In the academic year 2024/5, this course will not be streamed.

Recent developments in digital technologies have and will have a fundamental impact on society and our daily lives. The so-called digital revolution has effects on various fields of law, which are not restricted to economic and business law. Some projects in Europe and in the US envisage digital inheritance and tokenisation of immoveable for example.

It remains that at the heart of digital changes lie the various aspects of the digital economy. This is triggered by data in the so-called data economy. Fundamental changes have however also occurred in structural aspects, linked to competition between very large platforms (addressed by the EU in the Digital Markets Act “DMA"), but also in more day-to-day business with the contractual relationships through platforms (Digital Services Act “DSA”) and the basic contracts between businesses or between businesses and consumers. The rise of AI as a disruptive element in these contractual features should not be neglected to keep the larger understanding of the phenomena.

Two hours written exam, with a mix between issue spotting and essay type questions.

This course will aim at giving answers to fundamental questions, such as: How blockchain and DLT are regulated? How should one analyse contracts triggered by artificial intelligence and so-called algorithmic contracts? How to understand and regulate decentralised autonomous organisations (DAO)? How to understand competition in a digital context? These are some of the questions that will be discussed in this course. We will identify and analyse some of today’s salient aspects of the digital economy with an analysis of approaches and solutions proposed in particular by the EU.

Among other subjects, we will specifically address the following:

• Data: Understanding some of the key roles of data in the digital economy; how can it be legally defined and how the generation, use and distribution of it should be regulated.
• Distributed ledger technology (DLT, e.g. Blockchain): How does this technology work, how is it linked to decentralised autonomous organisations (DAO) and what challenges for the law arise from it?
• Artificial intelligence: Overview of the recent developments, including the AI Act and the AI Liability Act of the EU.
• Contracts in the digital economy: Understanding of contracts concluded by AI (algorithmic contracts) or via digital platforms and execution of it through smart contracts.
• Competition: What are the particularities of the digital economy in regard to competition, given the fundamental role of large and very large platforms? What means have been identified to address them?

Both Swiss and EU Law in the field of Data and Digitalisation will be referred to, as well as soft law instruments and practices.

By the end of the course, you will understand the most important current legal issues related to the digital technologies in regard to the economy and recognize how these are linked together. You will have an overview of some of the legal approaches that are being put in place in order for the law to fulfil its various functions in a digital economy.

Documentation: there will be texts that are uploaded on moodle for each lecture.