In September, membership of The European Law Institute (ELI) voted to approve ALI-ELI Principles for a Data Economy: Data Rights and Transactions, marking the completion of the first joint project between ALI and ELI. ALI membership voted to approve this project at its Annual Meeting, held in May 2021.

“I have no doubt that the ALI-ELI Principles for a Data Economy will significantly impact the subjects covered on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond, especially as they have already influenced discussions internationally and will undoubtedly continue to do so,” said ELI President Pascal Pichonnaz in a letter to project Reporters Christiane C. Wendehorst of the University of Vienna and Neil B. Cohen of Brooklyn Law School, and Chairs Lord John Thomas of ELI and Steven O. Weise of Proskauer Rose. “This is certainly an important day that will be remembered given the importance of these Principles.”

Following the completion of this project, ELI hosted a two-day conference on the Principles on October 18 and 19. The virtual conference included introductory remarks from ALI Director Richard L. Revesz and ELI President Pascal Pichonnaz followed by panel discussions presenting each Part of the Principles.

The conference consisted of five main sessions, during which each Part of the ALI-ELI Principles (on general provisions, data contracts, data rights, third-party aspects of data transactions, and multi-state issues) were presented. Following a short presentation delivered by Reporters Cohen and Wendehorst, each Part of the Principles was discussed by a panel of experts. The conference also featured a discussion with key stakeholders, with a view to shedding light on the perspectives of businesses as well as consumers.

Video recordings of each session can be found below, courtesy of the European Law Institute.

Opening Speeches & Welcome Address

Richard L. Revesz, Director of The American Law Institute
Pascal Pichonnaz, President of the European Law Institute

History of the Principles, Definitions and Underlying Concepts

Steven Weise: History, Aim and Structure of the Principles
Christiane Wendehorst: Key Concepts and Scope of the Principles
Neil Cohen: The Principles in Multi-State Settings
Moderator: Lord John Thomas

Data Contracts
Presentation of Part II of the Principles by Neil Cohen, followed by panel discussion with experts:

Atsushi Okada of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
Moritz Hennemann of the Research Center for Law and Digitization (FREDI), University of Passau
Henry Gabriel of the Uniform Law Commission
Dirk Staudenmayer of the European Commission
Moderator: Steven Weise

Data Rights
Presentation of Part III of the Principles by Christiane Wendehorst, followed by panel discussion with experts:

Teki Akuetteh Falconer of Africa Digital Rights’ Hub
Malte Beyer-Katzenberger of European Commission
Lian Yuming of Key Laboratory of Big Data Strategy
Teresa Rodríguez de las Heras Ballell of UNIDROIT
Moderator: Lord John Thomas

Third Party Aspects of Data Activities
Presentation of Part IV of the Principles by Neil Cohen and Christiane Wendehorst, followed by panel discussion with experts: