CENTRE FOR STUDIES

The Centre focussed on the interface between law and new technologies. Three main themes characterised its activities, with the interaction between ideas of public interest, on the one hand, and protection of privacy and respect for individual personality rights, on the other, providing a common thread. The digital challenge for copyright law was explored in depth, with results including clarification of the law in practice in the cultural and research sectors, the highlighting of the significance of the public domain, and the exploration of new models for the use of copyright works. Examinations of new scientific and technological advances, and their impact on medical law, demonstrated the need for appropriate regulatory frameworks to be in place to deal with issues such as individual privacy and the commercialisation of NHS services. Consideration of the ways in which individuals carry out transactions of all kinds in an online environment brought out the importance of security systems while at the same time showing the severe challenge they too pose to individual privacy. The Centre engaged actively with government and other public bodies, stakeholder groups, collaborators and the public, influencing policy and practice on all these matters.