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13.3.2023
German-Japanese Workshop on Platform Regulation
On March 13, 2023, Prof. Busch hosted a German-Japanese workshop on legal issues of platform regulation at the European Legal Studies Institute. During the workshop, Prof. Kunihiro Nakata (Ryukoku University), Prof. Naoko Kano (Keio University), Prof. Antonios Karaiskos (Kyoto University) and Prof. Naoko Kawamura (Kokugakuin University) reported on recent legal policy developments in Japan. Prof. Busch and his team presented an overview of the Digital Services Act and the forthcoming reform of product liability rules for online marketplaces. The workshop took place within the framework of the two-year DAAD project "Towards Regulation Cooperation between the EU and Japan". More information on the project is available here.
1.12.2022
Professor Busch appointed as Advisor to the German Government on Consumer Policy
Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch has been appointed to the Expert Council for Consumer Affairs, which advises the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection. The Expert Council consists of nine members, appointed for four years, and provides policy guidance on issues of consumer protection and sustainability. Further information is available at the website of the Expert Council.
25.11.2022
KLRI Global Legal Conference in Seoul
On November 24, 2022 Professor Christoph Busch participated as Keynote Speaker at the 2022 KLRI Global Legal Conference in Seoul, which was organized by the Korea Legislation Research Institute (KLRI). In his Keynote Address Professor Busch presented an overview of the current developments in the field of platform regulation in the European Union. Other topics at the conference, which also featured speakers from Italy, Japan, and the United States, included AI regulation and the protection of minors in digital markets.
17.11.2022
International Product Safety Week in Brussels
On November 16, 2022, Professor Busch took part in a panel discussion in Brussels at the invitation of the European Commission. Panelists included representatives of consumer organizations, online businesses and national enforcement authorities. The debate focused on the Digital Services Act, the draft EU Product Safety Regulation, and the convergence of social media and e-commerce ("social commerce"). The panel on the topic "Quo vadis e-commerce: What's next for product safety?" was organized as part of the International Product Safety Week.
8.9.2022
European Law Institute Annual Meeting in Madrid
At this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Law Institute (ELI), Professor Christoph Busch and Professor Teresa Rodriguez de las Heras Ballel (Madrid) presented the preliminary results of the new ELI project "Guiding Principles and Model Rules on Algorithmic Contracts". The ELI Annual Meeting was held in Madrid, Sept. 5-8, 2022. More information on the ELI project on algorithmic contracts is available here.
19.5.2022
New Lecture Series: "Osnabrück Lectures on European Legal Studies"
On 19 May 2022 Professor Lena Sisula-Tulokas (University of Helsinki) gave the inaugural speech of the new lecture series "Osnabrück lectures on European Legal Studies". Professor Sisula-Tulokas discussed the topic "Sales law and climate considerations - an odd pair?"
The Osnabrück Lectures on European Legal Studies offer a forum for academic exchange on current legal issues in Europe. The lecture series is aimed at researchers, students and all other interested audience. Further lectures in the series are will be organized once or twice per semester.
1.5.2022
Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference at Yale
On May 1, 2022 Professor Busch participated in this year's Freedom of Expression Scholars Conference (FESC) at Yale Law Law School. He presented his new paper "Regulating the Expanding Content Moderation Universe: European Perspectives on Infrastructure Moderation" (available here). FESC is an annual event at Yale Law School hosted by the Abrams Institute for Free Expression. The conference brings together scholars and practitioners to discuss works-in-progress and has been a fixture on the calendar of leading First Amendment thinkers from the United States and beyond. In addition to his work in Osnabrück, Professor Busch has been a Visiting Fellow at the Yale Information Society Project since 2020, where he conducts research on current issues in platform regulation.
1.4.2022
Professor Leonhard Hübner joins the European Legal Studies Institute
From 1 April 2022, Prof. Dr. Leonhard Hübner, MJur (Oxon) will join the European Legal Studies Institute as Professor of Civil Law, Private International Law and European Private and Commercial Law. In this position, he will be the successor to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christian von Bar, FBA.
Professor Hübner received his doctorate in Heidelberg with a dissertation on conflict of laws. In 2021, he obtained his habilitation in Heidelberg with a thesis on corporate liability for human rights violations. At Osnabrück, his research will focus in particular on due diligence obligations of companies in their supply chain and the intersection of business law and climate change. In addition, his research will address fundamental questions of conflict of laws. Professor Hübner will primarily teach courses on civil law, conflict of laws and comparative law, commercial and corporate law as well as European business law.
Prof. Dr. Christoph Busch, the Managing Director of the European Legal Studies Institute, underlines: "We are really excited that Professor Hübner joins the Institute. He is an excellent scholar and his research interests perfectly complement the profile of our Institute. We warmly welcome Professor Hübner and are very much looking forward to working with him!"
11.3.2022
Modern Studies in Property Law Conference at Oxford
Professor Busch has been invited to present his new paper "Granular Property Law: Recalibrating the Numerus Clausus of Property Rights in the Internet of Things" at the 14th Biennial Modern Studies in Property Law Conference (MSPL) at St. John's College, Oxford, on March 29-31, 2022. MSPL is an international forum attracting scholars with research interests in property law from Cambridge, Harvard, NYU, Oxford, Yale, and other world-leading institutions. In 2022, Osnabrück University is the only German University represented at MSPL.
25.2.2022
European Law Institute: New Project on Algorithmic Contracts
Professor Busch has been appointed by the European Law Institute (ELI) as a Reporter for the new ELI Project on Algorithmic Contracts. The two-year project, which is co-funded by the European Commission, will focus on the use of Algorithmic Decision-Making (ADM), in particular AI-driven learning systems, in the various stages of the contract lifecycle. The aim of the project team is to conduct first an "ADM readiness test" in order to assess the adequacy of the existing EU consumer law and, subsequently, to elaborate guiding principles and model rules for the use of ADM in contractual relations. The project will be jointly lead by Professor Christoph Busch (Osnabrück), Professor Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballel (Madrid), Professor Christian Twigg-Flesner (Warwick), Professor Marie Jull Sorensen (Aalborg) and Professor Darius Szostek (Warsaw).
11.11.2021
Lecture by invitation of the Swiss Federal Office of Communications
On November 11, 2021 Professor Busch gave a lecture at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (BAKOM) as part of the workshop "Digital Public Services". In his presentation, he discussed the role of digital platforms in various sectors of services of general interest such as mobility, healthcare, and education. Professor Busch recently published a study on this topic (Regulation of digital platforms as infrastructures for services of general interest, WISO-Diskurs 09/2021).
09.11.2021
European Law Institute: High Level Expert Group Meeting
On November 9, 2021 Professor Busch participated in a meeting of the "High Level Expert Group on Automated Contracting and Enforcement in Consumer Cases" at the invitation of the European Law Institute (ELI). The participants of the working meeting, which included representatives from UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, and the European Commission, discussed plans for future ELI projects on contract law in the Internet of Things. A short report about the meeting is available on the ELI website.
29.10.2021
Lecture by invitation of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and UNCITRAL
On October 29, 2021 Professor Busch gave a lecture on out-of-court dispute settlement in the platform economy at the conference "Digital Economy: Cross-Border Trade Regulation and Online Dispute Settlement. The conference was organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and UNCITRAL. The newspaper "Legal Daily", published by the Chinese Ministry of Justice, reported about the conference and Professor Busch's lecture in its issue of November 8, 2021.
18.10.2021
Visiting Researcher from India at the European Legal Studies Institute
From October 2021, the Indian legal scholar Rhuta Deogabkar will be a Visiting Researcher hosted by Prof. Dr. Thomas Groß. Her stay at the European Legal Studies Institute is funded by a German Chancellor Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. This program supports future leaders who carry out an independent project in Germany. Ms. Deobagkar is studying the reception of refugees in Germany in order to elaborate suggestions for improving the situation in India.
22.9.2021
49th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy in Washington, D.C.
On September 22, 2021 Professor Busch presented his paper "Rethinking Product Liability Rules for Online Marketplaces: A Comparative Perspective" at TPRC49, the 49th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy, which was held virtually in Washington, D.C. TPRC49, which is one of the foremost conferences in its field, brings together experts from academia, industry, and government. This year's programme featured speakers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale Law School, Columbia University, the European University Institute and other researchers from the U.S. and around the world. The draft paper by Professor Busch is available on SSRN. A video of his presentation is available at YouTube.
21.9.2021
Study on personalized consumer law presented at the German Federal Ministry of Justice
On September 21, 2021 Professor Busch presented the findings of a study on future legal framework for personalized consumer information at the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection in Berlin. The study, commissioned by Federal Ministry, explores how pre-contractual consumer information could be personalized by using algorithmic recommender systems. The study and a report (both in German) about the event is available on the website of the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.
5.7.2021
Annual Conference of the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency
On July 5, 2021 Professor Busch gave a lecture on consumer protection in the platform economy at the Annual Conference of the Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA). The conference was held to mark the the first anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Headquarters for Frontiers of Consumer Policy in Tokushima, which was established as a model project of the CAA. A recording of the meeting is available on Youtube. Professor Busch's lecture (in English with Japanese subtitles) starts at 1:30 h mark of the recoding.
16.6.2021
49th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy in Washington, D.C.
Professor Busch has been invited to present his paper "Rethinking Product Liability Rules for Online Marketplaces: A Comparative Perspective" at the 49th Annual Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy (TPRC49), which will be held virtually in Washington, D.C. on September 22-24, 2021. TPRC49, which is one of the foremost conferences in its field, brings together experts from academia, industry, and government. This year's programme features speakers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale Law School, Columbia University, the European University Institute and other researchers from the U.S. and around the world. The draft paper by Professor Busch is available on SSRN.
5.6.2021
ELSI Osnabrück Research Paper Series
Working papers, pre-prints and published research from the members of the Institute are now available in the new ELSI Osnabrück Research Paper Series. The first papers in the new series cover a broad range of topics ranging from Constitutional Law and climate change via platform regulation and product liability to personalized law.
4.6.2021
Conference on the Digital Services Act at the German Federal Ministry of Justice
On June 14, 2021, Professor Busch will give the keynote speech at the conference "Digital Services Act - Making the Internet Fair Again," hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. Speakers at the conference include members of the European Parliament and representatives of the European Commission who will address current issues in platform regulation. The focus will be on the liability of online marketplaces and the regulation of personalized online advertising. Registration for the conference is possible until 9 May 2021.
11.5.2021
Workshop at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law
On 11 May 2021 Professor Busch participated in the Workshop "Applying Product Liability Rules to Online Platforms" at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and presented a comparative paper on product liability of online marketplaces. The workshop which was organized by Professor Duncan Fairgrieve (BIICL).
5.3.2021
Consumer Law Scholars Conference 2021
On 5 March 2021, Professor Busch presented his paper "Rethinking Product Liability for Online Marketplaces: A Comparative Perspective" at the Consumer Law Scholars Conference 2021. The conference, hosted by the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice and and Boston University, featured scholars from the Americas, Europe, and Australia who discussed current issues in consumer law. The working paper presented by Professor Busch is available on SSRN.
