Schriften des IRDT

Democracy as an EU Value

Koen Lenaerts — 2025-08-25

The Law Faculty of Trier University and the Digital Law Institute Trier (IRDT) are proud to publish the first lecture of our new “Trier Lectures on the Future of Europe”. This lecture series will provide a forum to develop and discuss fun damental questions regarding the future of Europe. The European way of life, European integration and European values cannot be taken for granted. Alternative models are on the rise. Can Europe preserve and develop its ideas of democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights, international peace, and solidarity even when facing fierce political competition or war? And does Europe find good solutions to the great challenges of our time, including climate change, technological progress, migration, war or antidemocratic backlash? The lecture series will give prominent speakers an opportunity to treat these questions and to discuss them with a broader audience. Trier, a city of Roman heritage, located in the heart of Europe and close to many European institutions, is the ideal place to host this encounter.

We are very honoured that Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, opened this series on January 24, 2025 with his lecture on “Democracy as an EU value” and we look forward to the lectures and encounters that will follow.

Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Rights

Benjamin — 2025-08-21

Due to a technical error, the ISBN had to be replaced. The new ISBN is 9783565013197.

As AI technologies rapidly reshape societies, they pose both tremendous opportunities and serious risks—especially to fundamental rights. In response, the European Union has enacted the groundbreaking AI Act: a legal framework designed to foster innovation while safeguarding democratic values, human autonomy, and the rule of law. But has this delicate balance been struck successfully?

This volume, emerging from the 2024 annual conference of the Digital Law Institute Trier, critically examines the EU’s rights-driven approach to AI regulation. From the perspectives of leading scholars and practitioners—including those directly involved in drafting and implementing the Act—it offers deep insights into the legal, ethical, and technical foundations of the AI Act and its global significance. With contributions on prohibited AI practices, the risk-based regulatory model, and key obligations like data governance and human oversight, the book explores how AI can be regulated to protect fundamental rights without stifling innovation. The book concludes with a comparative view on AI regulation from the United States and Asia.

Overview:

Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Rights | Antje von Ungern-Sternberg | P. 1

The AI Act – brief introduction | Irina Orssich | P. 7

From Definition to Regulation: Is the European Union Getting AI Right? | Joanna J. Bryson | P. 11

Prohibited AI Practices under the EU AI Act | Patricia García Majado | P. 35

Risk Narrative: Deconstructing the AIA’s Risk-Based Approach as a Regulatory Heuristic | Tobias Mahler | P. 57

Data Governance under the AI Act | Lea Ossmann-Magiera, Lisa Markschies | P. 75

Human Oversight under the AI Act and its interplay with Art. 22 GDPR | Tristan Radtke | P. 91

The Regulatory Approach of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act | David Restrepo Amariles, Aurore Troussel | P. 111

The US Perspective | Margaret Hu | P. 129

AI Governance and Asia Aspect | I-Ping Wang | P. 135

Digitale Resilienz

Benjamin Raue — 2024-04-12

Volatilität, Unsicherheit, Komplexität und Ambiguität prägen das aktuelle Weltgeschehen. Das wirkt sich auf digitale Systeme aus, die zunehmend anfällig für Bedrohungen und Störungen sind. Mit der fast flächendeckenden Verbreitung digitaler Technologien steigen Risiken durch Fehlfunktionen und Datenmanipulationen. Die Folge sind Ransomware oder andere Cyberattacken. Ziel ist daher, die digitale Resilienz zu erhöhen. Damit gehen technische und rechtliche Herausforderungen einher, insbesondere wie Sicherheitslücken geschlossen und insgesamt die Sicherheit von Software erhöht werden kann.

Dieser Band adressiert folgende Themen:
▪ Sicherheit und Sicherheitslücken
▪ Vertragliche Ansprüche auf Sicherheitsaktualisierungen
▪ Staatliche Verantwortung für sichere Software
▪ Die Rolle des BSI in der Bekämpfung von Sicherheitslücken
▪ Durchsetzung privater Ansprüche auf Sicherheitsupdates
▪ Compliance-Anreize durch Cyberversicherungen

Übersicht der Beiträge:

Einleitung - Digitale Resilienz: Effektives Recht auf sichere Software? | Benjamin Raue | S. 1

Vertragliche Ansprüche auf Sicherheitsaktualisierungen? | Thomas Riehm, Malte Leithäuser und Raphael Brenner | S. 5

Staatliche Verantwortung für sichere Software | Christian Ernst | S. 39

Staatliche Nutzung von IT-Sicherheitslücken – Grundzüge des staatlichen Schwachstellenmanagements | Thomas Wischmeyer | S. 57

Welche Befugnisse braucht das BSI, um IT-Sicherheitslücken bekämpfen zu können? | Steve Ritter | S. 79

Recht ohne Realisierungschance? Zur (kollektiven) Durchsetzung privater Ansprüche auf Sicherheitsupdates | Wiebke Voß | S. 97

Compliance-Anreize durch Cyberversicherungen: Obliegenheiten zur Vermeidung von Informationssicherheitsverletzungen | Christian Armbrüster | S. 115

Urheberrechte in der digitalen Schule

Carina Mäs — 2023-06-29

Darf ich Bilder aus dem Internet in meine Materialien einbauen, Musik aktueller Künstler im Unterricht vorführen oder Videos im Unterricht abspielen? – Fragen, die sich in der digitalen Schule tagtäglich stellen, denn im modernen Klassenzimmer ist nahezu jede Mediennutzung urheberrechtlich relevant.

Carina Mäs untersucht, wie auf Grundlage der – auf den europäischen Vorgaben der InfoSoc-RL und DSM-RL beruhenden – Unterrichtsschranke § 60a UrhG urheberrechtskonform gelehrt und gelernt werden kann und in welchen Fällen Nutzungshandlungen weiter der Zustimmung der Rechteinhaber bedürfen. Dabei zeigt sie im Lichte der jüngsten Reformen auf, inwieweit die Rahmenbedingungen des Bildungsurheberrechts einer weiteren Anpassung bedürfen.

Content Regulation in the European Union

Antje von Ungern-Sternberg — 2023-05-23

Illegal and (lawful, but) harmful content – most notably hate speech and fake news, but also violent videos, copyright infringement, or child pornography – is a crucial problem on digital platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter. The EU’s 2022 Digital Services Act aims at tackling this problem by introducing an updated horizontal framework for all categories of content and activities on intermediary services. This raises several questions. How far do – national and European – free speech guarantees go? If hate speech can be banned to protect the victims’ rights, how can the prohibition of fake news be justified? What is the remaining leeway of the platforms for private content moderation? Who is responsible for fighting and taking down illegal content? How can the victims of de-platforming, content takedowns or shadow banning claim their right to freedom of opinion? Finally, how will these legal responsibilities be enforced? These questions are addressed in the articles of the edited volume, proceeding from the 2022 Annual Conference of the Institute for Digital Law Trier (IRDT).

Übersicht der Beiträge:

The Digital Services Act: Introduction and Overview | Lea Katharina Kumkar | p. 1

Potentials and Limits of Filter Technology for the Regulation of Hate Speech and Fake News | Martin Steinebach | p. 13

Freedom of Speech goes Europe - EU Laws for Online Communication | Antje von Ungern-Sternberg | p. 27

Taking or Escaping Legislative Responsibility? EU Fundamental Rights and Content Regulation under the DSA | Mattias Wendel | p. 59

The Digital Services Act: A General Assessment | Florence G’Sell | p. 85

Impacts of the Digital Services Act on the Facebook „Hate Speech“ decision by the German Federal Court of Justice | Ruth Janal | p. 119