Maro Polykarpou

Maro Polykarpou

Birmingham Law School
Doctoral researcher

Contact details

Address
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Qualifications

  • LLB (Hons), The University of Nottingham
  • LLM in Criminal Justice, The University of Nottingham

Biography

I hold an LLB(Hons) and LLM in Criminal Justice with Distinction, both from the University of Nottingham. I have completed my legal training as an advocate of the Republic of Cyprus at the Attorney General's Office of the Republic of Cyprus in 2021-2022 and I successfully completed the BAR examination in 2022, ranking amongst the highest from my peers of that year.

Teaching

Criminal Law Seminars for Undergraduates and Postgraduate students

Doctoral research

PhD title
The Introduction of Technology Assisted Review (TAR)  in the Context of eDiscovery in Sexual Offences Cases within the English Criminal Justice System
Supervisors
Dr Steven Cammiss and Professor Lisa Webley

Research

When the duty to disclose in criminal cases was established under statute in England and Wales, two decades ago, the legal landscape was vastly different. Since then, the emergence of digital evidence, often referred to as 'electronic footprints,' has revolutionized the investigation process. This holds particularly true in sexual offence cases where electronic evidence has the potential to offer stronger and more conclusive proof in the notoriously difficult task of proving sexual offence charges. Unfortunately, however, the surge in digital data has also posed a daunting challenge, hindering legal professionals from efficiently fulfilling their disclosure duty. The sheer volume and complexity of digital evidence, exacerbated by outdated processing methods of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), budget constraints, and a shortage of knowledgeable police officers, have pushed the disclosure duty to a breaking point. With a single mobile phone capable of holding over a million pages of data, finding relevant material to build a forensically sound case can be likened to 'looking for a needle in a haystack.' In fact, sexual offence cases are now rendered lengthier and more intrusive due to the substantial amount of additional irrelevant personal data that digital evidence can introduce. This presentation explores how AI software, specifically Technology-Assisted Review (TAR), used successfully in the US, can revolutionise the disclosure process in England and Wales. Specifically, the presentation aims to demonstrate how TAR can alleviate the current pressures faced by the CPS, by streamlining the criminal evidence review process thereby reducing costs and maximizing efficiency.

Other activities

Conferences

•Participated in the 9th Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference (EPLC 2023) on the theme ‘Law in the 21st Century: Challenges and Adaptations’ and presented the paper titled “The adoption of AI software as a means for the modernization of criminal evidence review in the 21st Century” at the University of Edinburgh Law School on 30 and 31 May 2023.

•Participated in the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference 2024 and presented the paper titled "Is AI the answer to disclosure failings brought on by the digitalisation of evidence in England and Wales?" at the University of Portsmouth Law School on 26-28 March 2024.

Memberships

• Member of the Cyprus Bar Association

Publications

• ‘The Current Death Penalty Practices in Texas, USA’ (2018, Amicus ALJ).
• ‘Should Sex Offenders have access to the Internet’ (2018, Legal Cheek) - shortlisted for the 2019 Legal Cheek ‘Best Journal Contribution’ Award.
• ‘Prosecutorial and Police Disclosure Ethics in Criminal Evidence Review in the UK and the US. A Comparative Account’ (2022, Criminal Justice Ethics).
• ‘Judicial Reasoning in Civil Cases’ in Cyprus Civil Procedure (Nomiki Bibliothiki, 2024).