CIDP - Centro de Investigação de Direito Privado

Artificial Intelligence, Technology and Private Law

The advent of the Digital Era has changed social, economic and legal structures. The world we now live requires the Law to pay special attention to new issues, not previously encountered. The social relevance of personal data raises questions in the field of personality law, automation and artificial intelligence require the workings of civil liability to be reconsidered and the wide use of e-commerce demands study of online consumer rights. The new reality extends into finance, with a direct impact on investor rights and business funding models.

In addition, automation and artificial intelligence are both tools and challenges in courts. On the one hand, they promise to speed up and facilitate procedural acts, relieving judges, bailiffs and lawyers of repetitive and time-consuming tasks. But at the same time, insofar as they provide autonomous means of decision-making, they raise fundamental questions about the future meaning and nature of adjudication.

Finally, generative artificial intelligence raises relevant challenges in intellectual property law, namely as regards the protection of copyright and even the identity or nature of the author.

These trends and demands are not new. They were the subject of the last research line called Private Law in the Digital Era (PLDE). The current research line arises in the continuation of the work carried out at PLDE, integrating and focusing on the latest technological developments.

New Perspectives of Corporate Governance

The last few years have been marked by profound reforms in Commercial Company and Capital Market Law, especially at the level of European normative instruments.

Following on from the work conducted within the previous line of research called Modernization of Corporate Law, the current line New Perspectives of Corporate Governance will focus its attention on three topics: (i) the impact of technology on company law; (ii) the reformulation of corporate law structures as a result of the new centrality of stakeholder interests; (iii) the impact of ex contractu governance on the company and the limits of of private autonomy in shareholder agreements.

Diversity, Harmonization and Unification of Private Law

The research on Comparative Law, including its methodological foundations, is a central theme of CIDP's research. The diversity of modern Private Law coexists with a growing effort towards harmonization and unification, which transcends the European space and is instrumental to the free flow of people, goods, services and capital across borders in a globalised economy.

This research line will pay special attention to international instruments, in particular, the CISG (which came into force in Portugal at the end of 2021), the UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts, the Principles of European Contract Law and other relevant normative acts from the European Parliament and from the Council.

In this context, is also important the creation of a permanent observatory of Lusophone legal systems, which preserve a fundamental unity with Portuguese law, and the international dissemination of its output.

Foundations of Private Law

This line of research is devoted to the study of the historical, dogmatic and axiological foundations of Private Law, always seeking a deeper understanding of legal systems and their evolution.

The research projects to be developed cover the core areas of common and commercial Private Law, as well as its immediate foundations and instruments (Philosophy of Law and Methodology). It also involves studying the models of adjudication (specially linked with new morphologies of conflicts) including alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

This research line also includes the critical analysis of judicial activity (including its social and economic impact), as well as the survey and systematization of empirical data on that activity.

New Perspectives on Regulation, Compliance and Private Enforcement

The emergence of independent authorities has subverted the classic separation of powers model, which is why they have been endowed with three types of traditionally separate public powers: normative, executive and (para)judicial. Modern independent authorities issue regulations of a general and abstract nature, monitor and inspect the activity of businesses and, finally, impose financial penalties (fines) and ancillary sanctions if they detect offences. In this regard, it is difficult to sustain the classic opposition between administrative law and criminal law, especially since the European Court of Human Rights has consistently held that administrative offences and other typically administrative offences should be considered criminal offences for the purpose of applying Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence. The social context of regulatory law requires a paradigm shift in the application of law and interaction with economic agents. Experience generally points to the advantages of an approach based on the principles of responsive regulation and regulated self-regulation. The balance between the two, however, requires a delicate balance between the requirements of effective regulation and the advantages of collaboration with businesses in the performance of this public law mission. In fact, the risks of this combination are immense and can only be minimised by establishing mechanisms to guarantee the independence and accountability of regulators and to prevent them from being captured by a wide range of interests, from party interests to business interests, which also involves transparency in the revolving doors between the exercise of regulatory functions, government functions and management functions of public, mixed or private companies. A virtuous articulation of responsive regulation with regulated self-regulation cannot ignore another pillar, which is the private enforcement of the law through actions for damages and collective redress brought by consumer representatives and others interested in promoting competition. Damages actions and collective redress often act as natural allies of more effective economic regulation and more efficient self-regulation, reinforcing the attitude of compliance on the part of companies by encouraging the prevention of legal risks that may arise from non-compliance. Any reflection on the intersecting themes of regulation, regulatory compliance and actions for damages and collective protection must value the experience of law in action, calling on the critical mass that accompanies matters of economic regulation and competition defence, adding national experience to the experience of other European countries and the European Union itself, but also to that of other reference legal systems, especially Anglo-Saxon ones, whose practice is inspiring for the European context. This line of research also includes the research project that has been developed in the field of judicial evidence, considering that evidential problems take on new dimensions in the context of the passage of information between regulators, intelligence agencies, criminal police agencies and criminal investigation holders, at the domestic level, but also at the cross-border level and not only in the European context. The research project encompasses the most general aspects of the theory of evidence and the dogmatic aspects of judicial evidence in the various regulated areas of economic activity, thus aiming to contribute to the development of an area of legal thought and practice that suffers from a lack of attention in civil law legal systems, compared to common law countries. It is a research project that involves ongoing articulations and partnerships with foreign research centres, which have already produced results in terms of national and foreign publications and scientific meetings in Portugal and abroad.

Rui de Mascarenhas Ataíde

With a degree in Law (1982), a Master's (1999) and a Doctorate (2013) in Legal-Civil Sciences from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (FDUL), he is Professor at FDUL, where, since 1992, he has been teaching Introduction to the Study of Law, Law of Obligations, Family Law, Law of Succession, Rights in Rem, Contract Law I and II in the Undergraduate Course. In the Master's Degree Course in Law and Legal Practice, he is responsible for the subjects of Registrations and Notarial Services and Civil Liability Law, and in the Master's Degree Courses in Law and Legal Science and Doctorate, he is co-responsible for the subject of Civil Law (Civil Liability) with Professor Luís Menezes Leitão. In the Doctorate Course, he also coordinated the subject of Introduction to Private Law. He cooperated with the Bissau Faculty of Law and with the Mandume Ya Ndemufayo University Faculty of Law (Lubango). He is a guest speaker on Postgraduate Courses, Legal Conferences and Congresses organised by FDUL, FDUC, Centro de Estudos Judiciários and Almedina. He also practiced law in the office of Professor José Dias Marques. He is the author of several monographs, scientific articles, notes and lessons, namely, Private contract law in the face of the present pandemic crisis. Some problems, in particular temporary economic impossibility, RFDUL (Lisbon Law Review), Número Temático: COVID-19 e o Direito, Ano LXI, 2020, N. º 1, pp. 675-709, Institutionalised arbitration of Consumer Law disputes: notes on the scope of application of Law No. 144/2015 of 08 September (Mechanisms of Extrajudicial Resolution of Consumer Disputes) (co-authored with Inês Sítima Craveiro), International Journal of Arbitration and Conciliation - Year XIII - 2020, pp. 37-86, "Unfair terms in the insurance contract" Civil Law Magazine, Year V (2020), 1, pp. 115-125, "Criteria for ascertaining negligent fault" (co-authored with Inês Sítima Craveiro), O Direito Magazine, Year 152, II (2020), pp. 343-355, Os deveres no tráfego, Estudos Comemorativos dos 50 Anos do Código Civil, Lisbon, 2019, Código das Sociedades Comerciais Anotado (coordination of Professor Doctor António Menezes Cordeiro), 3rd edition (collaboration with Professor António Menezes Cordeiro in the annotation to articles 172 to 174 and 242 - A to 242. Civil Liability for Breach of Duties in Traffic (2015, to be reprinted in 2019), Civil Liability of Supervisory Authorities and Financial Regulation (2017), "The substantive effects of the Land Registry", ROA, Ano 77 - Vol. I/II - Jan./Jun. 2017, The sale of consumer goods (2017), Land Registry Studies (2017), Possession and Detention (2015), Causation and objective imputation in the theory of civil liability (2010), The liability of the "represented" in tolled representation (2008). He has been President of the Board of the IDC/Association for the Study of Consumer Law at FDUL since July 2014.

Postgraduate Courses

II Curso de Pós-Graduação Avançada em Processo Civil Executivo

Volvida quase uma década da reforma da ação executiva implementada com o atual Código de Processo Civil, há muito que o Processo Civil Executivo reclama uma abordagem formativa que ofereça, a um tempo, um balanço geral e uma avaliação das alterações legislativas realizadas e, a outro tempo, uma visão dos novos rumos da disciplina processual que se vão abrindo em resposta à emergência de novas realidades: novos bens penhoráveis, novas fronteiras e formas de pesquisa patrimonial, novas garantias do executado, novos riscos para os sujeitos da execução. Neste contexto, têm lugar especial a análise dos desafios trazidos pelo recurso crescente à tecnologia e à inteligência artificial no processo civil, e a aferição do seu impacto nas garantias do executado e na proteção dos dados pessoais dos sujeitos da execução. Merecem também destaque os obstáculos associados à apreensão e penhora de ativos digitais (como os criptoativos) e de ativos imateriais (como os dados pessoais, os direitos de propriedade intelectual ou o estabelecimento comercial digital). Paralelamente, importa manter o foco no estudo dos problemas clássicos do Processo Civil Executivo, que constituem ocoreda prática dos juristas desta área. Esse estudo deve, contudo, ser feito à luz de uma abordagem integrada (desenhada a partir do incumprimento e dos seus mecanismos de gestão), atual e crítica, que aponte problemas e insuficiências do regime, como os casos de ações executivas inúteis e de oportunismo, bem como cenários de simulação negocial e processual na constituição e execução de garantias. O Curso privilegia ainda a interseção da ação executiva com os regimes pré-insolvenciais e insolvenciais, bem como o tratamento de questões setoriais, explorando manifestações do processo executivo no direito da família e das sucessões, no procedimento especial de despejo, e no direito da arbitragem. Por sua vez, o plano internacional da ação executiva é abordado em módulo autónomo. Continuamente comprometido com a comunidade jurídica e empenhado em contribuir para a elevação do debate juscientífico destas matérias, o Centro de Investigação de Direito Privado da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa organiza a 2ª edição do II Curso de Pós-Graduação Avançada em Processo Civil Executivo. Apresentando um programa criteriosamente ajustado aos temas de vanguarda do Processo Civil Executivo, o Curso dirige-se a advogados, magistrados, agentes de execução e outros profissionais familiarizados com a prática processual executiva que pretendam atualizar ou aprofundar os seus conhecimentos. Destina-se também a alunos de licenciatura, mestrado e doutoramento.

9 Jan > 2 Jul 2024

Postgraduate Courses

VII Curso de Pós Graduação em Digital Services - Direito dos Serviços Digitais (Digital Services ACT)

Os serviços digitais constituem hoje parte significativa da economia mundial, tendo entrado amplamente na vida quotidiana de todos. A evolução do mercado e da tecnologia, bem como a experiência resultante da aplicação da Directiva n.º 2000/31/CE (Directiva do Comércio Electrónico) e das correspondentes leis nacionais, entre nós o Decreto-Lei n.º 7/2004 (Lei do Comércio Electrónico), determinaram a apresentação, em Dezembro de 2020, da Proposta de Regulamento relativo a um mercado único de serviços digitais, que haveria de culminar num Regulamento dos Mercados Digitais (Digital Markets Act– Regulamento (UE) n.º 2022/1925) e num Regulamento dos Serviços Digitais (Digital Services Act– Regulamento (UE) n.º 2022/2065). Este último, que constituirá o objecto do presente Curso, foi aprovado em 19 de Outubro de 2022 e é aplicável a partir de 17 de Fevereiro de 2024, ainda que, quanto a pontuais disposições, tenha entrado em vigor logo em 16 de Novembro de 2022. O Regulamento dos Serviços Digitais apresenta-se como um texto complexo, que, mantendo uma certa linha de continuidade com o quadro jurídico anterior, contém um acréscimo muito relevante de novas regras. O presente Curso tem por finalidade apresentar aos interessados uma análise detalhada e aprofundada do conteúdo deste novo Regulamento, contribuindo para o esclarecimento das dúvidas que, em face da sua iminente aplicação, suscita e para o debate das questões fundamentais, dogmáticas e práticas, que comporta. O VII Curso decorrerá de Janeiro a Junho de 2024,das 18h30 às 21h00, por regra à segunda-feira, com excepção, por motivos que se prendem com a interposição ou sobreposição de feriados, dos dias especificamente assinalados no programa. As aulas serão ministradas à distância, via Zoom, através de ligação a disponibilizar pela organização do Curso.

29 > 17 Jan 2024

Postgraduate Courses

IX Curso de Pós-Graduação em Corporate Governance

1 Fev > 27 Jun 2024

Postgraduate Courses

Curso de PG Avançada em Direito dos Valores Mobiliários

O XXIV Curso de Pós-Graduação em Direito dos Valores Mobiliários, organizado em conjunto pelo Instituto dos Valores Mobiliários (IVM) e pelo Centro de Investigação de Direito Privado (CIDP), ambos da Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa (FDUL), visa proporcionar aos juristas, advogados, universitários e demais interessados a oportunidade de contactar diretamente com a teoria e prática do Direito dos Valores Mobiliários. Destinatários O Curso de Pós-Graduação Avançada em Direito dos Valores Mobiliários destina-se a licenciados em Direito e áreas científicas conexas. O número máximo de inscrições é de duzentos (200) alunos. Em caso de igualdade de circunstâncias, é concedida preferência na inscrição aos licenciados pela Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de Lisboa. Aulas As sessões do Curso terão lugar, preferencialmente, à segunda-feira, entre as 18h30 e as 21h15, de acordo com o calendário escolar oportunamente publicado, exceto quando devidamente assinalado. As sessões têm lugar porVIDEOCONFERÊNCIA, ATRAVÉS DA PLATAFORMA ZOOM.