About

Jonathan W. Hak KC PhD is a barrister and solicitor who served as a Crown Prosecutor in Canada for over thirty years. He has extensive experience prosecuting serious and violent crime and utilizing image-based evidence in complex cases. His full-time work is as a Lecturer at the University of Leicester Law School in the UK, where he teaches Advanced Criminal Law and other courses. 

He is also an international imagery law lecturer who teaches extensively in the UK, US, Canada, Singapore, and other countries on the legal and practical considerations involved in the effective use of image-based evidence in criminal prosecutions. He is also an Adjunct Associate Law Professor at the University of Lethbridge in Canada.

Jonathan developed a dynamic and highly effective course on Courtroom Testimony for Expert Witnesses, which is designed for expert witnesses (and experts in training) in any field of expertise.  Since 2006, this course has been presented at various locations in Canada and the United States for federal investigative agencies; forensic laboratories; provincial and state regulatory agencies; provincial, state, and municipal police services; and other professional groups.  He also developed and presents a course on Courtroom Testimony for Investigators.

Jonathan holds a Diploma in Criminal Justice from Mount Royal University, Canada; a BSc (with distinction) in Criminal Justice from California State University, USA; an LLB from the University of British Columbia, Canada; an LLM from the University of Cambridge, UK; and a PhD from Leiden University, Netherlands. The focus of his recent PhD work is on the use of non-textual evidence in international criminal prosecutions. He is the author of the book Image-Based Evidence in International Criminal Prosecutions: Charting a Path Forward (Oxford University Press, 2024). Jonathan was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006.