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Legislation, policy and practice surrounding the criminal justice response to rape in Scotland have been profoundly influenced by the work of Professor Michele Burman. Her research directly informed the Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002, and continues to influence policy and practice guidance. Her research on rape attrition/conviction rates informed changes to investigative/prosecutorial responses. Her work was drawn on in the Scottish Law Commission's review of the law of rape and informed the subsequent Sexual Offences 2009 Act which introduced radical changes to the definitions of rape and of consent. Burman's research has been adopted by Rape Crisis Scotland in national campaigns, and crucially informed training materials for the judiciary in Scotland and abroad.
Research on ILR undertaken by Professor Fiona Raitt has re-framed the terms of the debate in Scotland concerning participation of rape complainers in the criminal justice system. It has:
This research informed the introduction and on-going implementation of a major criminal policy innovation, namely, Pre-Trial Witness Interviewing (PTWI) by Crown Prosecutors across England and Wales. It was conducted in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and provided independent evaluation of PTWI as an integral component of the piloting phase prior to national roll-out. The research formed part of the initial PTWI training of selected Crown Prosecutors and, following roll-out, continued to serve as a resource for frontline prosecutors, affecting case progression, complainants' experiences and the outcomes of criminal cases (prominently including serious sexual assaults and domestic violence).
This case study describes the impact that has arisen from an extended research project carried out by Professor Shute, since 2009, on inspection of the main criminal justice agencies — police, prosecution, courts, prisons and probation — in the United Kingdom. The impact of the research has been at a number of levels: the development by ministers and senior civil servants of high- level strategy concerning criminal justice inspection; the translation of that strategy into inspection policy; and the conversion of inspection policy into inspection practice. Specific changes include: developing a risk-based approach; inspecting the use of the person escort record; and inspecting corruption in prisons.
Professor Adrian Keane's research relates to the law of criminal evidence, that body of law which regulates the means by which facts can be proved in criminal trials. His publications on the subject have effected change and benefited the awareness, capacity, performance and understanding of the subject on the part of:
(i) the judiciary in the UK and internationally, in reaching decisions at both first instance and at appellate level; and in giving directions to juries on evidential issues that are as clear and consistent as possible
(ii) legal practitioners
(iii) law academics and students (an impact that extends significantly beyond the submitting higher education institution)
(iv) legislators in the People's Republic of China.
The most significant impact stems from participation in a project in Beijing that led directly to a revised Criminal Procedure Law that has improved the quality of the administration of Chinese criminal justice. Specifically, it has rendered criminal trials fairer to the accused and reduced the potential for miscarriages of justice, especially in relation to offences carrying the death penalty.
Research conducted by Vogler between 1993 and 2013 on the theoretical principles and practical modalities of global criminal-justice reform led to specific influence on the Georgian Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) 2009, e.g. Arts 170-176 (arrest), 196-208 (pre-trial release), 49-50 (non-compulsion of witnesses) and 219-224, 226, 231-236 (jury trial). This was achieved through sustained and direct influence on the criminal-justice reform process in Georgia 2002-13. In addition, following the enactment of the new CPC, Vogler provided recommendations on implementation, and devised and conducted training for the constitutional court on the new CPC.
Much has been written about mental condition defences such as insanity and diminished responsibility together with the cognate doctrine of unfitness to plead. However, most of this work has been doctrinal rather than empirical. This case study has developed a sustained and continuing understanding of how certain mental condition defences operate in practice, primarily through empirical analysis. R.D. Mackay's empirical studies of both the insanity defence and unfitness to plead and his studies of diminished responsibility, provocation and infanticide have been used by and have influenced law reform bodies, legislators, policy development and legal analysis.
Wells' research on corporate liability led to direct changes to UK law in the Bribery Act 2010 and has begun to have significant impact internationally. UK law now complies with the 1997 OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Significant changes were made after Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft Bill, as a result of Wells' intervention, which have a major effect on all corporations, including multinationals, demonstrating the international reach and significance of this law. Her work has had further international reach and significance on the development of the OECD's Anti-Corruption Initiative and on the International Bar Association's Task Force (IBAHRI) on Tax Havens, Poverty and Human Rights.
This impact case study provides details of research carried out by Dr David Whyte on the regulation of deaths and injuries caused by working. This research led directly to the introduction of new legislation in the Scottish Parliament in 2010. The research has also had a measurable influence upon policy debates in the Health and Safety Commission/Board and the UK Parliament and has provided the foundation for trade union policy on health and safety regulation. This case study draws upon inter-disciplinary knowledge in the disciplines of law, criminology, economics and business and management studies to impact upon policy development in government, the criminal justice system and the trade union sector.
Professor Cryer's research on International Criminal Law has changed how the human rights of refugees are protected under International Law. First, it has significantly influenced Canadian jurisprudence in this field. Prior to the July 2013 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ezkola v Canada, refugee claimants had been excluded from Canada on the basis of their association with others, rather than because they were individually responsible for the commission of international crimes. The Supreme Court of Canada relied directly on Cryer's research to develop a new test to determine eligibility for refugee status. Secondly, Cryer's research has helped to shape the revised 2003 UNHCR guidelines on the application of exclusion clauses, which will be published in 2014. Beneficiaries of the research include the UNHCR and all States which implement the UNHCR's guidelines on refugee status, and individuals who would previously have been denied refugee status.