69918 - Information Technology and Law

Learning outcomes

This course aims to introduce students to the basic concepts of the complex and changing domain of the information society; thus there will be a part dealing with basic concepts (software system development, data base, communication networks) in information and communication technologies and a part dealing with the challenges to the law caused by the use of those ICT (regulation of e-commerce, liability, digital signatures and digital document).

Course contents

For students attending the course (frequentanti), the detailed course content corresponds to the list of readings and materials with the possibility of replacing some contents with new topics discussed during the lectures.

For students not attending the course (non frequentanti) the detailed course content corresponds to the list of readings and materials.

Erasmus students follow the same programme of regular students.

For students coming from other degree courses, that have already passed an exam of Legal Informatics, the course contents for possible integration shall be agreed with the professor.

The course is divided into two parts: Legal informatics and IT law.

Legal informatics:

• Law in the information society – introduction to the legal informatics: basic concept, evolution of the discipline, applications and perspectives;

• Computer system and Information system: the evolution and the impact of informatics, its application to the legal information systems;

• Computer and elaboration of information: hardware, digital era, from algorithm to software, software life cycle, and modelling formalisms (UML);

• Text and data structuring and archiving: archives, databases and information retrieval, database management system and document management (HTML, XML);

• Distributed knowledge society: telematics, information networks, the Internet, Web, Semantic Web, Web 2.0, online legal documents;

• Dematerialization society: legal rules and Internet rules, the governance of the Internet, domain names, cryptography and digital signature;

• Artificial intelligence and law: artificial intelligence, rule-based systems and legal reasoning.

IT law:

• Protection of technological goods between the patent and copyright: software, digital contents, databases and domain names;

• IT contracts: hardware contracts, software user licence and development license, other IT contracts;

• New legal regimes for digital contents: open source and creative commons;

• Protection of personal data:: privacy and individual rights, information and freedom, data security;

• E-document and digital signature: cryptography, legal validity, evidentiary value.

• E-commerce: on-line contracts, advertising on the web, liability of service providers, consumer protection.

Readings/Bibliography

Readings:

G. Contissa, Information Technology for the Law, Giappichelli 2017

Bibliography:

• Balkin, J. M. (2009). The future of free expression in a digital age. Pepperdine Law Review, 36:101–18.
• Benkler, Y. (2011). Growth-oriented law for the networked information economy: Empha- sizing freedom to operate over power to appropriate. In Rules for Growth, pages 312–342. Kauffman.
• Contissa, G., Romeo, F., and Sartor, G. (2017). Legal informatics.
• Contissa, G., Lagioia, F., and Sartor, G. (2017). The ethical knob. Artificial intelli-gence and Law.
• Floridi, L. (2013). The onlife manifesto: The onlife initiative. In Floridi, L., editor, The Onlife Manifesto: Being Human in a Hyperconnected Era, pages 7–13. Springer.
• Lessig, L. (2006). Code V2. Basic Books.
• Russell, S., Dewey, D., and Tegmark, M. (2015). Research priorities for robust and beneficial artificial intelligence.
• Russell, S. J. and Norvig, P. (2020). Artificial Intelligence. A Modern Approach. Prentice Hall, 4 edition.
• Sartor, G. (2017). Human rights and information technologies. In Brownsword, R., Scotford, E., and Yeung, K., editors, The Oxford Handbook on the Law and Regulation of Technology, pages 424–450. Oxford University Press.

Teaching methods

Lectures are held by Prof. Contissa and Prof. Lagioia with the support of collaborators.

We warmly invite the students to actively participate in the lectures and discuss with teachers and other students the news and events, related to the topics of the course

During the course the students will have a chance to attend different conferences held by professors and professional lawyers on the topics of this course.

In accordance with the health emergency from Covid-19, teaching will be carried out following the traditional method of lectures.

Further information available at the following Internet address: https://dsg.unibo.it/en/teaching/projects-and-teaching-methodologies

The exam can only be taken after having passed the exams of Constitutional Law and Private Law.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of a written test and an oral test, both compulsory and to be held on the same day, with the following modalities:

1) Written test:

• The written test is in presence in the room indicated on the almaesami website for the relevant call.
• It is a written test of 20 multiple-choice questions on the entire programme. Each correct answer will be given a score of 1.6 up to a maximum of 30 points. Each incorrect answer or answer not given will be given a score of 0. The final grade will be the sum of the points rounded to the closest integer.
• The duration of the written test is 20 minutes.
• Only an ID badge and a pen are required in order to take the test.
• The result of the written test will be made available to students immediately after the correction by the Commission by posting the marks near the exam room. The students are required to remain close to the room where the exam takes place.

2) Oral test:

• The oral test is in presence on the same day as the written test in the same room, after the posting of the results of the written test.
• Students who have acquired a mark of 18/30 or higher in the written test of the same appeal are eligible to take the compulsory oral test.
• Students who have obtained an insufficient mark in the written test are not admitted to the oral test and will have to register for another appeal.
• It is only possible to take the oral test in the same appeal/day as the written test.
• It consists of 2 or 3 questions on the entire programme.
• The oral test starts from the mark obtained in the written test, to which a maximum of three points may be added or deducted. However, the examiners reserve the right to assess the entire examination as insufficient if the questions asked in the oral examination are not answered.

Teaching tools

Slides and supplementary teaching materials on the main topics.

Expert interventions, readings and materials for individual study.

Students who for reasons of disability or specific learning disorders (DSA) need compensatory tools will be able to communicate their needs to the teacher in order to agree on the most appropriate measures.

All information related to the course and supplementary teaching materials will be available on the course website on Insegnamenti online.

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Contissa

See the website of Francesca Lagioia