Technology is fundamentally changing crime and our response to it. This development raises numerous legal issues. We focus on the entire field of criminal law, criminal procedure law, police law and surveillance law in our efforts to contribute to resolving these issues.
Our starting point is an interest in cybercrime as a phenomenon, whether it be online hate crime or illicit online markets. Alongside this criminological and social science research, we examine the criminal law responses to these phenomena. This includes, for example, an examination of new criminal offences such as identity theft or revenge porn. It also encompasses the applicability of traditional law to adapted forms of criminal conduct.
However, digitalisation is also bringing about significant changes to law enforcement. New forms of digital investigation are emerging. These require a legal framework. We are examining what is already possible today, and contributing ideas on what could be possible tomorrow. Here, we are working on regulatory frameworks, e.g. for electronic evidence or the use of predictive algorithms in policing. Lastly, we are also interested in the broad field of surveillance, both as a social phenomenon and as an area of law.
Amendments to substantive criminal law (e.g. sexual offences), surveillance legislation (BÜPF and VÜPF), the Code of Criminal Procedure or cantonal police laws; involvement in the Swiss implementation of the EU’s e-evidence legislative package
Regulating E-Evidence (SNF) (Monika Simmler, Janneke de Snaijer, Silvan Peter)
Illegal Transactions in the Digital Age: Emerging Practices and Regulatory Intermediaries in Latin America (Mariana Valente)
Interplay between private and state surveillance («Überwachungsgesamtrechnung») (GFF) (Monika Simmler)
Criminal responsibility of platforms (Martina Signer)
Commissioned research on the review of Swiss surveillance law (Monika Simmler)
Simmler Monika (Hrsg.): Smart Criminal Justice – Der Einsatz von Algorithmen in der Polizeiarbeit und Strafrechtspflege, Helbing Lichtenhahn Verlag, Basel 2021.
Simmler Monika, Strafrechtliche Verantwortung beim Zusammenwirken von Mensch und Maschine, Helbing Lichtenhahn/Nomos: Basel/Baden-Baden 2025 (zugl. Habil. St. Gallen 2025)
Simmler Monika: Gegenüberstellung des Schweizer Rechts und der E-Evidence-Gesetzgebung der EU – eine Auslegeordnung, forumpoenale 1/2025, S. 132 ff.
Simmler Monika & Canova Giulia: Facial recognition technology in law enforcement: Regulating data analysis of another kind, Computer Law & Security Review, Vol. 56, 2025; S. 1 ff. online first.
Simmler Monika & Canova Giulia: Rechtmässigkeit von Open Source-Ermittlungen durch Strafverfolgungsbehörden, Risiko & Recht 01/2024, S. 73 ff.
Simmler Monika, Brunner Simone, Canova Giulia & Schedler Kuno: Smart criminal justice: exploring the use of algorithms in the Swiss criminal justice system, Artificial Intelligence and Law, Vol. 31, 2023, S. 213 ff.
Valente Mariana: Online Misogyny in Brazil – Law, Internet Governance, and the Struggle for Gender Justice, Springer: Cham 2026.
Valente Mariana: Disrupting Digital Exploitation – Recommendations for Preventing and Responding to Technology-Facilitated Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE), Summary for Policymakers SFP2026, Zürich 2026.
Associate Professor of Criminal Law, Law of Criminal Procedure and Criminology