How Cybercrime challenges Criminal Law

Institutskolloquium

Datum: 06.10.2023
Uhrzeit: 10:30 - 12:00
Vortragender: Dr. Florian Nicolai
Dr. Florian Nicolai, Akademischer Rat a.Z. at the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, passed the first state examination in 2017. He completed his legal clerkship at the Higher Regional Court of Nuremberg (OLG Nürnberg) with the second state examination in 2019. From 2019 to 2023 he was part of the Research Training Group 2475 “Cybercrime and Forensic Computing” funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Within the context of his research in the Research Training Group he was a guest researcher at the Swedish Law and Informatics Research Center (Stockholm University) in 2022, where he continues to give guest lectures. In 2023 he received a doctorate in law with a thesis on the impact of the Internet of Things on Criminal Law (Duncker&Humblot, in press). His doctoral thesis was awarded with the doctoral prize of the Department of Law of the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. In his current position as a postdoc Nicolai is involved in teaching as well as research. He is the author of several legal essays, comments on judgements, contributions to anthologies and other publications. Together with Prof. Dr. Mustafa Temmuz Oğlakcıoğlu (Saarland University) he founded the podcast "Räuberischer Espresso", which is published by the legal educational magazine "Juristische Arbeitsblätter".
Ort: IPP Greifswald
Raum: Günter-Grieger-Lecture Hall (Greifswald)
Gastgeber: Dmitry Moseev
Kontakt: dmitry.moseev@ipp.mpg.de

1+1=2. a²+b²=c². E=mc². These equations are based on the laws of nature, the factors are defined by nature. Changes in everyday life will not change these laws, they cannot be bypassed or overtaken by society and technical development. “Whoever interferes with data processing operations which are of substantial importance to another […] incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine”. This is not a law of nature, it is a manmade law, section 303a (Computer Sabotage) of the German Criminal Code, to be exact. The factors – the “elements of a crime” – are not defined by nature. Changes in everyday life and social habits can lead to laws being insufficient, obsolete or their sense and purpose being changed to the opposite. Big impact nowadays have, of course, digitization and the interconnectedness of everyday life. This guest talk will depict research on how cybercrime and the interconnectedness of everyday life challenge both Criminal Law and Criminal Procedural Law, being presented with illustrating examples. At the same time the audience will gain insight into the “science of criminal law”, particularly the reading and interpretation of criminal offences and their elements and how Cybercrime and the interconnectedness of everyday life challenge both Criminal Law and Criminal Procedural Law.