eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies of the Faculty of Law of Leiden University, is a multidisplinary research institute that brings together a unique combination of knowledge and experience in the area of legal, ethical, societal and technological aspects of regulating the internet and other digital technologies.

Due to the complexity of this research area, the research questions addressed within eLaw often have a multidisciplinary nature and usually cover several areas of law. Within eLaw both fundamental and applied academic research is carried out, including conceptual research, empirical research and legal-positivistic research, on the legal, societal and technological aspects of regulating the internet and other digital technologies.

eLaw is a multidisciplinary research institute, consisting of legal scholars, social scientists, philosophers and technology experts. Many researchers within eLaw have working experience in companies and the government. Furthermore, the researchers have broad international experience and extensive international networks. This unique combination of experts enables working on research themes from different perspectives, yielding significant added value to existing knowledge in the domain of law and digital technologies. Such new knowledge and new insights contribute to the further development and substantiation of scientific knowledge in these areas. Also, via valorisation of the research, input is offered for the further development of new policies and new legislation.

Within eLaw, researchers are offered an inspiring and interactive environment in which they can exchange ideas and constructively comment on each others work, further improving the quality of the research. Cooperation and co-creation, both within eLaw and between eLaw and others, contribute to these exchanges of ideas. Typical examples are the monthly OpenMinded lectures, the annual Hans Franken lecture series and the alumni association of eLaw, all platforms that offer networking opportunities and opportunities to exchange expertise, knowledge and (new) ideas.

Both on a national and an international level eLaw is a prominent and renowned player in the research area of law and digital technologies. eLaw quickly responds to new legal and technological developments resulting from increasing globalisation, digitalisation, datafication and emerging technologies. The coming years, for instance, datafication, robotics, infrastructural innovations (digital platforms) and sociological research on large datasets will further be developed and change our society in unimaginable and unpredictable ways. These and other societal and scientific developments will have significant impact on society and raise questions on which types of regulation are possible and desirable.

For your information: Research Strategy eLaw