Adriaan Louw (ZA)

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The EU’s data protection regulations and South African business

On 25 May 2018, the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. While the regulations are aimed at protecting EU citizens and residents, its reach will be global and will impact on certain businesses operating in South Africa. The GDPR replaces the Data Protection Directive and is far-reaching, imposing additional obligations … Continue reading

UK’s Serious Fraud Office replaces barristers with robots

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), a government department that investigates and prosecutes serious or complex fraud and corruption, has replaced barristers with artificial intelligence (AI) to review documents and identify legally privileged material. While barristers were previously tasked with sifting through documents, the SFO’s new AI system is able to process more than half … Continue reading

Chinese court gets robot assistant

China’s Supreme People’s Court has employed Faxin, a legal-services robot, which assists judges in sifting through reports and identifying laws relevant to cases. Faxin is an artificial intelligence (AI) platform aimed at transforming China’s overburdened legal system. Faxin is not the only such product currently being used in China. FaXiaoTao, a chat bot, matches clients … Continue reading

AI goes to law school (China)

Concerned with the influence of technology in practicing law, Peking University Law School is looking to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into curriculums by establishing a new AI research centre. Peking University Law School is partnering with a cloud-based analytical tool Gridsum to launch the research centre which will focus on the possibilities and opportunities of … Continue reading

Ontario AI legal challenge showcases latest AI legal developments

The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and the Legal Innovation Zone launched an artificial intelligence (AI) legal challenge to encourage law firms to use technology companies that apply AI to legal applications. The six finalists each provide a unique approach using AI to solve legal problems in one way or another. Their work also … Continue reading

Free movement of algorithms (EU)

Freedom of establishment, one of the four freedoms of the European Union single market, will allow artificial intelligence (AI) with legal personality to move freely and be recognised within the EU single market. In a research paper published in Switzerland, it is argued that AI that enjoys legal personality under a member state’s national law … Continue reading

Will your next lawyer be a machine?

As with any other professional, artificial intelligence (AI) has lawyers wondering how it will disrupt their profession. Unlike the lift operator, AI is not set to replace lawyers, but rather to increase performance and enhance service delivered to clients. In two separate experiments that took place in the EU and USA, researches applied AI technology … Continue reading

Unmarried long-term partners should be better protected by the law (UK)

In February 2017, the UK Court of Appeal found that a woman who lost her long-term partner deserves the same pay-out benefits given to those partners who were married or in a civil partnership. Current UK legislation provides for fixed-sum pay-outs to the surviving spouse if a person dies as a result of negligence. This, … Continue reading

Revamped international arbitration legislation enacted by Parliament

In late December 2017, Parliament enacted the long-awaited International Arbitration Act which brings about an overhaul of the international arbitration framework. The Act commenced on 20 December 2017. The new Arbitration Act regulates international arbitration proceedings in South Africa and governs the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The Act, which incorporates the Model Law on … Continue reading

Robo-directors in the boardroom

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and may in the future get a seat at the boardroom table. The ability of AI to fulfil certain tasks, such as data collection and processing, at a pace exponentially faster than its human counterparts means that businesses cannot function properly without the use of AI in some shape … Continue reading

Increased directors’ duty of care in the case of approaching business crisis (Italy)

Italian directors now have a specific duty of care to properly manage the company if a business crisis or insolvency is looming. The Italian parliament recently passed a law empowering the government to adopt legislative measures to reform Italy’s current legal framework on business crisis and insolvency. The directors’ enhanced duty of care starts long … Continue reading

Lawyer vs artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) software has beaten a group of lawyers from top international firms in an insurance claim accuracy test. A group of students from the University of Cambridge founded an AI start-up that builds systems that predict legal decisions. These systems were recently pitted against more than 100 partners and associates from major corporate … Continue reading

Minority shareholder protection and share buy-back as a remedy

Minority shareholders are not without recourse when they have suffered from oppressive or unfairly prejudicial conduct by the majority. The minority shareholder can approach the court for an order for the company to buy back their shares. The Companies Act 2008 provides for the business and affairs of a company to be managed by or … Continue reading

Artificial intelligence routed to gain juristic personality (Estonia)

Estonia may become the first country in the world to grant artificial intelligence (AI) some form of juristic personality, giving robots personal rights and responsibilities. This northern Baltic country’s Economy Ministry is currently working on legislation to elevate the status of robots using AI to more than that of an object. It is still unclear … Continue reading

UK companies should continuously identify and engage with key stakeholders

A list of core principles were recently published in the UK to guide the board of directors of a company to allow for greater involvement of stakeholders, other than shareholders, in decision-making. These stakeholders would include employees, suppliers, customers, the community, and the environment. Two UK governance institutes, with the support of the UK government, … Continue reading
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