Re-thinking Doctrines of Culpability and Criminality within the Context of Cybercrime: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The unprecedented advancements in Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) represented by the ubiquity of internet services, digital connections, and artificial intelligence (AI) have contributed to the creation of new patterns of criminal behaviours and, consequently, a new realm of criminal law. Many legal experts and scholars argue that the rise of cybercrime is challenging conventional doctrines of criminal law. This thesis investigates whether the conventional doctrines of culpability and criminality apply to the circumstances of cybercrime. Specifically, it explores whether cybercrime has created jurisprudential and doctrinal tensions that necessitate adaptation, modification, and recalibration of the fundamental principles of criminal law. Within a comparative framework, the thesis analyses cybercrime legislation in five selected jurisdictions to examine how these laws address culpability, legal liability, harm, and blameworthiness. The analysis and discussion here are performed within a triangulated methodological research approach. The thesis concludes that the conventional doctrines of criminal law can accommodate the computer-enabled cybercrimes, but not those that depend entirely on computers. As such, the thesis contributes to the ongoing debates about the adequacy of extant principles of criminal law to the intricate legal challenges of the digital era. Additionally, the thesis proposes a culpability scale that measures severity of the different types of cybercrime.