Specialization seminar (proseminarium) - Civilizational changes in civil law 2200-1F165

01 Opening Session: Law and Algorithms
Introduction to the topic. Overview of the programme; setting the agenda with participants. What is ‘digital law’ and why must every lawyer be familiar with it?
- Organisational matters
02 Protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the age of AI
The right to informational self-determination in the light of the Polish Constitution and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. The GDPR and profiling algorithms.
- AI and human rights
03 Legal personality of AI — do we need a third type of person?
Natural person, legal person… and AI? Analysis of regulatory proposals in the EU and globally. Where does the tool end and the entity begin?
- AI and civil law
04 Digital identity and personal rights
Avatar, profile, digital alter ego. Is an infringement of image rights in the metaverse protected under Articles 23 and 24 of the Civil Code? Court cases from around the world.
- personal rights in the metaverse
05 Deepfakes: a new tool for infringing personal rights
Deepfakes in the context of image rights, privacy and tort liability. Who is liable: the creator, the platform, the user? Case study: high-profile media cases.
- hot topic: personal rights
06 Digital data as a legal object
Data ownership in civil law. The EU Data Act — revolution or evolution? Can data be owned, acquired by adverse possession or disposed of?
- Property law and data
07 Declaration of intent in the age of algorithms
Is a contract concluded by a chatbot valid? Interpretation of an algorithm’s intent. Smart contracts — performance or conclusion of a contract? Article 60 of the Civil Code revisited.
- AI Contract Law
08 Liability of digital platforms
The Digital Services Act (DSA) in practice. The ‘The Private Bay’ case. When does an intermediary become a perpetrator? Liability of hosting providers.
- DSA platforms
09 Liability for AI operations — risk or fault?
Draft EU Directive on AI Liability (AILD). Is an autonomous vehicle a new “source of increased danger”? Article 435 of the Civil Code in the age of robots.
- liability
10 Upload filtering and freedom of expression
The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (Article 17). Can an algorithm censor? The Painer v. Standard VerlagsGmbH case and its consequences.
- copyright freedom of expression
11 Artificial intelligence as a creator
Can ‘Midjourney’ be an author? The concept of creativity as an expression of human personality — an anachronism or a foundation? US Copyright Office rulings and the European approach.
- copyright AI
12 AI training and fair use
Do LLMs infringe the copyright of millions of creators? Text and Data Mining (TDM) in the light of Directive 2019/790. Lawsuits against OpenAI and Google.
- Copyright
13 NFTs, tokens and the digital market
What is an NFT in legal terms? Ownership of a token versus a licence to a work. The NFT market after the ‘crash’ — what are the implications for the law? MiCA and the regulation of the crypto-asset market.
- NFT blockchain
14 Stablecoins and cryptocurrencies — money or not?
The concept of money in civil law (Article 358 of the Civil Code). Is Bitcoin a thing? The MiCA Regulation — a revolution in the digital asset market.
- Fintech and the law of obligations
15 Remote possession — IoT and property law
Smart homes, autonomous cars, industrial robots. Who ‘possesses’ a remotely controlled device? Corpus and animus possidendi in the era of the Internet of Things.
- IoT property law
16 Cyberattacks and civil liability
Ransomware, data breaches, DDoS attacks — who is liable for damages? The NIS2 Directive and tort law. Claims by victims.
- cybersecurity liability
17 Algorithmic discrimination — anti-discrimination law in relation to AI
Credit scoring, AI-driven recruitment, price bidding. Can an algorithm’s decision be discriminatory? Article 22 of the GDPR and the right to a ‘human decision’.
- Hot topic: AI
18 The right to be forgotten and data integration in AI systems
Implementation of Article 17 of the GDPR in relation to language models — can data be ‘removed’ from a trained model? The tension between the right to be forgotten and the irreversibility of machine learning.
- GDPR AI privacy
19 Digital inheritance — what happens to our data after death?
Facebook account, crypto wallet, e-book licences — do they form part of the estate? Polish law, platform practices, ethical dilemmas.
- inheritance law data
20 Evidence proceedings in digital cases
Evidence from email printouts, server logs, blockchain records. Evidential value of AI-generated content. E-discovery in Polish civil procedure — present or future?
- procedure evidence
21 Virtual property and virtual enforcement
Can a bailiff seize digital assets, in-game skins, or a streaming service account? Practical issues in the enforcement of digital claims.
- blockchain enforcement
22 Conclusion: the law of tomorrow — concluding discussion
What regulations are most lacking? What do we predict for the next 5 years? De lege ferenda recommendations from seminar participants.
- summary

Course coordinators

Kamil Zaradkiewicz

Type of course

proseminars

Mode

Classroom

Prerequisites (description)

A specialist seminar on civil law — where tradition meets technology, and the Civil Code goes head-to-head with algorithms. This is not a lecture. It is not a series of presentations. It is a lively discussion — a moderated conversation in which your voice carries real weight. A brainstorming session on issues that lawyers are only just beginning to understand, and which the courts are only just beginning to adjudicate. The seminar covers civil law in the broadest sense, but always viewed through the lens of the modern world: artificial intelligence, data, digital platforms and new market phenomena. The topics are flexible. We adapt to participants’ interests and current events. Do you have an idea for a topic? You can become the ‘host’ of a given session and lead the discussion. Today, the law is shaped not only by legislators — it is also shaped by the questions lawyers ask. Discussion Every session involves an exchange of arguments. We do not judge the validity of arguments — we assess the quality of reasoning. Brainstorming Open-ended questions with no ready-made answers. The law of new technologies is largely uncharted territory. The role of the ‘host’ Each participant can lead a discussion on a topic of their choice — it’s excellent training for the courtroom. Practical dimension We analyse real-world rulings, draft legislation and high-profile cases. Not just theory.

Learning outcomes

Attending this seminar is an investment that will pay dividends regardless of your chosen career path — whether you become a barrister, a solicitor, a judge, or a corporate lawyer in the tech sector.

- Comprehensive knowledge of civil procedural law in the context of contemporary technological challenges
- The ability to critically analyse legal regulations — assessing their relevance in the face of a rapidly changing digital reality
- The ability to construct legal arguments effectively based on case law, legal doctrine and EU legislation
- Competence in conducting substantive discussions — essential for the professions of barrister and solicitor
- Knowledge of current EU regulations: AI Act, DSA, DMA, AILD, MiCA, NIS2, Data Act
- Ability to formulate de lege ferenda proposals — valuable when writing a Master’s thesis and in legislative practice
- Familiarity with the case law of the CJEU, the ECtHR and national courts in digital matters
- Readiness to undertake a Master’s seminar in civil procedural law or new technologies law.

Assessment criteria

50%
Active participation in discussions — quality of argumentation, ability to respond, initiating discussion threads
30%
Attendance — a seminar is a dialogue; without participants, there is no discussion
20%
Optional: the role of ‘host’ — chairing a selected session will improve your mark

Practical placement

Taking part in the fourth-year proseminar is a natural progression towards the fifth-year master’s seminar. If any of the topics discussed capture your interest, it could become the subject of your master’s thesis. The law of new technologies is a field in which there are far too few master’s theses, yet the market demand is huge.

They say that civil law is only really taught by ‘life’. But it’s worth starting to understand it now — before life starts presenting you with the bill :)