Leg@l IT Live: Techniques du Droit du Technique

[this post is one of a series covering the Leg@l IT Conference]

After the session led by Professor Poulin, Professor Vincent Gautrais, from the Law Faculty, University of Montréal, presented a session titled “techniques du droit du technique”.

After a few witty remarks about palindromes and the title of his session; Professor Gautrais discussed the impact of the Loi concernant le cadre juridique des technologies de l’information (LCCJTI), R.S.Q. c. C-1.1 (An Act to establish a Legal framework for information technology) – in particular:

• Article 5 (“The legal value of a document, particularly its capacity to produce legal effects and its admissibility as evidence, is neither increased nor diminished solely because of the medium or technology chosen”)
• Article 7 (” It is not necessary to prove that the medium of a document or that the processes, systems or technology used to communicate by means of a document ensure its integrity, unless the person contesting the admission of the document establishes, upon a preponderance of evidence, that the integrity of the document has been affected”)
• Article 35 (“A party that offers a product or service by means of a pre-programmed document must, on pain of non-enforceability of the communication or cancellation of the transaction, see to it that the document provides instructions that allow users to promptly advise the party of any errors or contains means that allow users to avoid or correct errors. Similarly, users must be provided instructions or means to avoid receiving unwanted products or services because of an ordering error, or instructions for the return or destruction of unwanted products”)

In 20 minutes, Professor Gautrais could only touch upon a few topics and stimulate the audience to find out more about the Dell case (can a contract possible result by clicking a hyperlink on a web page?), “lex electronica” as grey litterature and an increasing source of contemporary legal information, and the notion of “usages” in Legal IT, and their implications, with the following examples:

• Sedona Princples
• Cobit and Sarbanes-Oxley
• Dissemination of financial information
• Security and ISO 17799

Professor Gautrais concluded with many suggestions on how to recognize “les bons usages”, and briefly discussed the Nexx Online decision (45 O.R. (3d) 40).