Law for Computer Scientists and Other Folk

This book introduces law to computer scientists. Computer scientists develop, protect, and maintain computing systems in the broad sense of that term, whether hardware, software, or data. They may be focused on e.g. digital security, or on embedded systems, or on software science. The aim of this book is to convey the internal logic of legal practice, firmly grounded in legal theory. It attempts to bridge the gap between two scientific practices, and probe the middle ground to present a reasonably coherent picture of the grammar and vocabulary of law and the rule of law. This attempt is geared toward those with no wish to become lawyers but who are nevertheless forced to consider the salience of legal rights and obligations. Simultaneously, this book aims to help lawyers to review their own trade. It is a volume on law in an onlife world, presenting a coherent picture of how modern law operates, how it emerged in the context of printed text, and how it confronts its new, data-driven environment.