Events ranging from the Snowden incident to the actions of the Islamic State group have led lawyers to question how to bring laws up-to-date in a technologically changing society.
The Texas A&M Law School will host a law symposium on Friday, titled “New Technology and Old Law.” Speakers from all over the country will attend to express their thoughts on this issue.
“The conference is focused on the novel legal issues that arise with quickly evolving technology and how such rapid development in technology is creating new legal questions — ones that have never arisen in the past,” Sahar Aziz, associate law professor and symposium speaker, said.
As the symposium includes speakers from across the country, Dwayne Lewis, symposia editor at the law school, said the event should bring some good attention to the University.
“The presentations that will be given here will attract a lot of really good national attention as far as Texas A&M Law and Texas A&M as a whole,” Lewis said.
The symposium will focus on how current events have led to discussions on how to better shape laws related to technology use.
“We’ll be talking about data and surveillance,” Aziz said. ”Also about drones both abroad and domestically and the impact of biological threats and how that impacts national security and foreign policy.”
William Banks, professor and director of the Institute of National Security and Counter-terrorism at the Maxwell School of Law at Syracuse University, will be the symposium’s keynote speaker.
“The proliferation of the internet and cyber technology has enabled lots of good things to happen, including in the intelligence realm and in the commercial world,”
Banks said. “The same technology that enables us to learn about bad things also allows other governments and private actors to cause great economic harm and also threaten national security.”
Banks is well versed in the topics of national security, counter-terrorism, cyber-terror and constitutional law. He said he will go into all of these topics during his presentation.
“I’m going to explore the legal landscape there,” Banks said. “The bottom line is that there is very little international law that constrains these activities in cyberspace. And I think that the cost of economic espionage along with the revelation of the Snowden leaks, about government over reaching in there own activities, has created an opportunity of some new development in international law norms to help bring some order in recent situations.”
Lewis said Banks has been involved with national security law for over 30 years.
“Professor Banks has basically written the book on national security and counterterrorism. We are so honored to have him speak at our symposium,” Lewis said.
The symposium will bring scholars to the law school from across the country, Aziz said.
“All of the professors in attendance are nationally known scholars who are experts in National Security,” Aziz said. “The fact that they’ve accepted to speak at Texas A&M Law School is evidence that our law school is a desirable place to be and to present.”
Aziz said she hopes students that attend will walk away with a new perspective on law and its place in the national security sector.
“I think it also provides our students a unique opportunity to be exposed to the highest level of thinking and analysis on cutting edge issues from people who are top in the field,” Aziz said.
The symposium will begin at 9 a.m. Friday in the Carter Lecture Hall in Fort Worth.