Digital Technologies and the Law of Obligations critically examines the emergence of new digital technologies and the challenges they pose to the traditional law of obligations, and discusses the extent to which existing contract and tort law rules and doctrines are equipped to meet these new challenges. This book covers various contract and tort law issues raised by emerging technologies – including distributed ledger technology, blockchain-based smart contracts, and artificial intelligence – as well as by the evolution of the internet into a participative web fuelled by user-generated content, and by the rise of the modern-day collaborative economy facilitated by digital technologies. Chapters address these topics from the perspective of both the common law and the civil law tradition. While mostly focused on the current state of affairs and recent debates and initiatives within the European Union regulatory framework, contributors also discuss the central themes from the perspective of the national law of obligations, examining the adaptability of existing legal doctrines to contemporary challenges, addressing the occasional legislative attempts to deal with the private law aspects of these challenges, and pointing to issues where legislative interventions would be most welcomed. Case studies are drawn from the United States, Singapore, and other parts of the common law world. Digital Technologies and the Law of Obligations will be of interest to legal scholars and researchers in the fields of contract law, tort law, and digital law, as well as to legal practitioners and members of law reform bodies.

In a digitally connected world, the question of how to respect, protect and implement human rights has become unavoidable. This contemporary Research Handbook offers new insights into well-established debates by framing them in terms of human rights. It examines the issues posed by the management of key Internet resources, the governance of its architecture, the role of different stakeholders, the legitimacy of rule making and rule-enforcement, and the exercise of international public authority over users. Highly interdisciplinary, its contributions draw on law, political science, international relations and even computer science and science and technology studies.

This Handbook provides a scholarly and comprehensive account of the multiple converging challenges that digital technologies present for intellectual property (IP) rights, from the perspectives of international, EU and US law. Despite the fast-moving nature of digital technology, this Handbook provides profound reflections on the underlying normative legal dilemmas, identifying future problems and suggesting how digital IP issues should be dealt with in the future.

Bringing together insights from political economy, public policy, science, technology and legal scholarship, this book explores the role of public procurement in digital technology regulation.

This Research Handbook considers many aspects of corporate liability, beginning with a fundamental explanation of what the company is, through depictions of corporate liability in theory, to the key areas of liability in practice. Interdisciplinary in nature, the contributions cover corporate and participant liability under statutory law, tort and criminal law, and corporate fiduciary and securities law. Specific perspectives include those on vicarious liability in tort and its application to corporations, and accountability for AI labour.

This proceedings book features selected papers from the 9th National Scientific and Practical Conference “Digital Economy: Complexity and Variety Vs. Rationality,” which took place on April 17–18, 2019, in Vladimir (Russian Federation). It presents the latest research in the field of the digital economy, discussing its role in the creation of advantages for the state, entrepreneurship, and society, as well as the emergence of new economic risks. The chapters address the following topics: the importance of economy’s digital modernization, tools for the formation of the digital economy in Russia, specific features and perspectives of digital modernization of the regional economy, an overview of the social consequences of transition to the digital economy, financial components of the digital economy, legal challenges regarding the digital reality for society and state, and the main challenges and threats to the profession of jurisprudence in the context of the digitization of the economy. Intended for representatives of the academic community and researchers interested in the formation of the digital economy and digital society as well as undergraduates, postgraduates, and masters of economic specialties, the book is also a valuable resource for companies that use or wishing to implement digital technologies into their economic practices; and public and government employees involved with monitoring, control, and regulation of the digital economy.

Digital solutions are increasingly used in elections. Their security has attracted much attention in the recent years as it impacts the integrity of elections. The legislator has the important burden to introduce regulations ensuring that only digital solutions which comply with constitutional principles can be used in elections. This is not an easy task as the field is still experimental. The two studies presented here raise legal questions, draw upon past experiences in several countries and suggest possible approaches. This publication will be of interest to legislators and executive authorities, namely Election Management Bodies, that are invited to decide on the use of digital solutions in elections.

This book deals with questions of democracy and governance relating to new technologies. The deployment and application of new technologies is often accompanied with uncertainty as to their long-term (un)intended impacts. New technologies also raise questions about the limits of the law as the line between harmful and beneficial effects is often difficult to draw. The volume explores overarching concepts on how to regulate new technologies and their implications in a diverse and constantly changing society, as well as the way in which regulation can address differing, and sometimes conflicting, societal objectives, such as public health and the protection of privacy. Contributions focus on a broad range of issues such as Citizen Science, Smart Cities, big data, and health care, but also on the role of market regulation for new technologies.The book will serve as a useful research tool for scholars and practitioners interested in the latest developments in the field of technology regulation. Leonie Reins is Assistant Professor at the Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT) in The Netherlands.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can benefit our society and economy, but also brings with it new challenges and raises legal and ethical questions. According to the author of this comprehensive analysis, it is imperative to ensure that AI is developed and applied in an appropriate legal and regulatory framework that promotes innovation and investment and, at the same time, addresses the risks associated with certain uses of AI-related technologies. Essential to understanding the relationship between policy and law, this book traces the evolution of EU policy on artificial intelligence and robotics, focusing in particular on the EU’s ethical framework for AI, which defines trust as a prerequisite for ensuring a human-centric approach. The main part of the book provides a thorough and systematic analysis of the Commission’s 2021 proposed AI Act, which establishes harmonised rules for the development, placement on the market and use of AI systems in the EU. The author painstakingly compares the Commission’s proposed AI Act with the numerous “compromise” proposals of the Council of the European Union, leading to the final version of the Council’s AI Act (general approach) and its formal adoption on 6 December 2022. The author also examines with extraordinary detail the amendments proposed by the relevant committees and political groups of the European Parliament, revealing the position the Parliament is likely to adopt in the forthcoming negotiations with the Commission and the Council on the text of the AI Act. Numerous legislative and policy documents are presented in detail, while the analysis also considers the comments made by all interested parties (e.g. the European Commission, Council of the European Union, European Parliament, governmental organisations, national competent authorities, and stakeholders/actors with different/conflicting interests, such as corporations, business and consumer associations, civil society and other non-profit organisations). In the course of its in-depth analysis, this book will provide readers with crucial insight into the reasons behind the European Institutions’ different approaches and the often contradictory interests of stakeholders. Because the policy arguments are carefully balanced and drafted with scrupulous care, this volume will establish itself as a reference resource to be consulted for years to come.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical guide to information technology law – the law affecting information and communication technology (ICT) – in Jamaica covers every aspect of the subject, including the regulation of digital markets, intellectual property rights in the digital context, relevant competition rules, drafting and negotiating ICT-related contracts, electronic transactions, and cybercrime. Lawyers who handle transnational matters will appreciate the detailed explanation of specific characteristics of practice and procedure. Following a general introduction, the monograph assembles its information and guidance in six main areas of practice: (1) the regulatory framework of digital markets, including legal aspects of standardization, international private law applied to the online context, telecommunications law, regulation of audio-visual services and online commercial platforms; (2) online public services including e-government, e-health and online voting; (3) contract law with regard to software, hardware, networks and related services, with special attention to case law in this area, rules with regard to electronic evidence, regulation of electronic signatures, online financial services and electronic commerce; (4) software protection, legal protection of databases or chips, and other intellectual property matters; (5) the legal framework regarding cybersecurity and (6) the application of criminal procedure and substantive criminal law in the area of cybercrime. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this monograph a valuable time-saving tool for business and legal professionals alike. Lawyers representing parties with interests in Jamaica will welcome this very useful guide, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative law in this relatively new and challenging field.