Seminar FS 2027

Lecturers

Professor Dr Gian Ege, University of Zurich
Professor Dr Serena Forlati, University of Ferrara
Professor Dr Andreas Schloenhardt, University of Queensland and University of Vienna
Professor Dr Monika Stempkowski, University of Vienna
Professor Dr Bettina Weisser, University of Cologne

Contact
MLaw Niklaus Sempach (niklaus.sempach@ius.uzh.ch)

Suitable for 
Master students

Dates and Places
8–12 February 2027, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
 

The Seminar Series “Transnational Organised Crime”

The Chair of Professor Christian Schwarzenegger and Professor Gian Ege have been conducting the seminar series “Transnational Organised Crime” in cooperation with the Universities of Vienna and Queensland for several years. This year, for the fourth time, the University of Ferrara and Cologne will participate. Each year, mainly masters and PhD students from each university address a current topic from the field of transnational organised crime and publish their findings. In doing so, they do not only gain new insights but also form relations across universities and nations.

As in previous years, the seminar papers are to be published if they reach the required quality. The seminar, therefore, offers the students an excellent opportunity to publish their first own scientific papers under guidance. In order to acquire the necessary soft skills, the students take part in different trainings (the participants will be told the dates in due time):

• Research training: The students receive an introduction to scientific research.
• Presentation training: The students will receive training in structuring scientific presentations and in various presentation techniques.
• Academic writing training: The students will be schooled in scientific writing also concerning the publishability of their papers.

During the seminar in Vienna, students present their topics and receive feedback from instructors and fellow students which they can include in their papers. The seminar involves extra work for students but offers unique opportunities as students learn skills related to legal and academic work.

The deadline for submitting the seminar papers is 5 May 2027.

This Year's Topic

This year's Transnational Organised Crime series seminar will focus on the Relationship between Organized Crime and the Environment

The 2026–2027 Transnational Organise Crime programme broadly explores the involvement of organised criminal groups in crimes affecting the environment.

Topics 

The list of topics will be provided for those who are enrolled in the seminar. Participants will be able to choose from topics from the following subject areas:

• Definitions and Data: The first set of topics explore and explain basic terms and concepts around crimes affecting the environment, wildlife crime, trafficking in fauna and flora etc., and reflect on the available data and statistics as well as human rights implications.
• Crimes against the environment—global and national perspectives: The second set of topics explore the patterns, characteristics, perpetrators, impact etc. of specific crimes affecting the environment. The focus of this set is chiefly on criminology, not on national laws, law enforcement, and international frameworks. Where possible, the primary focus should be on organised crime involvement in these crime types.
• Facilitator crimes: This set of topics looks at the role and relevance of so-called facilitator crimes associated with organised crime and the environment. The primary focus is on the significance, levels, and patterns of these crime types in the context of organised crime and the environment. Students may choose to limit the scope to one type of crimes against the environment.
• International legal frameworks: The topics in this area outline relevant international frameworks, explore their background, contents, and application, and critically examine how they help prevent and suppress offences against the environment and the involvement of organised crime in such offences.
• National criminal offences: This set of topics turns to offences under national law criminalising various types of crimes against the environment in one jurisdiction.
• Law enforcement tools: These topics examine specific law enforcement techniques to investigate organised crime involvement in crimes affecting the environment.

Preliminary discussion / topic allocation

As soon as the provisional participants have been determined, we will contact you with a Doodle poll. At the preliminary meeting, topics will be assigned and the dates for the further procedure will be announced.

Grading 

The presentation accounts for 40%, the written paper for 60% of the final grade.

Language

The participants can write their papers either in German, English or French. However, the presentation must be held in English.

Application 

Students have to apply for this course via the faculty's booking tool.

Costs 

Students have to travel to Vienna and find accomodation for the week on their own. In past years, students recieved a small contribution of CHF 100 from the Stiftung für Juristische Lehre und Forschung. We will apply for a similar stipend and inform participants at a later date.

For any question please contact Niklaus Sempach, MLaw (niklaus.sempach@ius.uzh.ch).