Digisprudence: Code as Law Rebooted

Grounding computational ‘law’ in legal education and professional legal training

“…To comprehend what lawyers do with words and how it affects our shared world, therefore, requires a theory on the use of language (Ricoeur, 1973;Wittgenstein & Anscombe, 2003) and on the difference between institutional and brute facts (Anscombe, 1958;MacCormick, 2007;Searle, 2011). In law, this has been discussed in terms of the open texture of legal concepts (ambiguity as a feature not a bug) and the legal effect that is attributed to actions, events or states of affair by positive law (Diver et al, 2021). Decisions on legal effect are taken by legislatures and courts, within the realm of national jurisdictions.…”

“…This chapter starts from a normative position, taking into account that for a viable democracy and a sustainable rule of law, legal education is key. I will not advise how legal education should be organised in authoritarian contexts (Solomon, 2015;Stern & Liu, 2020), though I will point out how computational 'law' may facilitate law as administration or as rule by law (Diver, 2022;Lilkov, 2020;Morgus, 2019), 7 as it is disentangled from rule of law constraints. I will also not advise how legal education can serve as an efficient instrument to facilitate big economic players that manage to instrumentalise the law for their own good, often by ensuring that checks and balances apply to others but not them, under the veil of a neoliberal ideology (Mirowski & Plehwe, 2009;Pistor, 2019), though I may point out how computational 'law' may play into that agenda (Cohen, 2019;Johns, 2022).…”

“…In other work (Hildebrandt, 2004(Hildebrandt, , 2008, I have explained why and how Foucault's understanding of the rule of law is limited. My understanding of law and the rule of law assumes a critical stance that is however deeply constructivist (Diver et al, 2021;Hildebrandt, 2015bHildebrandt, , 2020d.…”

“…To understand, create and interpret the law, a set of foundational legal concepts must be ingrained in the practice of law, notably those of legal norms, rule of law and positive law, but also concepts such as legal effect, sources of law and jurisdiction, legal subject, subjective rights, legal powers and legal reasoning and interpretation. These concepts have a performative effect which defines them as constitutive of law and legal practice (Diver et al, 2021;Hildebrandt, 2016Hildebrandt, , 2018. This in turn has far-reaching political implications, as these concepts define (create and limit) the powers of all legal subjects within a jurisdiction, including those of the state.…”

Argument by Numbers: the Normative Impact of Statistical Legal Tech

“…Обычно это относится к внедрению цифровых технологий в правоприменительную деятельность, а иногда и в области контроля за соблюдением законов. Применяемые технологии в юриспруденции имеют множество различных функций и целей, начиная от очень конкретных и поддающихся проверке (например, автоматизация проверки контрактов на основе сценария, заданного конкретной фирмой 9 ) до более сложных для обоснования (например, «улучшение доступа к правосудию» 10 ). Важно понимать, что «юридические технологии» не являются новым явлением, несмотря на ажиотаж вокруг данной темы и существующие вопросы к ее использованию.…”