Internet Newsletter for Lawyers
March/April 2002, by Delia Venables

E-L@W REVIEW - Reporting E-Law Issues in Scotland from W. Green

The journal, from W. Green, reports international e-law to a Scottish audience. It has an international consultant editorial board including Judge David Edward (European Court of Justice) and Professor Cindy Carson (Whittier Law School USA). All legal aspects are covered such as Data Protection, intellectual property, cybercrime, and e-commerce. The journal is bi-monthly and published in association with the Scottish Society for Computers & Law (SSCL), and the Shepherd & Wedderburn Centre for Research into Intellectual Property and Technology (SCRIPT). The 2002 subscription cost is £150. See also www.elawreview.co.uk for an online version of the journal, for subscribers only.

Review by David Flint

We have now had 2 issues of the new journal. For the publishers, the production of a new publication in a market which is already well served by existing publications must be something of a gamble, particularly as the fast moving nature of E-law means that much of the information cannot have the timely nature of online services.

With this in mind, Greens have not sought to provide a "breaking news" type of publication, although a Current Comment column seeks to include some recent developments, but have devoted space to more considered articles from a range of academic and practising lawyers dealing with specific aspects of law with an e-law flavour. The pieces in Issue 1 lean more towards the academic - the (failed) process for drafting e-legislation in Scotland; the Copyright Directive; Jurisdiction in Cyberspace after The Hague - than the directly practical. However, by Issue 2, the articles focus on specific issues with which practising lawyers will be faced on a regular basis - the Legal basis for dealing with Child Pornography on the Internet; Electronic Filing of Tax Returns; Disclosure of Keys under the R.I.P. Act - as well as an interesting case study on selling property on the Internet, albeit from an estate agency perspective.

One of the difficulties with which the lawyer, either the specialist or the generalist, is faced, is finding what source material is out there and what changes may have been made, or are about to be made in information sources which are already known and loved; the Current Awareness section of E-L@W REVIEW lists new and forthcoming publications as well as Website News and includes a large number of publications of which I was unaware. It might be more useful if the publishers could include slightly more information on each of these so that the reader could decide whether it was worth ordering these for consideration; perhaps, in due course, short reviews of the better publications would be useful.

Although it is not quite clear at whom the publication is addressed, there is probably something in it for everyone; for the general commercial lawyer, the general overview of the sector should help to avoid the feeling that one is "missing something"; for the specialist, the benefit is perhaps less immediate (much of the material will have been sourced elsewhere at an earlier time, time being of the essence in this fast moving area) but there is still something of value in the legal comment and perhaps in the academic discussion.

David Flint is a partner with MacRoberts Solicitors, specialising in IT and Computer Law and is Editor of Greens Scottish E-Commerce Handbook.

email df@macroberts.com.

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