Nuno Sousa e Silva Launches New Book on Digital Law
Digital Law may not yet receive unanimous recognition as an autonomous branch of law, but for Pedro Cerqueira Gomes, Nuno Sousa e Silva’s new book takes precisely that step. The launch of Lições de Direito Digital (Lessons in Digital Law), which took place on May 19 at Universidade Católica in Porto, brought together academics, lawyers and students for a session marked by reflection on the legal challenges of our time. Joining the author and lecturer at the Porto Faculty of Law of Universidade Católica Portuguesa were Pedro Cerqueira Gomes, also a lecturer at the Faculty, and Fábio Castro Russo, partner at Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados.
“I cannot think of anyone else who combines such broad and specialised expertise to speak about Digital Law,” said Pedro Cerqueira Gomes, highlighting the author's rare profile. “This book was written by a specialist generalist, but it was designed for civil lawyers, administrative lawyers, constitutional lawyers - for all legal professionals who, within their own field of law, will need not only digital literacy, but also literacy in Digital Law.”
Throughout the presentation, the Administrative Law scholar argued that the book’s greatest strength lies in its ability to systematise a dispersed legal landscape. “The author has brought unity to a fragmented system of rules and created a genuine legal discipline,” he stated. In his view, “the very norm of Digital Law is a different kind of norm”, explaining that it increasingly relies on technical criteria, requiring legal professionals to rethink traditional legal categories.
This is largely why the book brings together topics such as Intellectual Property Rights, Artificial Intelligence, E-commerce and Contracts, Fundamental Rights in Cyberspace, Personal Data Protection and the Liability of Digital Platforms.
“I may well be one of those generalist lawyers for whom this book is intended,” said Fábio Castro Russo. For the lawyer and former lecturer, the author succeeds throughout the work in striking a balance between a broad perspective and in-depth substantive analysis. “A certain level of technological knowledge is necessary, and Nuno has it; that becomes evident in this work,” he noted, referring to concepts such as object code, dark patterns, open source, addictive design, blockchain and quantum computing, all supported by what he described as “a valuable framework of bibliographical references”.
The lawyer also highlighted the book’s cross-disciplinary nature, stressing that Digital Law today requires knowledge of virtually all major branches of law. “Anyone who reads this book will encounter Civil Law, Commercial Law, European Union Law, Public and Private International Law, Competition Law, Procedural Law, Administrative Law, Criminal Law, Labour Law, Consumer Law and Fundamental Rights.” He concluded: “Anyone who reads this book gains a mini law degree.”
At the end of the session, the author, Nuno Sousa e Silva, remarked that “the book is a human invention superior to the computer”, adding, in a challenging tone, that this may not be the last edition of the work.
Learn more about Nuno Sousa e Silva’s book HERE.