General/Thematic: Cyberspace and the Law

The law is of course an object worthy of study for its own sake. My role in UNSW Law is unusual, however. As a consultant, as a researcher into strategic and policy impacts and implications of information technologies, and as a public interest advocate, my interest in the law relates to the extent to which it does and does not provide a reliable, understandable and balanced framework for the lives and livelihoods of people and organisations. In this Preface, I outline some key concerns that an instrumentalist such as myself brings to the topic of 'Cyberspace and the Law'. I have not grounded my comments in the literature, but I have taken the liberty of indicating some of my own materials that provide greater detail on those concerns. The preliminary discussion considers first the principle, or perhaps mantra, of 'technology neutrality'. It then reviews experiences that have led me to have serious doubts about the levels of understanding of information technologies achieved during court proceedings. Consideration of current and emergent information technologies suggests that the complexities of future issues will be well beyond the capacity of courts. I then review the papers in this Special Section, paying particular attention to how they throw light on my concerns.