09945 - Legal Computer Science

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students will have learned the basic principles of legal informatics and how they apply to the law in constructing complex information systems. Students will gain a grasp of the law governing information technology and will be able to analyse information and technological systems in light of the evolving national European, and international legal framework. They will also be able to critically analyse the phenomena governing the use of information technologies in business, government, and society. They will finally gain computer skills they can use to their advantage in their profession as legal practitioners.

Course contents

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

Legal Informatics

• introduction to legal informatics: concept, evolution of the discipline, applications, prospects;

• informational and IT system: the knowledge society model and its application to legal information systems;

• computers and information processing: hardware, from algorithms to software, software lifecycle;

• structuring and archiving of data and texts: database management systems and document management;

• distributed knowledge society: telematics, computer networks, the Internet, the Web, the semantic Web, Web 2.0;

• dematerialization society: domain names, cryptography, digital signatures;

• e-commerce and information systems for businesses;

• e-government and e-democracy: new technologies for administration, citicen participation, and open government data;

• e-legislation and e-justice: information and IT systems in justice and in favor of legal documentation.

  IT Law

• protection of IT goods under trademark and copyright law: software, databases, multimedia works , domain names;

• new legal regimes for digital content: open source and creative commons;

• remarks on the protection of personal data: privacy and personqlity rights; freedom and information; data security;

• IT documents and electronic signatures: cryptography, legal force, probatory value;

• e-commerce: online contracts, advertising on the Web, responsibilities of service providers, consumer protection;

• the digital administration code (CAD).

  Interdisciplinary Themes:

• information systems for businesses, eCommerce, eGovernment, eGovernance;

• certified email and computing tools for work;

• system administrators: responsibilities and compliance;

• privacy and security in the use of information systems in the workplace.

Readings/Bibliography

The course and the exam will be based on the following texts:

• G. Sartor, L’informatica giuridica e le tecnologie dell’informazione, vol. 1 of Corso di Informatica Giuridica (Turin: Giappichelli, 2012), ISBN 978-88-3483635-4.

• Claudio di Cocco and Giovanni Sartor, eds., Temi di diritto dell’informatica, new edition (Turin: Giappichelli, 2013) ISBN 978-88-348-1823-7.

• Monica Palmirani and Michele Martoni, eds., Informatica giuridica per le Relazioni Aziendali (Giappichelli, 2012), ISBN 978-88-348-3894-5.

  For a general introduction to computer science or for anyone wishing to further investigate the topics covered in the course, see

• Ceri, Mandrioli, Sbattella, Cremonesi, Cugola, Informatica: Arte e Mestiere (McGraw-Hill, 2008), 3rd ed. ISBN: 9788838664298.

• Curtin, et al., Informatica di Base (McGraw-Hill Italia, 2005). ISBN: 9788838662188.

• Vols. 1 and 2 of Progetto A3: Fondamenti di Informatica (Zanichelli, 2007): vol. 1 ISBN 978-8808-16760-6, vol. 2 ISBN 978-8808-04437-2.

Teaching methods

The lectures will be given by Prof. Monica Palmirani and will be integrated with seminars taught by experts in other areas.

The lectures will be held in the second semester. Students who obtain a certificate of attendance for the current academic year take the exam starting from May 2017.

Assessment methods

The student’s grasp of the material tested through a final exam consisting of a two-hour written test consisting of eight open-ended questions covering the entire syllabus.

Each question awards a maximum of 4 points. The test is passed with a score of at least 18 points.

The test is to be taken without books, codes, notes, or digital instruments.

Students who pass the written test, with a score of at least 18/30, can take the option of completing the evaluation by taking the oral exam, which is evaluated on a pass/fail basis.

The oral exam will consist in discussing the written test by going deeper into the open-ended questions. The oral exam will last about 15 minutes.

Students who on the written test score 16/30 or 16/30 will then be required to take the oral exam so as to demonstrate that they have gained the knowledge necessary to pass the course.

Test scores will be posted on the course website at http://informaticagiuridica4ra.wordpress.com/ .

The assessment is aimed at determining whether students have an adequate grasp of the concepts and technologies in legal computer science covered in the course, as well as their ability to reason in a critical and interdisciplinary way on technology and the law.

Foreign students or students who have certified writing difficulties will be assessed on the basis of an oral exam lasting at least 40 minutes.

Students attending the digital signatures seminar will be rewarded with an extra point on their final grade, and the same holds for those who will be significantly participating in the course blog.

Teaching tools

In the resources section of this website—which can also be reached at http://campus.cib.unibo.it/ —students will find materials useful to further investigate the issues and topics treated in the course. However, these materials do not replace the mandatory readings, on which basis alone the assessment of student learning will be based.

Students are not required to attend classes but are highly recommended to do so, for this will make it easier to quickly learn the concepts and basic principles needed for an independent and critical investigation of the subject matter.

During the course, focus seminars may be offered, and students are highly encouraged to attend them regularly, for this will be taken into account when making student assessments, as will active participation in all course activities.

Links to further information

http://informaticagiuridica4ra.wordpress.com

Office hours

See the website of Monica Palmirani