Legal digitalization – A catalyst for change – the ILLA (The International Language and Law Association) Conference – 2021

 

[Courthouse*]

I had the pleasure of participating this last week in the ILLA hybrid conference from Bergamo, Italy focusing on the digitization of legal discourse. As usual, the learned field of lecturers provided varying and illuminating perspectives on the changes in the legal field made possible by technology and spurred forward by the Covid situation. In the lectures that I attended, three aspects stood out, notably the evolution of legal forms, communication and substance.

Clearly, the physical barriers imposed by Covid restrictions have forced courts to adopt modern means of procedure. As Daniel Greineder noted, arbitration courts have significantly increased their use of video presentation and online evidence submitting facilitated by use of Live Note or similar software as well as rapid hearing transcripts. On a geographically larger scale, the International Court of Justice proceedings in Africa, as reported by Jekaterina Nikitina, involved mass use of video technology for both advocates and witness, including intentional hiding of faces and voices in the latter case. On an interesting note, the court allowed and requested attorneys appearing via video not to stand before the judges as the cameras would no longer be on their faces, a contrast from traditional court practice. Thus, courts have adopted to the availability of technology and difficulties of current circumstances by liberalizing their procedures.

On a communicative level, this digitization can create issues of vocabulary, intent and design form. Martina Bajcic and Martina Ticic researched key terms of EU online processes, specifically small claims, and noted the tension between use of the same term for all countries when the given term is not commonly known in a given country, giving the example of the word “domicile” in Croatia. Similarly, Sotira Skytrioiri showed how the words “bank” and “headquartered” can have different meanings, depending on specific jurisdiction, highlighting the relevant question whether an Internet bank has a territory. Giuliana Diani discussed the use of legal blogs that extract formal legal opinions to serve as a basis of personal points of view regarding the matters at hand, quickly transforming the decision from a final judgment to a basis for popular argument for legal lay persons. On the design level, Helena Haapio and Anna Hurmerinta-Haanpaa described and provided examples of actual user-friendly design, including the use of software to provide simple interpretations of legal text and a 3-level approach to online legal information: simple instructions, summary of conditions and full text, each accessible by a simple click. It was clear that the accepted manner of communicating law by Internet is in the process of change.

The most intriguing aspect was the impact on legal digitization on the present and future. Ruth Breeze compared non-commercial free advice websites with those of attorneys seeking new customers. Unfortunately, it required great viewer sophistication to distinguish the two, meaning that, through “colonization” the Internet has clearly blurred the difference between NGO legal assistance and aggressive legal firms. On a larger note, Dieter Stein noted the transition of law from oral, i.e., historical, to written, i.e., enactive, to digital, i.e., reactive. To clarify, while oral law was a form of precedent, written law was a guide for future activity, stable and slow to evolve. By contrast, online sites can change their content within minutes without any visual record of the change. On the one hand, these sites provide updated information on current regulations, quite valuable with the constant flux of Covid rules, among other matters. On the other hand, the sheer simplicity of the revision brings the disturbing image from Orwell’s 1984 of the constant, granted non-digital, changing of the news and modifying of the past. I am not sure that the long-term effects of this instant update are for the ultimate benefit of the citizen. Regardless, digitalization is changing the nature of the law.

I apologize for failing to mention the other speakers as I was unable to attend all the lectures. My own contribution was on the importance and manner of writing legal English in a manner that an average reader can understand. I also wish to thank the organizers for managing a hybrid conference quite seamlessly, a living example of digitalization on legal conferences. They provided a wonderful forum to help legal scholars of all kinds view the process of legal digitalization with a much wider lens, gaining a deeper perspective of the present situation and appreciation of future developments.

* Picture captions help the blind access the Internet.

Picture credit: Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/mbraun0223-2118828/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1223280">Mike Braun</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1223280">Pixabay</a>

Home away from home

Part of the adventure of traveling is the sleeping in a strange room. Despite all the picture and reviews available online, a person never knows what is awaiting behind door number 1, 2 or 3. Unless people stay a hotel chain, which tends to have a series of uniform designs and mattresses worldwide, the surprise can be pleasant or unpleasant. Linguistically, what complicates the choice for an evening’s stay is the sheer number of words describing a stop for a weary traveler.

There are some fairly standard terms.  A hotel is a generally a multistory building with a reception and lobby leading to the elevators that take guests to the room. Based on the star rating of the hotel for that country, it is possible to predict the number of amenities and size of towels.  It is always worth knowing in advance whether parking and WIFI are free.  For some reasons, additional fees for those annoy me somehow. By contrast, motels are generally no more than three floors and spread out. The reception desk is at the entrance to the complex such that a person does not have to actually walk through it to get to the room, an advantage in certain cases.  In fact, “notel motels” date from the time when hotels asked whether the registering couple was married. In cities, there are often inns, which are often made of brick and are located in ideal locations but have small rooms, unless they are country inns. In some tourist places, there are boarding rooms, ideal for the budget conscious traveler that only needs a room for the night. At best, the furniture isn’t fancy, even often a bit old-fashioned with quaint pictures on the wall, but what difference does it make when your eyes are closed? With these types, travelers have some idea what they are getting.

Some travel lodging is more specialized. A motor court is for travelers on the road and generally is characterized by low prices, simple rooms and plenty of parking.  When traveling away from the city, similar family-owned lodgings are called road houses and almost always have a full bar to help wind down from the driving and help you ignore the lack of maneuvering space in the room. In some places, more spacious and luxurious lodges are an option, evoking memories of English or Russian hunting parties.  Generally made out of wood and spread out, they offer a more luxurious night of sleep. By contrast, a youth hostel is for the budget conscious. The actual conditions vary from place to place but weary travelers receive a bed to lay their weary heads on, albeit often not in a private room. On the other hand, it is a nice place to meet fellow travelers of the tourist kind. For a family or couple, a private guest house is often a unique way to experience local architecture and furnishing. Generally, they are clean and less expensive than hotels and clearly not generic. Today’s hit is the bread and breakfast (B&B), even if breakfast is not always included in the price as I just discovered. The variation in conditions is no less than that of the price. Still, you can truly mix with the locals this way but, on the other hand, having sex is less practical. Nothing is perfect.

For those who have the money and desire, luxury options abound. All hotels offer suites of various sizes. For the (much) higher price of a suite, the visitor gets a separate living adjacent to the one or better bedrooms. It feels just like home, except that there is no need to do laundry or clean. For a higher level of privacy as hotel walls can be a bit thin, vacation flats, either as part of a hotel or actual flats themselves, are an ideal alternative as they offer all the comfort of home without the cleaning or maintenance and allow people to prepare meals or eat without going out. Depending on the price and location, their price can be quite competitive as compared to hotels of similar standards. Of course, some people consider the words cooking and vacation oxymorons. Chacun à son gout. For larger families that don’t want to share either the inside or outside space with strangers, vacation villas are available. It is unclear how many square meters turn a house into a villa but, still, there is something to be said for the privilege of making as much noise or wearing as little clothes as you want because, after all, you are on vacation. None of these options are cheap but, nonetheless, if you got it, you might as well as enjoy it.

Each person has a different perspective on travel lodgings. I have stayed at most of the above and reached the conclusion that I only care about three matters. First, the mattress must be comfortable. Unfortunately, I have found no correlation between price and back comfort. Secondly, I don’t sleep well hearing sirens all night, referring to the emergency vehicles, not those tempting women on the rocks. Alas, in some cities, all rooms seem to face a busy street. Finally, the room must be non-claustrophic.  To quote my mother, if you have to leave the room to change your mind, there is a problem. To clarify, sleeping in an oversized room does not improve the quality of the sleep but still there is an acceptable range to the number of steps from the bed to the bathroom. So, whatever a person’s style, budget and location, there is a comfortable home away from home whatever it is called.