Featured Publications
Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology
Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology (ISSN on-line 1802-5951, ISSN printed 1802-5943) is a peer-reviewed academic journal which publishes original articles in the field of information and communication technology law. All submissions should deal with phenomena related to law in modern technologies (e.g. privacy and data protection, intellectual property, biotechnologies, cyber security and cyber warfare, energy law). We prefer submissions dealing with contemporary issues.
English, peer-reviewed, listed in Hein Online, SCOPUS, De Gruyter, IBZ, ERIH
Revue pro právo a technologie
Revue pro právo a technologie, the first issue of which was published on November 1, 2010, is a Czech peer-reviewed professional journal focused on the technological fields of law and legal sciences. The dominant fields are the law of information and communication technologies, legal informatics and then special fields of technological law such as energy law, specific production law, etc.
Czech, peer-reviewed, acknowledged as peer-reviewed scientific journal by the Czech Research Council, listed in ERIH
Jakub Harašta, Terezie Smejkalová, Tereza Novotná, Jaromír Šavelka, Radim Polčák, František Kasl, Pavel Loutocký, Jakub Míšek: Citační analýza judikatury
The book focuses on citation analysis of the case law by the Czech apex courts (Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court). The book consists of three parts. The first part focuses on theoretical framework and explains the concept of 'importance' of the court decisions as well as principles of the network analysis. The second part focuses on data collection process using machine learning and natural language processing methods. This part presents datasets that are later analysed in the empirical part. Finally, the third part consists of exploratory analysis and network metrics of the collected data. The study is quantitative in its nature
Zbyněk Loebl, Pavel Loutocký, Radim Polčák ed al. Online Justice in the Czech Republic
This book is the first comprehensive discussion of the ethical, legal and sociological aspects of the preparation of online justice in the Czech Republic. Online justice needs to be introduced gradually so that parties, judges, court clerks and court managers are well prepared for it. Online justice is an important reform of the justice system, it can bring major positive changes in citizens' access to the courts and to justice in general, and it can also save significant costs in the long run. However, there are also high risks that can turn potential benefits into negatives - many citizens' access to justice can be significantly impaired and the state can spend a lot of money unnecessarily. Good comprehensive preparation of the online justice system will therefore be crucial. The text provides important information from abroad and summarises the current state of digital justice in our country. The book also contains the results of the first public survey on online courts among the citizens of the Czech Republic. The book describes the steps that lie ahead of us in preparing for the introduction of the first online courts, which the authors believe should start now. It also looks ahead to the future.
František Kasl: Porušení bezpečnosti osobních údajů v kontextu internetu věcí (eng. Personal Data Breach in the Context of the Internet of Things)
The goal of this research publication was to assess, if the current legal framework of obligations related to personal data breach under GDPR are purposefully applicable also in the context of internet of things and if so, then which changes can help to overcome eventual discovered challenges or obstacles to it. This issue is studied from four perspectives. The introduction to the topic is from the cyber security perspective. The term personal data breach is defined and explained in relation to the term security incident. Next are presented possible forms of personal data breach, offered evidence for the scope and frequency of this phenomenon and outlined the future trend of its development. Pursuant to that the potential harm for individuals from personal data breach is explained. After that, the topic is approached from the legal perspective. Within it is presented a comprehensive analysis of the legal frameworks with obligations aimed at prevention or mitigation of personal data breach in the EU, as well as in the United States. These are then discussed with the aim to identify challenges and limits applicable to them. The next chapter introduces the impact of technological change of the context, which is defined by the term internet of things. The attention is focused on the new challenges, which are brought by it to personal data processing. The variety of situations, which fall under this term, is captured through three partial scenarios: automated machine-to-machines communication, smart city environment and change in the role of microenterprises. These views are completed with an economic perspective. This is used for modelling the decision-making of the obliged parties regarding their compliance with the obligations related to personal data breach. Subsequently, the presented perspectives are merged, the obtained findings regarding personal data breach in the context of internet of things are summarized and then the possible solutions for the discovered challenges of compliance with the respective obligations are discussed.
Matěj Myška: Výjimky a omezení autorského práva v prostředí digitálních sítí
The effort to achieve a fair balance between the interests of individual entities participating in the copyright law system by limiting the guaranteed exclusive rights has been historically observable since the beginning of its existence and is closely related to the very purpose and social dimension of copyright law. However, the expansion of copyright protection and its enforcement by technical means in response to technical developments poses a major threat to this desired balancing act. The monograph deals with the role and interests of users of subject matter protected by copyright law, selected copyright limits, specific problems of the system of exceptions and limitations that the copyright law is currently facing, as well as de lege ferenda considerations on how to address them and answers the basic research question on how to adapt the system of exceptions and limitations copyright law to the digital network environment.
Radim Polčák, Petr Mchal a kol.: Cyber Law in the Czech Republic
The book reviews applicable Czech law of information and communication technologies. Following a general introduction, the book assembles its information and guidance in seven main areas of practice: the regulatory framework of the electronic communications market; software protection, legal protection of databases or chips, and other intellectual property matters; contracts with regard to software licensing and network services, with special attention to case law in this area; rules with regard to electronic evidence, regulation of electronic signatures, electronic banking, and electronic commerce; specific laws and regulations with respect to the liability of network operators and service providers and related product liability; protection of individual persons in the context of the processing of personal data and confidentiality; and the application of substantive criminal law in the area of ICT.
Jakub Míšek: Moderní regulatorní metody ochrany osobních údajů
Monograph Modern regulatory methods of personal data protection studies general questions related to legal regulation of personal data protection. The book is based on the four major principles that guide personal data protection: a) the material and functional independence of the right to protection of personal data as a fundamental right; ii) the pragmatic necessity of personal data processing for the functioning of a modern society; iii) the guarantee of a high level of personal data protection, also providing for a strong role of the data subjects’ rights; and iv) the necessity of a preventative approach to personal data protection. In accordance with these principles, the book identifies that a fundamental problem of the previous regulation (Directive 95/46/EC and Act no. 101/2000 Sb.) was its lack of internal flexibility, as there was no option for functional granularity and scalability of duties of the data controller. The book also analyses two approaches to overcoming this shortcoming, which used to be applied in the past. The first one meant interpreting the defining provisions of the regulation restrictively and limiting its scope so that it did not apply in cases in which enforcing the full scope of the duties would not be proportional because of their nature. The second one meant that the supervising authorities decided ad hoc not to enforce the regulation in cases which were problematic in this way. However, the book rejects both these approaches to solving the issue of insufficient granularity and scalability of duties of the data controller. In the key part of the book, the author provides an analysis of performative regulation; a modern regulatory method chosen by European legislator as the foundation regulatory framework in the General Data Protection Regulation (no. 2016/679). The performance-based regulation in the GDPR is based on combining the controller accountability principle with a risk-based approach. That allows the GDPR to provide a sufficiently flexible framework of duties, allowing for their granularity and scalability. In the conclusion, the author discusses the advantages of this regulatory method, and comments on the challenges and obstacles that performative regulation poses for the interpretation and application of the GDPR.
Radim Polčák a kolektiv: Právo informačních technologií
The book deals with the most important topics of contemporary information technology law. With the exception of the first chapter devoted to the concept and method of information technology law, it does not focus too much on general issues, but on the contrary focuses on specific problems. This corresponds to the current state of development of this still relatively new legal discipline.
Radim Polčák, Dan Jerker B. Svantesson: Information Sovereignty - Data Privacy, Sovereign Powers and the Rule of Law
This thought-provoking work elaborates on the assumption that information privacy is, in its essence, comparable to information sovereignty. This seemingly rudimentary observation serves as the basis for an analysis of various information instruments in domestic and international law. It also provides for the method to resolve situations where informational domains of individuals and/or states collide. Information Sovereignty combines a philosophical and methodological analysis of the phenomena of information, sovereignty and privacy. It also encompasses more practical discussions of cybersecurity and cross-border processing of personal data, including in the context of cross-border discovery of digital evidence.