BILETA 2020

Prof. Andrew Murray

Short Bio
Andrew Murray is Professor of Law at the London School of Economics, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a member of the Law Society LawTech Regulatory Action Taskforce. He has been since 2014 a visiting Professor at the Computer Law Institute, VU Amsterdam, and was in Spring 2015 and Spring 2017 a visiting Professor at the Paris Institute of Political Science (Sciences Po).

Keynote title: They Shoot Horses Don’t They?

Abstract: 
The discipline of cyberlaw seems to move in cycles but seldom seems to move forward. The first cycle may be traced to the period immediately following John Perry Barlow’s Declaration of Independence for Cyberspace in 1996. Then as debates raged around the role and scope of law in this newly freed and commercialised space Professor Frank Easterbrook made a key intervention. His paper Cyberspace and the Law of the Horse became the first seminal paper of the nascent study of Cyberlaw and one which set the tone for the study of Cyberlaw for at least the next fifteen years. In 2013 in a previous keynote address to BILETA the present speaker argued that the “long shadow” that Easterbrook had cast over the work of Cyberlawyers since his 1996 paper was [over]due to be lifted. There I argued that “the key [was for] cyberlawyers to re-engage with traditional jurisprudential models and thus to make ourselves relevant to lawmakers and lawyers in the way media lawyers have done”. I cited the work of Chris Reed in his 2012 book Making Laws for Cyberspace  as the model. Otherwise “we make Easterbrook’s argument for him – we are no longer cyberlawyers we are now cyber political scientists (or cyber political theorists).” I would like to say that seven years on things are better. In some small way they are. Rising to my own challenge I co-wrote with Chris Reed the book Rethinking the Jurisprudence of Cyberspace but still I pessimistically think we remain too often either cyber-regulatory theorists, or perhaps siloed lawyers of an aspect of cyber. Today it seems Lessig’s refrain of code is law has been replaced with code as law and some 24 years on from the famous Chicago conference we remain moving in cycles or rather circles but not moving forward as Cyberlawyers. It is time for us to finally shoot Easterbrook’s sacred horse!  

Full Bio available.

We welcome papers on the following (and other) topics, with a particular welcome for papers that address regulatory challenges in technology and law, or issues connected to legal education:

• Privacy and data protection
• Mass and targeted surveillance
• Intellectual property law
• Cybercrime, cybersecurity, predictive policing
• Law and the creative industries (e.g. content regulation, taxation, consumer issues, competition)
• Legal education, regulation, and technology-enhanced learning
• Legal and ethical aspects of AI, algorithms, machine learning, automation
• Approaches to regulation and governance
• Future technologies and law
• Human rights and technology

Abstracts of up to 500 words should be uploaded to Easychair by Sunday 9 February 2020.

There are three prize opportunities for written papers at BILETA 2020, one for all conference participants and two for postgraduate students.

Taylor and Francis Prize

All conference participants are welcome to enter for Taylor and Francis prize of £250 (on behalf of the International Review of Law, Computers and Technology). Please submit a full paper (6-10,000 words, including footnotes) to bileta2020@tilburguniversity.edu (with a clear indication that your submission should be considered for the Taylor and Francis prize) by 20 March 2020. The papers are judged by members of the BILETA 2020 program committee.

BILETA Prize

The BILETA prize is only open for post-graduate students. To be considered for the BILETA prize of £200, please submit a full paper (6-10,000 words, including footnotes) to bileta2020@tilburguniversity.edu (with a clear indication that your submission should be considered for the BILETA prize) by 20 March 2020 .  The submitted papers will be uploaded to the conference website before the conference. The papers are judged by members of the BILETA 2020 program committee.

Google Prize

The Google prize is only open for post-graduate students. To be considered for the Google prize of £200, please submit a full paper (6-10,000 words, including footnotes) to bileta2020@tilburguniversity.edu (with a clear indication that your submission should be considered for the Google prize)by 20 March 2020.

The papers are judged by members of the BILETA 2020 program committee and three papers will be chosen to compete for the Google award, which will involve defending the work in a conference session, and a conference vote. 

In the Google prize session on 8 April, each paper will be presented by a senior academic, the author will have the opportunity to respond to their questions, and then the audience (all conference attendees) will have the opportunity to ask questions.  To assist in that process, everyone is encouraged to look at the papers in advance. The winner of the Google prize will be decided by a public secret vote.

Rules for participation

Please note that authors CANNOT apply for both the Taylor and Francis Prize and the BILETA prize for the same paper. In case authors submit the same paper for these two prizes, then automatically they will be considered as candidates for the BILETA prize and not for the Taylor and Francis one.

Paper publication

Please note that unless you are applying to the prize competition you do not need to submit a written paper in advance. However, papers that enter the prize competition have to be shared at the conference.  We very much hope you will pursue the publications opportunities after the conference, on which more information will follow after the conference.

Conference fees

• Delegates from BILETA member institutions: EUR 200
• Delegates from other institutions: EUR 225
• Postgraduate research students at BILETA member institutions: EUR 125
• Postgraduate research students at other institutions: EUR 150

The University has made arrangements at a preferential rate with a number of nearby hotels. As accommodation is not always ample in Tilburg, please make your arrangements as soon as possible .

City Center

• Mercure Hotel Tilburg Centrum / Mail: info@mercure-tilburg.nl (special rate*)
• City Hotel / Mail: info@cityhoteltilburg.nl (special rate*)

At walking distance from Tilburg University

• Auberge du Bonheur / Mail: receptie@bonheurhorecagroup.nl (special rate*)

Other hotels in Tilburg

(no special Tilburg University rates)

• De Postelse Hoeve / Mail: info@depostelsehoeve.nl
• Hotel Ibis Tilburg / Mail: info@ibis-tilburg.nl
• Bastion Hotel Tilburg
• Hotel Van der Valk Tilburg / Mail: tilburg@valk.nl

Outside Tilburg area

(no special Tilburg University rates)

• Hotel Van der Valk Gilze-Tilburg / Mail: receptie@hotelgilzetilburg.nl
• NH Waalwijk  / Mail: nhwaalwijk@nh-hotels.com

Please note:

1. * In order to benefit from the special Tilburg University room rates, you need to make your reservation directly with the hotel of your choice (see E-mail addresses). The special rates are not valid for bookings made through booking sites. When making your reservation, please refer to: BILETA 2020.
2. Bed & Breakfast accommodations (no special Tilburg University rates)
3. The conference organization is not responsible for booking your hotel accommodation

Eindhoven Airport is primarily served by low-cost airlines (including service to/from a range of European cities);

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is well connected by train with Tilburg (about 90’ minutes), and has the widest range of direct flights.

For information regarding train travel within the Netherlands: see the NS website
Please make sure you take Tilburg Central Station as destination; the venue is a 5 minute walk from the central station.

Please find here the route directions to the LocHal.