Course guide: Law and Technology

This course, IDRT41, is designed as a foundational component of the Law and Technology Master program. Spanning seven weeks, the curriculum is divided into four distinct modules aimed at bridging the gap between theoretical legal knowledge and practical research application in the digital age. The course serves as a prerequisite for advanced study, ensuring students possess the methodological rigor necessary for complex legal analysis.

The course is organized into four progressive modules:

• Module A: Introduces the broad ethical, legal, and societal implications of emerging technologies, covering topics such as data protection, AI regulation, and cybersecurity.
• Module B: Focuses on practical research skills, including resource identification, database navigation, and the techniques required for effective literature reviews and case analysis.
• Module C: Provides intensive training in legal research methodologies. Students learn to formulate research questions and apply both doctrinal and empirical research methods to address them.
• Module D: Concentrates on professional communication, providing guidelines for academic writing and oral presentation.

The primary goal of the course is to prepare students to design and execute coherent research projects. By the end of the term, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in aligning research questions with appropriate methodologies and sources, while maintaining high standards of academic integrity. Assessment is comprehensive, consisting of two written assignments, one oral assignment (collectively accounting for 60% of the grade), and a final project (40%).

• Doctrinal Legal Research: A methodology that involves the systematic analysis of legal rules, statutes, and case law to interpret and explain the law.
• Empirical Research Methods: Approaches that rely on the collection and analysis of real-world data or observations to answer research questions, rather than relying solely on legal texts.
• OSIRIS: The specific administrative platform used for course registration and information management in this academic context.
• Academic Integrity: The ethical commitment to honesty and accountability in research, specifically including the responsible use of AI tools in academic work.