Law and Computer Science

Digital (that is, computer-based) technology is transforming society, and the legal system is no exception. As computers permeate more of our lives, digital environments increasingly become the source of legally significant events. This means that those seeking to study and/or practice law increasingly need to understand the digital context. At the same time, those seeking to study computer science and/or develop software increasingly need to understand potential legal consequences of design choices. This course, jointly offered by the Law Faculty and the Department of Computer Science, will introduce students from both backgrounds to the terrain at the boundaries of their two disciplines. The overarching theme of the course is consequently understanding law as it intersects with computer science.

Such interdisciplinary understanding requires both lawyers and computer scientists to develop an appreciation of the way in which they typically approach problems with very different analytic tools. A key pedagogical strategy for the course is to combine law and computer science students together for significant parts of the material, and in particular, for a number of group work exercises. This will accelerate both groups’ acculturation to each other’s analytic perspectives through learning from each other as well as from faculty.

As offered to law students, the course content will engage with three distinct but complementary sets of questions:

A. The core theme is: How will computer scientists and lawyers of the future need to work together? Do they at present have a common language and a common understanding of concepts such as “rules” or “fairness”? If not, how can such a common approach best be forged?

This is then developed in two auxiliary themes:

  1. Digital technology in legal practice: How is digital technology being deployed in key areas of “legal work” such as contracting and dispute resolution? What commercial imperatives, and legal and technological constraints, operate on this deployment? How are they likely to shape its future trajectory?
  2. Digital technology and legal questions: How are concepts and analytic methods from computer science pertinent to the application of substantive law? Are there any gaps in existing legal doctrine that will need to be addressed, and if so, how? Do common themes emerge in the challenges that arise and the ways in which they should be addressed?

A number of different colleagues from the Law Faculty and the Department of Computer Science, as well as the OII and legal practice will contribute to the delivery of the course, bringing a wide range of relevant expertise.

Assessment is by way of a submission.