Digital Law in the Russian Court Practice: Key Results of 2021

Abstract

The development of new technologies and the subsequent digitalization of the economy significantly affect legal relations, forcing us to rethink the usual institutions and establishing new problems that have not arisen before. The legal system can change, adapt and meet new challenges in two basic and interrelated ways: regulatory (that is, the adoption of new regulatory legal acts) and in the course of judicial resolution of legal conflicts that have developed within a particular dispute. The article provides an overview of the most significant cases considered by Russian courts in the field of digital law in 2021. A selection of court decisions was carried out in four areas of emerging judicial practice: 1) use of cryptocurrencies and other electronic currencies; 2) protection of intellectual property; 3) protection of personal data and information; and 4) violation of antitrust laws. The purpose of the article is to establish the current status of the development of law enforcement in the field of digital law in Russia and to demonstrate the multidirectional nature of legal relations, which are part of the subject area of digital law as an academic discipline. As a result, the main trends in the consideration of disputes by courts over the past year are determined.