1: Intro Flashcards
(12 cards)
What is law?
Regulating behavior through a set of rules to maintain order and uphold justice.
-> Framework for resolving disputes
-> protect rights
-> establish obligations
=> through legislation, traditional decisions, longstanding customs/norms that develop over time and gain binding authority by constant use or general acceptance
Customary law?
emerge from longstanding traditions, societal expectations or repeated behaviors that are considered as just
Material <=> procedural law
Material: description of rules/obligations/duties that define which behavior is permissible or prohibited, consequences
Procedural: how rules are put into practice in a way that makes sense and is fair
Private <=> public law
Private: relationship between individuals, businesses, private entities => horizontal relationship
Public: relation between state and individuals, state institutions => vertical relationship
Hierarchy of law
1) International treaties: highest importance, local/national laws cannot go against what is in the treaties (Ex. human rights)
2) European Union Law
3) National Constitutions
4) Ordinary laws
Important because a lot of tech regulation happens at international level and at the EU (AI act, GDPR)
=> EU plays an important role in tech regulation, wants to take leadership role in regulation digital technologies
Brussels effect?
Global influence of the European Union and its regulations => states and business outside the European Union voluntarily adopt European legislation to be able to access European markets
What are the important institutions in the European Union? And how do they work together
- European Commission: main executive body, initiates legislation, only institution that can propose new legislation
- European Parlement: proposal of commission comes here, 720 members represent the people
- Council of the EU: all the ministers relevant of the topic of legislation
=> both the parlement and the council study the proposal of the commission and make their own version (own proposal or just an adjustment)
=> 3 versions, start negotiating to get 1 text where all parties agree - European council: every few months, the head of the states meet to discuss bigger issues (war, immigration crisis)
- Court of Justice of the EU: interpret EU law (Ex. questions from national courts)
What are the main instruments in EU law?
- Regulations: GDPR, AI act => directly applicable to every EU member
- Directives (product liability, data protection directive) => they set up a goal/objective, every country has to implement it and transpose it into national law but how the country achieves the goal, is up to them => result: rules that are incompatible with eachother in different countries
Difference between council of European Union/ European council / council of Europe
- Council of EU: ministers responsible for different areas meeting together
- European Council: head of all member states of the EU
- Council of Europe: not part of the EU structure, international organisation (46 member states), dedicated to
- promoting human rights (main convention => court of human rights)
- Democracy
- rule of law
- Protection of individuals against automatic processing of personal data
- Framework convention on AI: ensure that activities in the lifecycle of AI are fully compliant with human rights, democracy and the rule of law
=> condition to join the EU is to be part of the council of Europe => also non-EU members
What are the 3 branches of the governement
1) Legislative branch: creates the law
2) Executive branch: enforces the law
3) Judicial branch: interpret and apply the law, resolve disputes
=> Seperation of power
=> prevents the abuse of authority
What are the important principles in the European Union?
Important principles: how EU executes its power in relation to EU member states (so that EU does not overstep its authority)
- Principle of subsidiarity: EU should only act when member states cannot effectively achieve an objective on their own
- Principle of conferral: EU can only act within the powers that were assigned to it explicitly by the member states in the treates, if a power was not explicitly assigned to the EU, then it remains within the member states
- Principle of proportionality: EU action should not exceed what is necessary => least restrictive or burdensome measure should be chosen
How do law and ethics differ?
1) Meaning:
Body of rules that governs whole society and the actions of its individual members
<=>
Branch of moral philosophy that guides people about the basic human conduct
2) What:
Set of rules and regulations
<=>
set of guidelines
3) Governed by: government <=> individual/legal/professional norms
4) Expression: expressed and published in writing <=> abstract
5) Violation: not permissible and results in punishment <=> no punishment
6) Objective: maintain social order/ provide peace/protect citizens <=> guide people to decide what is right or wrong
7) Binding: legal binding <=> no binding nature
