Law and Data Science Module 2

3 Main Doctrines of Private Law

Contract Law, Property Law, Liability and Tort

Contract Law

How obligations are created

Property Law

Who owns what and how is ownership transferred

Liability and tort

Who needs to compensate when there’s damage

Civil Law

legal principles are codified, judges apply and interpret the law

Common Law

rules develop organically through judicial decisions, previous cases compared to the current one

How is something classified by Public or Private Law?

1. nature of parties involved

2. nature of interests protected

3. initiative for enforcement of law

4. means of legal enforcement

Private Law Core Ideas

Structures relationships between individuals

Legal subjects actively shape their own legal relations

Freedom as a starting point, but also as a limitation

need for corrective mechanisms (weaker parties etc.)

2 Layers of Functioning Legal System

Material Law and Procedural Law

Material Law

defines what your rights and duties are (contract law, property law, tort law)

ex. Who owns this? Who must perform this obligation?

Procedural Law

defines how those rights can be enforced or protected (rules on jurisdiction and evidence)

ex. How do you brin a case to a court? Which court is competent? What evidence is required?

How do Material Law and Procedural Law interact?

Material law gives you a claim, Procedural law gives you the tools to enforce that claim

Contract

an agreement between two parties to perform reciprocal obligations

2 Types of Obligations

Obligation of result (achieving a specific outcome), Obligations of means (reasonable efforts)

Relative vs absolute rights

Absolute rights are valid against everyone, Relative rights are valid only between parties

Mandatory vs supplementary law

Mandatory law cannot be altered by agreement, Supplementary law applies only if parties haven’t agreed otherwise

Valid Contract formation

Capacity (legal ability to contract), Offer, Acceptance

Offer and Acceptance

A contract is formed when offer and acceptance coincide. Can be oral, written, or digital

Consensus ad Idem (meeting of minds)

Both parties must understand and agree on the essential terms. The negotiation phase plays a big role in this context. No contract if there’s a misunderstanding about key points.

Assumption of Contract Law

Parties to a contract (e.g. consumers) make informed and voluntary choices

Defects of will

Mistake, Fraud, Duress (threat), Abuse of circumstances

Mistake

entering a contract based on a wrong assumption

Fraud

intentional deception to induce someone into a contract

Duress (threat)

Acceptance obtained through threats or coercion

Abuse of circumstances

Exploiting another's vulnerability

Relevance of Private Law in Data Science

the emergence of data-driven markets, in which extensive data collection enables personalised advertising and behaviour-steering interface design