COHUBICOL is delighted to announce the launch of the Journal of Cross-disciplinary Research in Computational Law (CRCL).

The Journal of Cross-disciplinary Research in Computational Law (CRCL) invites excellence in law, computer science and other relevant disciplines with a focus on two types of ‘legal technologies’: (1) data-driven (e.g. predictive analytics, ‘intelligent’ search) and (2) code-driven (e.g. smart contracts, algorithmic decision-making (ADM), legal expert systems), and (3) their hybrids (e.g. code-driven decision-making based on data-driven research). In the course of the coming year we are publishing a series of online first articles that will form the first issue of CRCL (vol. 1 no. 1) to be launched in the second half of 2021.

CRCL is genuinely cross-disciplinary, aiming to foster genuine engagement between legal theory, theoretical computer science, and philosophy. To achieve this, thearticles follow a unique format: the main text is followed by a reply from an expert from ‘across the aisle’, who discusses the topic from their disciplinary standpoint. The author then replies, creating a true dialogue between fields.

The journal kicks off with an invited article by Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, former Justice of the German Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, who was part of the Court when it decided the seminal case that established the fundamental right to the guarantee of the confidentiality and integrity of information technology systems. By inviting him to contribute to the opening issue of CRCL we emphasise our close attention to legal practice. This is where computational law will be resisted, used or even fostered. CRCL wishes to raise questions as to (1) when the introduction of legal technologies should be resisted and on what grounds, (2) how and under what conditions they can be integrated into the practice of law and legal research and (3) how their integration may inform, erode or enhance legal protection and the rule of law.

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