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Introduction to Information Technology and

Legal Informatics
2 parts:

1) Introduction to Information Technology – 10 lectures (Dr. Sven Bingert)

2) Introduction to Legal Informatics – 7 lectures (Prof. Zsolt Balogh)

Guest lecture: Integrity of electronic evidence (Dr. Jakub Harašta)

Evaluation: 2 short academic essays (1 for each part)

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Part 1: Introduction to Information Technology

Lecturer: Dr. Sven Bingert, Computing Centre of Göttingen University (GWDG)

Course Description

The first part of the course "Introduction to Information Technology and Legal Informatics“
will give you a basic understanding of the most important and up-to-date technologies used.
We start with discussing how a computer works and continue to understanding e.g. cloud
computing, net-neutrality or crypto-currency. Additionally, the lectures will cover aspects of
intellectual property, privacy, data protection and artificial intelligence.

Materials, course participation and examination

All lecture slides will be available in electronic form one week in advance. Course
participation is strongly encouraged as the lecture will include some practical sessions. The
list further reading will be given at each lecture respectively. Advanced preparation for the
lectures is not required. Active participation in class discussions is strongly encouraged and
can earn you some extra points added to the final grade. Evaluation of the students’
performance will be based on a written essay, which should be submitted by mid-March.

Master’s thesis
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If you are interested in a more applied or technical master’s thesis we provide an opportunity
to do a joint master’s thesis between the computing centre of the University of Göttingen and
the Faculty of Law. Please ask the lecturer for possible topics.

Contents

Class 1:
Title: Introduction to IT
Content: In the first lecture we start with the very basics. Each computer, including mobile
phone and other devices, consists of some elementary components. The upcoming lectures
will examine these components, their properties und functionalities.
Topics: Computer Hardware, Storage, Network Infrastructure, Networks, VPN

Class 2:
Title: Computer Software and Virtualization
Content: After we learned the basic components of a computer an understanding of computer
software is required. Software can be the operating system or a tool within it. Additionally
virtualization will be covered. Virtualization is the main technology nowedays used in
computer centers. It is also used to make cloud computing or cloud storage avaible as a
service.
Topics: What is Data, Computer Programs, API, Virtualization,

Class 3:
Title: Service Computing
Content: In this lecture we cover cloud computing and the different service levels such as
IaaS or SaaS. We will also learn in detail have information is send via the network.
Topics: Cloud Computing, Infrastructure/Platform/Software as a Service, Web Services,
Internet Protocol, IP-Filtering

Class 4:
Title: Security
Content: Crypto Currency was a huge hype on the marked. In this lecture we will learn the
basics behind file sharing platforms, crypto currency such as Bitcoin. We also learn what
asymmetric encryption means and how it can be used to secure information exchange.
Topics: Peer-to-Peer Networks, Blockchain, Crypto Currency, Security, Encryption,

Class 5:
Title: AAI
Content: Everybody has multiple identities to connect to different services. We have to
manage several passwords and use either names/Id or emails to login. In authentication and
authorization infrastructures this burden should be removed and an easy access to services
should be granted to many users. An well known example is to use one social media account
to access other services.
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Topics: Authentication and Authorization Infrastructures

Class 6:
Title: IoT
Content: The number of digital devices with internet access grows rapidly. We define what
IoT means and what things are used. The lecture covers also privacy and security issues of
such devices. Additionaly we learn about digital rights management, e.g. how to use copyright
protected materials, and copyrights in general.
Topics: Internet ofThings, Digital Rights Management, Copyrights

Class 7:
Title: AI
Content: In this lecture we learn the basics about artificial intelligence. AI includes neural
networks, deep learning and all the methods of machine learning. We will discuss the usage
and influence of those technologies in our daily business and more important in decision
making processes.
Topics: Artifical Intelligence, Neural Networks, Machine Learning

Part 2 – Introduction to Legal Informatics

Lecturer: Zsolt G. Balogh, (zsolt.balogh@uni-corvinus.hu)

visiting from the Corvinus Business School, Corvinus University of Budapest

Lecturing time: 30 January – 01 February 2023

1 COURSE DESCRIPTION

Interdisciplinary is a general phenomenon of contemporary science. The legal science also

must adapt to this challenge of the modern world. The abundant mass of political action plans,
regulatory materials and cases in the overlapping area of technology (IT; robotics;
biotechnology; pharmaceuticals; genetics) and law indicates great variety and complexity of
the problem and the need for the extensive research. The researcher of this domain can
implement legal or technological approach. Juxtaposing the information technology and the
law the first – almost instinctive – interpretation dictates that we can identify the field of
information technology law and the legal informatics.

Legal informatics is destined to develop applications and services to facilitate the work of
lawyers and the access to justice and to legal information for the non-lawyers. In this field the
technological approach prevails. This course of the LIPIT teaching program grants a
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comprehensive introduction to the realm of tools and application designed for improvement of
legal services.

The course encompasses three major modules as follows:

 Legal data retrieval systems
 Language and law. Legal translation
 Blockchain technology in law
 Law and logic
 AI and law

2 MATERIALS, COURSE PARTICIPATION AND EXAMINATION

All materials will be available in electronic form. The PowerPoint slides are already available
on the StudIP platform and are meant to serve as foundation of the lecture. Minor
amendments of the PPTX courseware may happen in the course of lecturing.

The course is structured to include regular interaction and debates. Participation is thus
strongly encouraged. Evaluation will be based on the classroom performance and a final
assignment which will be a written, take-home, open-book essay of approx. 2000-2500 words
with due date of delivery 4 weeks after the last class.

3 ESSAY TOPICS

A short appetizer of essay topics:

 Blockchain and data protection
 Regulatory challenges of cryptocurrency systems
 Regulatory challenges of smart contracting
 Artificial Intelligence: Boon or Bane?
 Big Data Technologies and it's legal concerns
 AI based Legal Services
 Smart Legal Data Retrieval Systems
 Semantic Systems in Law
 Development of a Legal Ontology (in a special field)
 Visualization of Law and/or Legal Notions
 Intelligent Document Management
 Intelligent Contract Drafting Systems
 Semantic Tools of Legal Knowledge Representation
 Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Logic in Law
 Fuzzy Reasoning in Law
 Language of Law
o Natural Language Processing in Legal Expert Systems
o Legal Translation

4 TOPICS COVERED

 Legal data retrieval systems

o Access to legal information
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 Legislation
 Caselaw; Court reports
o Eurlex
o curia.eu
o pacer.gov
o Lexis/Nexis
 Legal Language. Legal Translation
o TransLegal – World Law Dictionary
 Blockchain technology
o Crypto currencies
 Distributed ledger
 Transactions
 Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
o Smart contracting
 Technology
 Automatic law enforcement
 Law and logic
 First-order logic
 Modal logic
 Deontic logic; Logic and norms
 Fuzzy logic
 Introduction into fuzzy sets and functions
 Fuzziness of legal concepts
 AI and law
o Legal expert systems
 Pragmatic purposes of expert systems in law
 Special challenges of development of expert systems
o Modelling law. Classic toolkit to legal knowledge representation
 Legal ontologies
 Web Ontology Language (OWL)
 Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL)
 Thesaurus development
 Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS)
 EUROVOC thesaurus
 Elements of XML
 Development projects
 ESTRELLA
 DALOS
 xmLeges (open source legal drafting application)
 LEOS (EU open source software for editing legislation)
 Hammurabi Project (by Michael Poulshock)
o TRAININGS
 Develop an ontology (OWL; Protégé)
 IBM Watson – develop a chatbot

5 READINGS
5.1 Mandatory
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 Ashley, K. D.: Artificial intelligence and legal analytics, Cambridge University Press,
2017
 Susskind, R.: (2013). Tomorrow's lawyers. Law Practice, 39(4), 34-39.
 Burstyner, N.; Sourdin, T.; Liyanage, C.; Ofoghi, B.; Zeleznikow, J. (2018). Using
technology to discover more about the justice system. Rutgers Computer and
Technology Law Journal, 44(1), 1-32.

5.2 Optional

 Casellas, N.: Legal ontology engineering, Methodologies, Modelling Trends, and the
Ontology of Professional Judicial Knowledge, Springer, 2011
 Susskind, R. E. (1986). Expert systems in law: jurisprudential approach to artificial
intelligence and legal reasoning. Modern Law Review, 49(2), 168-194.
 Tammelo, I. (1959). On the logical openness of legal orders a model analysis of law
with special reference to the logical status of non liquet in international law. American
Journal of Comparative Law, 8(2), 187-203.
 Tammelo, I. (1962). Syntactic ambiguity, conceptual vagueness, and the lawyer's hard
thinking. Journal of Legal Education, 15(1), 56-59.
 Terrett, A.: (1995). Neural networks towards predictive law machines. International
Journal of Law and Information Technology, 3(1), 94-111.
 Cook, B.: (2001). Fuzzy logic and judicial decision making. Judicature, 85(2), 70-77.
 Sartor, G.: (2006) Fundamental Legal Concepts: A Formal and Teleological
Characterisation
o https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=910808
 Zeng, Y.; Wang, R.; Zeleznikow, J.; Kemp, E. (2007). A knowledge representation
model for the intelligent retrieval of legal cases. International Journal of Law and
Information Technology, 15(3), 299-319.
 Benjamins, R. V. – Breuker, J. – Casanovas, P. – Gangemi, A.: (2005) Law and the
Semantic Web: Legal Ontologies, Methodologies, Legal Information Retrieval and
Applications
o https://www.researchgate.net/publication/
254901093_Law_and_the_Semantic_Web_Legal_Ontologies_Methodologies_
Legal_Information_Retrieval_and_Applications
 Poscher R.: (2011) Ambiguity and Vagueness in Legal Interpretation
o http://ssrn.com/abstract=1651465
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Guest lecture: Integrity of Electronic Evidence

Lecturer: Dr. Jakub Harašta, Masaryk University

The guest lecture will focus on technical and organisational aspects of maintaining the
integrity of electronic evidence. Nature of both data in motion and data at rest is different
compared to 'standard' evidence and as such it requires different approach. Maintaining
integrity throughout the whole process (obtaining, analysing and presenting the evidence) is
of crucial importance and appropriate safeguards will be presented and discussed from
different standpoints (legal, technical).

Guidelines on Digital Forensic Procedures for OLAF Staff (15 February 2016),
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/sites/antifraud/files/guidelines_en.pdf

Electronic Evidence in Civil and Administrative Proceedings (30 january 2019),

https://rm.coe.int/guidelines-on-electronic-evidence-and-explanatory-memorandum/
1680968ab5