Introduction to Legal Informatics (5 cr)
Code: ONEVAL0012V24-3002
General information
- Enrollment
- 04.12.2024 - 27.01.2025
- Registration for the implementation has ended.
- Timing
- 03.02.2025 - 28.02.2025
- Implementation has ended.
- Number of ECTS credits allocated
- 5 cr
- Local portion
- 0 cr
- Virtual portion
- 5 cr
- Mode of delivery
- Distance learning
- Unit
- Faculty of Law
- Teaching languages
- English
- Seats
- 0 - 100
Evaluation scale
H-5
Objective
The aim of the course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of Information and Communication Technologies applied to the law and to make them aware of the legal and ethical issues of ICT. By the end of the course, students will have learned the basic concepts of computer science and how these concepts apply in the legal domain.
Execution methods
Lectures (18–22 hours) will be delivered during the Autumn and Spring semesters. To complete the course, students need to actively attend the lectures and complete tasks as instructed by the teacher.
If a student wishes to complete the course with an essay without attending the lectures, they are required to write an essay of approximately 25 pages (from 9000 up to 10.000 words). The topic of the essay and the appropriate literature should be discussed with the teacher also via email (dino.girardi@ulapland.fi). The complete list of the requirements for the essay will be sent via email to the student.
Accomplishment methods
Lecture course.
Content
The course covers various topics relating to law in the information society, such as:
- introduction to legal informatics: basic concepts, evolution of the discipline, applications and perspectives,
- computer systems and information systems: the evolution and the impact of informatics, and its application to the legal information systems,
- basics of computers and elaboration of information,
- distributed knowledge society: telematics, information networks, the Internet, Web, Semantic Web, online legal documents,
- dematerialization society: legal rules and Internet rules, the governance of the Internet, domain names, and cryptography,
- basic knowledge of machine learning and artificial intelligence and law,
- basic knowledge of algorithmic decision making and algorithmic justice,
- introduction to cybercrime and electronic evidence,
- an overview concerning the methodology of research in Legal Informatics from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Materials
The required reading is comprised of chapters of books, journal articles and relevant EU and/or international legislative instruments, which will be all available online. More reading will be suggested through the lectures.
Teaching methods
3.2.2025, 4.2.2025, 5.2.2025, 6.2.2025, 7.2.2025, 10.2.2025, 11.2.2025 klo 11–14 (hybridi)
28.2.2024 klo 11–13 (online only)