Том 5, № 3 (2024)

Aspects of cross-sectoral influence on the spheres of private and its public regulation construct of obligation in the digital environment using the example of utility digital rights. Specific obligation relationships in the form of the exercise of rights under utility digital rights and derivative financial instruments, including under an contract between a forex dealer and an individual, and others that involve the exercise of rights using technical and electronic means. Provisions on changing the norms of the Russian Federation Civil Code regarding new objects of civil rights: utility digital rights, derivative financial instruments or their analogues — digital rights and obligations. The criteria for obligation in the digital environment are considered and conclusions are formulated about the possibility of identifying the properties of obligation: reciprocity, conditionality, potestativeness. A special element is highlighted in relation to obligations in the digital environment. Obligations in the digital environment are presented as a special category of indefinite obligations, digital rights, as new objects of civil rights based on a contract. The results of the action of the norms of Federal Law No. 34-FZ, as well as legislation in general and practice in terms of determining the legal status of participants in relations are analysed. The legal status of the information intermediary determines that it does not have the right to refer to special conditions for exemption from civil liability for violation of intellectual rights under Article 1253.1 of the Civil Code and will be involved in compensation for damage on the grounds common to entrepreneurs, provided for in its Article 401.

The paper provides an analysis of general regulatory patterns concerning the signing, amendment and termination of electronic employment contracts within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and BRICS as a trend of deepening integration at these international organizations. The core issue in this area is labor mobility in the context of digitization is not regulated internationally with efficiency. It gives rise to a controversy between the need to optimize labor mobility and a lack of comprehensive international instrument on electronic employment contract to improve legal regulation for more efficient utilization of human capital. The paper analyzes the legislation on electronic employment contracts in a number of EEU, CIS and BRICS member states to come up with recommendations for improving international legal regulation of electronic employment contracts via the relevant international instrument to be drafted. The authors identify a number of general regulatory patterns characteristic of countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, China, South Africa, India and Brazil, with their national labor law sharing the following features: possibility of HR electronic document exchange for balance of workers’ and employers’ interests as enabled by regulations; transparent working conditions; electronic employment contract reporting through the software linked to public authorities’ websites, and the use of electronic digital signature to sign contracts. This prevents unauthorized amendment of the terms of outstanding employment contracts and allows to track the time when the relevant rights and duties were assigned. The paper comes up with recommendations for better protection of labor rights and duties through the use of electronic tools to conclude employment contracts such as a bilingual online form.

A smart wearable device is a portable intelligent gadget worn directly on the body or integrated into clothes or accessories that along with other features such as portability, mobility, sustainability, interactivity and ease of control exploits the natural ability of human body or environment to exchange information with the user, monitor human health and provide entertainment via built-in sensors, wi-fi communication, multimedia technologies, integrated microchips, etc. There are diverse smart wearable devices such as watches, bracelets, massage tools of various types etc., with usage scenarios ranging from general business uses to professional medicine and health care. High demand and technological progress are boosting the market for smart wearable devices that becomes increasingly attractive. Notably, smart wearable devices are not only hardware but also powerful functionalities supported by applications and cloud computing that collect and generate large amounts of operating data, only to cause widespread concern due to the underlying privacy and data security issues. The paper explores how wearable devices collect data and what risks are involved while providing an overview of the applicable regulation in China and explaining the existing gaps (such as the term “consent” to be clarified in the effective law) and personal data anonymization problem, proposing advice for better regulation as well as the ways to specify the provisions for informed consent, dynamic assessment of anonymized data, etc.

Application of artificial intelligence in governance and in public, economic, and political life draws the attention of many researchers from various areas of science. They study how AI affects the development of economics, law, philosophy, and medicine. They also look at how AI introduction affects various industries from an ethical and moral point of view. E.g., there is a risk that robotic systems will replace humans and labour relations will transform completely, or that goods-money relations change as marketplaces and online platforms appear. In the era of rapidly developing technology and information processes, introducing digital products and algorithms into governance and into social and economic relations is an objective necessity, so these processes gain momentum. Legal science, the legal system and law in general have to adapt to changes in society, economy, science, technology, politics, and governance. The judicial system is no exception in this situation. By multitasking and speeding up production cycles, digital and electronic products simplify and optimise production processes. At the same time, there are risks to overuse artificial intelligence and minimise the human factor. Replacing skilled staff with robots and IT systems does not always optimise processes and can result in fatal errors. Technical progress fosters the growth of fraudulent and other criminal schemes that involve information technology because it helps perpetrators to abuse law, violate personal boundaries, and constitutional and legal guarantees. The author analyses various aspects of the introduction of AI into the judicial system, and examines the reasons for and ramifications of the use of digital products and services for justice and society. The methodology of the study is based on general research ways like analysis, synthesis, generalisations and dialectical methods. Other methods include formal logical and comparative legal studies.

The paper examines the application of collective countermeasures — i.e., measures taken by non-injured states — as a means of cooperative non-institutionalized response to malicious cyber-enabled activities undertaken or controlled by a state. Particularly, the paper investigates: the right of the state not injured by a cyber operation to take countermeasures against the perpetrating state under current international law; and state positions towards collective countermeasures and possible grounds for the development of a more supportive attitude within states to this form of collective reaction. General research and special legal methods, as well as game theory, are employed to test the hypothesis the concept of collective countermeasures has been gaining nascent and fragmented support by states in terms of its applicability in the context of cyber operations. The author concludes this emerging trend reflects the general tendency of states to join forces to halt malicious activities in cyberspace and impose political and economic costs upon the perpetrators. This allows one to assume that collective countermeasures in response to cyber operations might become an expectable means of reaction by ‘like-minded’ states. Their legitimation might, therefore, be determined not only (or not so much) by the development of international law due to the practical difficulty in harmonizing positions among states on this issue at the current stage, but rather as a part of the general political trend of uniting the efforts of states to bring wrongdoers in cyberspace to responsibility.

Legal Tech Jurisprudence is not as developed as it was hoped for, compared with other fields of study. As a result, legal tech has not advanced globally as would have been preferred and remains primal in nature. The situation is more disappointing when it comes to developing or underdeveloped countries. While tech is critical in countries like India, which is going through digital transition currently, the justice system is still functioning in centenarian ways. For some reason, the system has not yet begun to fully harness the potential of modern IT technologies, which may consist of AI, ML, DL, NLP, etc. but not limited to these technologies. A lawyer, who is an integral part of the justice system, still continues to handle most tasks manually or with the help of an assistant, which often becomes challenging and cumbersome while dealing with complex legal issues that involve humongous contracts, for example. It is problems like these that can be very well handled with the help of technologies, being dubbed as legal informatics (LI), to help elevate the quality and quantity of lawyering and the core of jurisprudence. To try and resolve this problem and find an amicable solution to an extent, we have designed and developed an LI-enabled and proposedly cloud-based innovative computational system, called eLegalls and to be delivered as eLegalls-as-as-Service, and this paper illuminates and elaborates its potential in providing the hassle-free lawyering in digital age.