters
• Cybersecurity Posture
• Assets, Vulnerabilities and Threats
• Vulnerability Disclosure
• Cybersecurity Measures and Usability
• Situational Crime Prevention
• Incident Detection, Response, Recovery & Preparedness
• Privacy: What it is and Why it is Important
• Privacy and Security
• Cybercrime that Compromises Privacy
• Data Protection Legislation
• Data Breach Notification Laws
• Enforcement of Privacy and Data Protection Laws
• Intellectual Property: What it is
• Types of Intellectual Property
• Causes for Cyber-Enabled Copyright & Trademark Offences
• Protection & Prevention Efforts
• Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
• Cyberstalking and Cyberharassment
• Cyberbullying
• Gender-Based Interpersonal Cybercrime
• Interpersonal Cybercrime Prevention
• Cyber Organized Crime: What is it?
• Conceptualizing Organized Crime & Defining Actors Involved
• Criminal Groups Engaging in Cyber Organized Crime
• Cyber Organized Crime Activities
• Preventing & Countering Cyber Organized Crime
• Cyberespionage
• Cyberterrorism
• Cyberwarfare
• Information Warfare, Disinformation & Electoral Fraud
• Responses to Cyberinterventions
• Framing the Issue of Firearms
• Direct Impact of Firearms
• Indirect Impacts of Firearms on States or Communities
• International and National Responses
• Typology and Classification of Firearms
• Common Firearms Types
• 'Other' Types of Firearms
• Parts and Components
• History of the Legitimate Arms Market
• Need for a Legitimate Market
• Key Actors in the Legitimate Market
• Authorized & Unauthorized Arms Transfers
• Illegal Firearms in Social, Cultural & Political Context
• Supply, Demand & Criminal Motivations
• Larger Scale Firearms Trafficking Activities
• Smaller Scale Trafficking Activities
• Sources of Illicit Firearms
• Consequences of Illicit Markets
• International Public Law & Transnational Law
• International Instruments with Global Outreach
• Commonalities, Differences & Complementarity between Global Instruments
• Tools to Support Implementation of Global Instruments
• Other United Nations Processes
• The Sustainable Development Goals
• Multilateral & Regional Instruments
• Scope of National Firearms Regulations
• National Firearms Strategies & Action Plans
• Harmonization of National Legislation with International Firearms Instruments
• Assistance for Development of National Firearms Legislation
• Firearms Trafficking as a Cross-Cutting Element
• Organized Crime and Organized Criminal Groups
• Criminal Gangs
• Terrorist Groups
• Interconnections between Organized Criminal Groups & Terrorist Groups
• Gangs - Organized Crime & Terrorism: An Evolving Continuum
• International Response
• International and National Legal Framework
• Firearms Related Offences
• Role of Law Enforcement
• Firearms as Evidence
• Use of Special Investigative Techniques
• International Cooperation and Information Exchange
• Prosecution and Adjudication of Firearms Trafficking
• Teaching Methods & Principles
• Ethical Learning Environments
• Overview of Modules
• Module Adaption & Design Guidelines
• Table of Exercises
• Basic Terms
• Forms of Gender Discrimination
• Ethics of Care
• Case Studies for Professional Ethics
• Case Studies for Role Morality
• Additional Exercises
• Defining Organized Crime
• Definition in Convention
• Similarities & Differences
• Activities, Organization, Composition
• Thinking Critically Through Fiction
• Excerpts of Legislation
• Research & Independent Study Questions
• Legal Definitions of Organized Crimes
• Criminal Association
• Definitions in the Organized Crime Convention
• Criminal Organizations and Enterprise Laws
• Enabling Offence: Obstruction of Justice
• Drug Trafficking
• Wildlife & Forest Crime
• Counterfeit Products Trafficking
• Falsified Medical Products
• Trafficking in Cultural Property
• Trafficking in Persons
• Case Studies & Exercises
• Extortion Racketeering
• Loansharking
• Links to Corruption
• Bribery versus Extortion
• Money-Laundering
• Liability of Legal Persons
• How much Organized Crime is there?
• Alternative Ways for Measuring
• Measuring Product Markets
• Risk Assessment
• Key Concepts of Risk Assessment
• Risk Assessment of Organized Crime Groups
• Risk Assessment of Product Markets
• Risk Assessment in Practice
• Positivism: Environmental Influences
• Classical: Pain-Pleasure Decisions
• Structural Factors
• Ethical Perspective
• Crime Causes & Facilitating Factors
• Models and Structure
• Hierarchical Model
• Local, Cultural Model
• Enterprise or Business Model
• Groups vs Activities
• Networked Structure
• Jurisdiction
• Investigators of Organized Crime
• Controlled Deliveries
• Physical & Electronic Surveillance
• Undercover Operations
• Financial Analysis
• Use of Informants
• Rights of Victims & Witnesses
• Role of Prosecutors
• Adversarial vs Inquisitorial Legal Systems
• Mitigating Punishment
• Granting Immunity from Prosecution
• Witness Protection
• Aggravating & Mitigating Factors
• Sentencing Options
• Alternatives to Imprisonment
• Death Penalty & Organized Crime
• Backgrounds of Convicted Offenders
• Confiscation
• Confiscation in Practice
• Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA)
• Extradition
• Transfer of Criminal Proceedings
• Transfer of Sentenced Persons
• Module 12: Prevention of Organized Crime
• Adoption of Organized Crime Convention
• Historical Context
• Features of the Convention
• Related international instruments
• Conference of the Parties
• Roles of Participants
• Structure and Flow
• Recommended Topics
• Background Materials
• What is Sex / Gender / Intersectionality?
• Knowledge about Gender in Organized Crime
• Gender and Organized Crime
• Gender and Different Types of Organized Crime
• Definitions and Terminology
• Organized crime and Terrorism - International Legal Framework
• International Terrorism-related Conventions
• UNSC Resolutions on Terrorism
• Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols
• Theoretical Frameworks on Linkages between Organized Crime and Terrorism
• Typologies of Criminal Behaviour Associated with Terrorism
• Terrorism and Drug Trafficking
• Terrorism and Trafficking in Weapons
• Terrorism, Crime and Trafficking in Cultural Property
• Trafficking in Persons and Terrorism
• Intellectual Property Crime and Terrorism
• Kidnapping for Ransom and Terrorism
• Exploitation of Natural Resources and Terrorism
• Review and Assessment Questions
• Research and Independent Study Questions
• Criminalization of Smuggling of Migrants
• UNTOC & the Protocol against Smuggling of Migrants
• Offences under the Protocol
• Financial & Other Material Benefits
• Aggravating Circumstances
• Criminal Liability
• Non-Criminalization of Smuggled Migrants
• Scope of the Protocol
• Humanitarian Exemption
• Migrant Smuggling v. Irregular Migration
• Migrant Smuggling vis-a-vis Other Crime Types
• Other Resources
• Assistance and Protection in the Protocol
• International Human Rights and Refugee Law
• Vulnerable groups
• Positive and Negative Obligations of the State
• Identification of Smuggled Migrants
• Participation in Legal Proceedings
• Role of Non-Governmental Organizations
• Smuggled Migrants & Other Categories of Migrants
• Short-, Mid- and Long-Term Measures
• Criminal Justice Reponse: Scope
• Investigative & Prosecutorial Approaches
• Different Relevant Actors & Their Roles
• Testimonial Evidence
• Financial Investigations
• Non-Governmental Organizations
• ‘Outside the Box’ Methodologies
• Intra- and Inter-Agency Coordination
• Admissibility of Evidence
• International Cooperation
• Exchange of Information
• Non-Criminal Law Relevant to Smuggling of Migrants
• Administrative Approach
• Complementary Activities & Role of Non-criminal Justice Actors
• Macro-Perspective in Addressing Smuggling of Migrants
• Human Security
• International Aid and Cooperation
• Migration & Migrant Smuggling
• Mixed Migration Flows
• Social Politics of Migrant Smuggling
• Vulnerability
• Profile of Smugglers
• Role of Organized Criminal Groups
• Humanitarianism, Security and Migrant Smuggling
• Crime of Trafficking in Persons
• The Issue of Consent
• The Purpose of Exploitation
• The abuse of a position of vulnerability
• Indicators of Trafficking in Persons
• Distinction between Trafficking in Persons and Other Crimes
• Misconceptions Regarding Trafficking in Persons
• Root Causes
• Supply Side Prevention Strategies
• Demand Side Prevention Strategies
• Role of the Media
• Safe Migration Channels
• Crime Prevention Strategies
• Monitoring, Evaluating & Reporting on Effectiveness of Prevention
• Trafficked Persons as Victims
• Protection under the Protocol against Trafficking in Persons
• Broader International Framework
• State Responsibility for Trafficking in Persons
• Identification of Victims
• Principle of Non-Criminalization of Victims
• Criminal Justice Duties Imposed on States
• Role of the Criminal Justice System
• Current Low Levels of Prosecutions and Convictions
• Challenges to an Effective Criminal Justice Response
• Rights of Victims to Justice and Protection
• Potential Strategies to “Turn the Tide”
• State Cooperation with Civil Society
• Civil Society Actors
• The Private Sector
• Comparing SOM and TIP
• Differences and Commonalities
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• Global Overview on TIP and SOM
• Gender and Migration
• Key Debates in the Scholarship on TIP and SOM
• Gender and TIP and SOM Offenders
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• Challenges for Law Enforcement
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• Wild Flora as the Target of Illegal Trafficking
• Purposes for which Wild Flora is Illegally Targeted
• How is it Done and Who is Involved?
• Consequences of Harms to Wild Flora
• Terminology
• Background: Communities and conservation: A history of disenfranchisement
• Incentives for communities to get involved in illegal wildlife trafficking: the cost of conservation
• Incentives to participate in illegal wildlife, logging and fishing economies
• International and regional responses that fight wildlife trafficking while supporting IPLCs
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University Module Series: Integrity & Ethics

Module 1: introduction and conceptual framework.

   This module is a resource for lecturers   

This section contains suggestions for in-class and pre-class educational exercises, while a post-class assignment for assessing student understanding of the Module is suggested in a separate section.

The exercises in this section are most appropriate for classes of up to 50 students, where students can be easily organized into small groups in which they discuss cases or conduct activities before group representatives provide feedback to the entire class. Although it is possible to have the same small group structure in large classes comprising a few hundred students, it is more challenging and the lecturer might wish to adapt facilitation techniques to ensure sufficient time for group discussions as well as providing feedback to the entire class. The easiest way to deal with the requirement for small group discussion in a large class is to ask students to discuss the issues with the four or five students sitting close to them. Given time limitations, not all groups will be able to provide feedback in each exercise. It is recommended that the lecturer makes random selections and tries to ensure that all groups get the opportunity to provide feedback at least once during the session. If time permits, the lecturer could facilitate a discussion in plenary after each group has provided feedback.

All exercises in this section are appropriate for both graduate and undergraduate students. However, as students' prior knowledge and exposure to these issues vary widely, decisions about appropriateness of exercises should be based on their educational and social context. The lecturer is encouraged to relate and connect each exercise to the key issues of the Module.

Exercise 1: Personal values

View the video ; review the Mindtools website list of personal values : Think about the values and morals that you live by. List your top ten personal ethical rules.

Lecturer guidelines

The video is self-explanatory and provides clear and practical guidelines on how to conduct the exercise. The lecturer can screen the video and then allow time in class for students to develop the list. If time allows, they can read the article and discuss in small groups.

Exercise 2: Shipwreck situation

This is a classic case in ethics theory. Give the following information to the students: Imagine that you are involved in a shipwreck situation - a ship has started to sink in the middle of the ocean. Eleven people have jumped into a life-boat that has been designed for a maximum of ten people only, and the life-boat is also starting to sink. What should the passengers do? Throw one person overboard and save ten lives? Or stick to the principle of "do not kill", which means that everybody will drown? The lecturer can invite contributions from the class and even take a vote, and then illustrate how different theoretical approaches (e.g. utilitarianism and deontology) will lead to different solutions that are both valid in terms of the particular approach.

This exercise can be used in different contexts, either to precede a presentation on ethical theories, or as an exercise in which students can apply newly acquired knowledge about such theories. The most effective use is probably to do the exercise before the ethical theories are discussed in detail. This will lead to lively discussion and debate, and the lecturer can illustrate how our decision-making processes can be explained by ethical theories. The lecturer can then revisit the example afterwards with a more formal approach, by clearly indicating what specific solutions the different theories will offer.

Exercise 3: Case study (Baby Theresa)

This full case is included in The Elements of Moral Philosophy (Rachels and Rachels, 2012). The following is a summary of the case:

Summary: Baby Theresa was born in Florida (United States of America) in 1992 with anencephaly, one of the worst genetic disorders. Sometimes referred to as "babies without brains", infants with this disease are born without important parts of the brain and the top of the skull is also missing. Most cases are detected during pregnancy and usually aborted. About half of those not aborted are stillborn. In the United States, about 350 babies are born alive each year and usually die within days. Baby Theresa was born alive. Her parents decided to donate her organs for transplant. Her parents and her physicians agreed that the organs should be removed while she was alive (thus causing her inevitable death to take place sooner), but this was not allowed by Florida law. When she died after nine days the organs had deteriorated too much and could not be used.

The lecturer facilitates a group discussion by posing one or more of the following questions:

• How do we put a value on human life?
• What should one do when there is a conflict between the law and one's own moral position about an issue?
• If you were in a position to make the final decision in this case, what would it be and why?

As a variation, students could be asked to assume different roles, e.g. parents, physicians and lawmakers, and have a class debate.

Exercise 4: Case study (emails exposed)

The case and questions, authored by Akshay Vyas, appear on the website of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Santa Clara .

Robert is on the baseball team at a small college in Texas. He's a high profile player on the team, and as a result he has a lot of followers on Twitter and a large network on Facebook. For this reason, the members of the athletic board at his college think it's necessary to monitor his social media accounts. In Texas, there is no law to prevent schools from requiring individuals to give up their personal social media login and password information, so Robert is forced to hand over his social media account information.

University officials say that the intent of monitoring is to identify potential compliance and behavioral issues early on, enabling athletic departments to educate athletes on how to present themselves online. They regularly check what Robert posts and flag certain postings with which they have issues.

One day Robert tweets "Skipping class to break bad #schoolsucks #bettercallsaul #breakingbad." Since Robert publicly admits to skipping class, school officials flag the post and decide to also start monitoring Robert's email account without informing him.

Since the school provides an email account as a service to its students and faculty, it reserves the right to search its own system's stored data. According to the college's student handbook, administrators may access student email accounts in order to safeguard the system or "to ensure compliance with other University rules." The policy does not mention whether or not account owners have to be notified that their emails are searched.

When searching Robert's email account, university officials find several questionable emails between Robert and his tutor. It seems that Robert's tutor has been sending him all answers to homework assignments and quizzes. As a result of the investigation, Robert is placed on athletic probation and his tutor is fired.

• Should universities be allowed to monitor student email and social media accounts? If so, under what circumstances?
• What crosses the line between campus safety and invasion of privacy?
• Are university rules regarding email and social media monitoring too vague? If so, how can these rules be changed for more clarity?
• Should Robert have been punished for cheating in class if he did not know his email was being monitored? What about his tutor?

As a variation, students could be asked to assume different roles, e.g. Robert, his tutor, university officials, and have a class debate.

Exercise 5: Case study (The Parable of the Sadhu)

The following summary is available here :

In 1982, [Bowen McCoy] spent several months hiking through Nepal. Midway through the difficult trek, as he and several others were preparing to attain the highest point of their climb, they encountered the body of an Indian holy man, or sadhu. Wearing little clothing and shivering in the bitter cold, he was barely alive. McCoy and the other travelers - who included individuals from Japan, New Zealand, and Switzerland, as well as local Nepali guides and porters - immediately wrapped him in warm clothing and gave him food and drink. A few members of the group broke off to help move the sadhu down toward a village two days' journey away, but they soon left him in order to continue their way up the slope. What happened to the sadhu? In his retrospective commentary, McCoy notes that he never learned the answer to that question. Instead, the sadhu's story only raises more questions. On the Himalayan slope, a collection of individuals was unprepared for a sudden dilemma. They all 'did their bit', but the group was not organized enough to take ultimate responsibility for a life. How, asks McCoy in a broader context, do we prepare our organizations and institutions so they will respond appropriately to ethical crises?

The full case study is available here .

• Can you identify the ethical issues in this case?
• If you were in the position of the travelers, how would you respond?
• What is the relevance of this case in contemporary society?

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A class activity to learn both law AND ethics

Posted by Candace Bowen on Nov 2, 2015 in Blog , Ethical Issues , Legal issues , News , Scholastic Journalism , Teaching | 0 comments

Sadly, she wasn’t alone in a class of education majors who would soon be licensed to teach journalism in a large Midwestern state. In fact, ask some teachers already in the classroom, ask their principals, and, while they would know it’s not all one word, they might be hard pressed to explain the difference between LAW and ETHICS.

But not knowing the difference makes it difficult to teach these two concepts effectively. They are separate fields, though they do overlap in theory and practice, and plenty of journalistic situations require us to assess both legal and ethical components.

So let’s look at them carefully. The simplistic definition says, “Law tells us what we COULD do, and ethics helps us decide what we SHOULD do.” Other definitions point out laws are passed by governing bodies of a town, state or country and breaking a law has specified consequences. In other words, you can be punished for not following the rules.

Ethics, on the other hand, is more about an individual or team process to arrive at the best way to act for the situation. According to the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin, “Ethical questions arise most typically in cases where there is genuine puzzlement about what should be done in various types of situations. There is usually some practical importance or urgency to such questions. Is it ethical for journalists to reveal their sources to the courts, despite their promises of confidentiality? Is it ethical of journalists to invade the privacy of politicians to investigate allegations of unethical conduct?”

It’s impossible to spell out all the ethical options because situations constantly change, and what works in one situation may be wrong in another that’s somewhat similar. Journalists need guidelines to help them make ethical decisions, but hard and fast rules won’t always work.

That’s why so many organizations have ethical guidelines that are flexible. Read the SPJ Code of Ethics : Seek Truth and Report It, Minimize Harm, Act Independently and Be Accountable and Transparent. It says nothing about firing a journalist for using an unnamed source or setting up an undercover sting, but the bullet points under each of these main tenets give the media some guidelines.

The Principals Guide to Scholastic Journalism also helps explain the difference between law and ethics and includes an extensive list of links to valuable resources.

Experienced journalism educators usually find it more effective to teach legal issues first, then ethical, because that’s the approach journalists take in the real world. What COULD we do? Would we be libeling someone if we printed that? If it’s illegal, go no further. But legal situations may have ethical implications. SHOULD we use the victim’s name? What about the accused? Both names? Neither name?

JEA’s law and ethics curriculum follows that same organization (for JEA members only). Even the three-week module handles the First Amendment, court cases, unprotected speech (libel, copyright, invasion of privacy), reporter’s privilege, FERPA, FOIA, before “ Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should ” and additional ethics approaches.

Copy shot provided by the artist

Hypotheticals are a one good way to get students to look at a situation’s legal and ethical issues, like this one about a piece of art and how the student newspaper could and should report it:

As an art class project, the teacher told her students to create a scratchboard drawing , either from imagination or using a photo as its basis. Tammy used a picture in a school board-approved book, The Family of Man , that depicted a woman balancing a basket on her head. The art teacher thought her finished product was wonderful and wanted to put it in a display case at the end of the art hallway, but she wasn’t sure she could — the woman was nude from the waist up. When the teacher asked the principal’s opinion, he said, no, don’t hang it in the hall. Tammy was furious and so were some of the newspaper staff when they heard the story. Would you cover this incident? How? As an editorial? A news story? Whom would you interview? Would you consider running a copy shot of the photo? What would the principal likely say? First, think about the legal issues — is it obscene? Is it a copyright violation? Any other possible laws you might break? If nothing is legally wrong, what about the ethics? What is your reason for running it? (Download the picture here )

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Case Studies

More than 70 cases pair ethics concepts with real world situations. From journalism, performing arts, and scientific research to sports, law, and business, these case studies explore current and historic ethical dilemmas, their motivating biases, and their consequences. Each case includes discussion questions, related videos, and a bibliography.

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Banning Burkas: Freedom or Discrimination?

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Birthing Vaccine Skepticism

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Blurred Lines of Copyright

Marvin Gaye’s Estate won a lawsuit against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for the hit song “Blurred Lines,” which had a similar feel to one of his songs.

Bullfighting: Art or Not?

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Buying Green: Consumer Behavior

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Cadavers in Car Safety Research

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Cardinals’ Computer Hacking

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Cheating: Atlanta’s School Scandal

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Cheating: Sign-Stealing in MLB

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Cheating: UNC’s Academic Fraud

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Dr. V’s Magical Putter

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Retracting Research: The Case of Chandok v. Klessig

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Sacking Social Media in College Sports

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Wells Fargo and Moral Emotions

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