University of Zaragoza Laws and Codes for the Internet: a Continental European Legal Perspective Fernando Galindo Faculty of Law University of Zaragoza Belfast, 25.7.2004

Summary My context Lessig’s proposals LEFIS by Lessig Conclusion

My context: ideas (I) Law studies Engineering studies Philosophy of Law.- Phenomenology of Law. Ontological and axiological (value) questions. Juridical activities Law and Computers.- Introduction to the regulation of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) for beginners Engineering studies Ethic and Law for Engineering.- Engineering activities: ontological and axiological (value) questions

My context: ideas (II) Postgraduate courses Permanent formation Several initiatives.- 1) Masters courses for graduates.- 2) Doctoral programme (E Government and Commerce) Permanent formation New proposals.- Specialized courses for professionals LEFIS Network Organizational and property questions.- A Network to promote activities referred to Ethics and Law in ICT area by the joint creation of organizations, teaching products and computer artefacts

My context: infrastructural condition (I) Spain: more of one third of the population uses Internet: 14 millions of persons (34,5%).- Fast all population uses phone communications European Union: 197 millions of persons use Internet: about 43,5 %.- 80% uses mobile phone Central and South America: scarce use of Internet and phone communications.- The digital breach USA: 67,6 % of the population uses Internet: 199 millions of persons

My context: infrastructural condition (II) Anyway the personal (juridical and technical) that work in the services and productive Industries and in the Public Administrations, use Internet and phone communications in all countries (this is also in Cuba where only 1% of the population uses Internet) The Spanish Judicial Power has developed a system to interconnect Judicial offices and to use information of Administrative Data Bases, for example

My context: juridical “infrastructure” Constitutional regulation Personal Data Protection legislation Electronic Signature legislation Intellectual property legislation Services of the Information Society legislation Penal Code legislation Civil Procedure legislation Public Registers legislation Laws adopted and put in practice by democratic procedures

Lessig’s proposals (I) Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, 1999.- The Need of (old and new) Laws for the Code The Future of Ideas. The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World, 2001.- The Corporations as Gatekeepers of the Net Free Culture. How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity, 2004/06/13

Lessig’s proposals (II) Documented History of the Technological Development of the ICT, guided by the defence of an hypothetical pioneer common spirit of the founders of Internet against the USA government The USA government is guided, as Lessig says, by “Powerful lobbies, complex issues and MTV attention” (Free Culture, page 132, pdf version) Adequate reference’ source for the historical and axiological part of my teaching, not for the professional activities of Lawyers (Judges, Civil Servants…) or Engineers

LEFIS by Lessig (I) LEFIS as Network thanks to the technological development of ICTs An example of the possibilities of the “common” LEFIS ist developing: Books, Teaching modules, Extranet, Intranet, Workflow infrastructure, Chat (Gujchat), Foros (Net2u), Public Key Infrastructures (Safelayer, Ancert, CA), Teaching modules (Gnu e-Learning Systems), AI techniques (mobile agents, semantics web, expert systems…) and another Products... using public protocols and open source software specially

LEFIS by Lessig (II) LEFIS is supported by a knowledge community (persons), different industries, non profit associations and European public institutions LEFIS will be a non-profit association But the LEFIS partners will can obtain profits at the same time that the LEFIS objectives are fulfilled This is that LEFIS must be guided by concrete rules (Laws and Codes) and not only by the pioneer’ spirit

Conclusion Law and Code, but more Law as Code Limited interest of the proposals of Lessig for my teaching: only in the axiological part Another thing is the creation of artefacts: as LEFIS member, I have interest as author of some things using TIC. The proposals of Lessig are important for me. But... The consideration of Public and Private Law is more significant for LEFIS as the pioneer’ spirit of the founders of Internet, this is an American (USA) history