Criminal Law follows on from the main foundation courses such as Foundations of Law and Public Law. It is related to the Litigation course which covers civil and criminal procedure and the law of evidence. The criminal process section of the Criminal Law course examines aspects of the criminal process in a thematic, contextual and process oriented way, rather than engaging in a detailed doctrinal exposition, which is left to the criminal procedure section of the Litigation course. There are a number of undergraduate and postgraduate elective offerings in the criminal justice stream broadly defined, which all draw or build on the Criminal Law course.

The rules of criminal law are shaped by and dependent upon the operation of the criminal justice system. No area of substantive law is self-executing, a factor which is particularly relevant in the area of criminal law. Attention is given to the role of the police, prosecutors, defence counsel, magistrates, judges and juries. Well over 90% of criminal matters in NSW are disposed of without trial by judge and jury. It is crucial, therefore, for a full appreciation of the criminal justice system to understand the processes of the law.