Objective: to identify theoretical and legal problems associated with the steadily increasing spread of digital and biotechnologies’ development products; to assess the risks associated with this process that can change the position of a human in the society of the future; to develop and substantiate proposals to minimize risks and eliminate the identified problems through legal regulation.

Methods: the research is based on the methods of generalization of scientific and technical information and theoretical analysis used while studying the source materials; axiological and systematic approaches; the formal legal method and, in addition, methods of legal forecasting, primarily extrapolation, which made it possible to highlight the prospects for reforming law due to technological expansion.

Results: include a description of the dynamics of digital and bio-technologies’ development; a description of the changing social landscape with the emerging new types of entities that can affect the actual status of a human; a classification of risks threatening people due to the digital and biotechnologies development; a list of tasks whose solution based on law will help to eliminate, postpone or, at least, significantly reduce the severity of problems by increasing the time limit allotted to humanity to comprehend a number of conceptual points. The author presents arguments substantiating the need to develop special legal regulation in relation to new types of entities, the appearance of which becomes an inevitable result of the mentioned technologies’ development.

Scientific novelty: consists, first, in a comprehensive study of the development of interconnected groups of digital and biotechnologies, taking into account their increasing convergence; and, second, in the formulation of legal problems that need to be resolved due to the potential emergence of new types of entities with cognitive functions and capable of having a targeted intellectual impact on the environment and legal entities.

Practical significance: it is present in the answers given to the formulated legal questions, which contain suggestions and recommendations on the necessary adjustment of legal regulation and focus the attention of legal scholars on the problems arising from the pace and vectors of scienceconsuming technologies’ development.

Objective: to show the evolution of the state interests concept and its application in cyberspace, where it turns out to be fundamental for the development of state military policy aimed at protecting national interests.

Methods: the research is based on the intersection of the theory of law and the concept of cyber interests of the state through the prism of the theory of legitimate interests (Rechtsgutstheorie). The latter was originally developed within the criminal law science, but with prospects for studying the concept of state interests in cyberspace. The application of the theory of legitimate interests made it possible to study the state cyber interests concept and determine its legal classification and applications. In particular, the theory of legitimate interests in this study is used to explore the legal perspectives of the concept of state interests in cyberspace as interests subject to legal protection.

Results: it is determined that in the dynamic landscape of cyberspace, there are multifaceted interests of states related to national security, economic prosperity, sovereignty and diplomacy. To ensure their protection, states initiate strategies that generate a variety of political and legal consequences in international relations. This fact determines the importance of studying the concept of state interests from a legal viewpoint, as well as their legal status and consequences. Parallels are drawn between the concept of protected legal interests within the theory of legitimate interests and cyber interests that states seek to protect. The theory requires balancing the competing interests; hence, its applicability to the actions of the state in cyberspace is considered. The obstacles are identified, that hinder applying the theory of legitimate interests to cyberspace, including difficulties of attribution, damage thresholds and the need for global consensus. The author shows the evolution of the concept of state interests, which determines the possibility of its application in cyberspace, where it serves the purposes of developing state policy aimed at protecting national interests.

Scientific novelty: it is expressed in the reflection of the theory of legitimate interests to the formation of the legal concept of cyber interests of the state, which serves as a sufficient justification for the protection of specific cyber interests.

Practical significance: the main conclusions outlined in the article can be used to identify cyberspace interests subject to legal protection (such as confidentiality, data integrity, sovereignty, and economic stability). They may also improve legal mechanisms for protecting national interests in cyberspace, ensure uniformity of relevant international judicial practice, and improve the efficiency and quality of state policy management in cyberspace in order to ensure security and peaceful coexistence.

Objective: an intensive discussion is currently going on globally on digitalization and automation of providing services in public institutions, which corresponds to the technological development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The use of digital technologies is crucial to create an optimized service delivery system. In African countries, attention is increasingly paid to the automation and digitalization of judicial activities, due to concerns about the risks of influencing justice systems. In light of this, the article is aimed at forming a promising model for the introduction and implementation of digitalization in Zimbabwe courts.

Methods: the research is based on the methods of scientific analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction, legal modeling, formal legal and comparative legal methods.

Results: the article provides an overview of the measures taken to digitalize the system of administration of justice in various states. It also examines best practices and reveals the essence of digitalization in the judicial system in Zimbabwe. The authors identify the main existing and promising directions of the impact of digitalization on the judicial system of Zimbabwe and show the ways to promptly and effectively convert the system of justice administration into a digital format. The article identifies the advantages of digital data processing in judicial bodies and obstacles to the use of digital systems in the administration of justice. The latter result in the insufficient optimality of the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS).

Scientific novelty: the study builds an optimal model for the introduction of digital technologies into the judicial system in Zimbabwe, aimed at improving the efficiency of courts digitalization and transforming the justice administration system. The authors proved that the crucial factors of achieving this goal are the auxiliary infrastructure of information and communication technologies, the level of education and awareness of citizens, and the ongoing state and legal policy.

Practical significance: it is expected that the proposed model to implement digitalization in Zimbabwe courts and improve its efficiency will allow for the comprehensive and uninterrupted implementation of IECMS.

Objective: to determine the potential and acceptability of using artificial intelligence in legal activities according to the Nigerian law.

Methods: the research is based on scientific analysis, as well as formallegal, comparative-legal, historical-legal and systemic-functional methods. The scope of the research is represented by the norms of legislation, including expired normative legal acts, as well as scientific monographic and periodical literature.

Results: It was found that artificial intelligence and robot lawyers are inevitable innovations in the legal practice of many countries, including Nigeria. The use of these digital technologies has proven to be highly effective in activities related to the administration of justice, providing assistance in four areas of legal services: consulting and guidance, searching for materials, data analysis and forecasting the trial results. Technology greatly facilitates the work of lawyers, given the amount of legal services. In addition, the author show that while the use of artificial intelligence may generally be considered justified, the involvement of robot lawyers in legal practice in Nigeria facesboth legal and ethical barriers. The laws on legal education and legal practice in force in this country do not recognize robot lawyers as persons licensed to practice law in Nigeria. Robot lawyers must be given the status of a person before they can fully implement their potential in the legal practice of Nigeria.

Scientific novelty: this is primarily due to the formulation of a research task to determine the possibility of a robot acting as a practicing lawyer within the legal framework in Nigeria.

Practical significance: the conclusions formulated in the paper, namely, the inevitability of using artificial intelligence and robot lawyers in legal practice and the current legislation governing legal practice in Nigeria, will be useful when considering amendments to legislation in order to adapt it to the current level of digital technology development.

Objective: to determine the legal implications of the development of autonomous and creative AI-based avatars and to shape the direction of the discourse on the responsible management of AI technologies in the meta-universe based on proactive interdisciplinary approaches.

Methods: the research is based on a doctrinal legal approach, which allowed presenting a prospective analysis of the legal landscape in the field of AI avatars in the metaverse and to identify four key thematic areas of research: the evolution of AI avatars and the impact of the metaverse, the applicability of legal personhood, the liability for autonomous actions, and the problems of AI avatars in the field of creativity related to intellectual property and privacy.

Results: the paper presents and analyzes predictive scenarios of AI avatars maximizing their influence in the metaverse space. The author notes that the emergence of AI-based avatars in the metaverse raises complex legal, ethical, philosophical and social issues that require urgent solutions. The potential impact of the increasing complexity of AI avatars on legal approaches is considered. As avatars become increasingly autonomous, questions arise about their legal status, rights, responsibilities, risks, and benefits to humans and society. The author analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of giving AI avatars the status of legal entities, as well as applying the concept of distributed responsibility to the consequences of their actions. Special attention is paid to the possible future dominance of super-intelligent AI-based avatars in the metaverse, taking into account the existing risks and needs in the field of governance.

Scientific novelty: the article presents a new perspective on the problem of legal personality in the metaverse based on interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution of AI avatars. The research is aimed at achieving a balance between transformational potential and the protection of human rights and welfare through joint efforts. It is proposed to create legal and ethical norms that prioritize the safety and consistency of artificial intelligence technologies involved in the processes occurring in the metaverse.

Practical significance: the conclusions and proposed solutions to the legal problems of personhood and liability can become the basis for revising the concept of legal personality, developing reliable mechanisms of responsibility and accountability, as well as ensuring the protection of human rights and values in the face of increasingly powerful entities based on artificial intelligence. This is associated with the formation and improvement of the legal landscape of process management and overcoming risks in the socially oriented and inclusive ecosystem of the metaverse.

Objective: to identify the prospects and directions of copyright law development associated with the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence.

Methods: the study is based on the formal-legal, comparative, historical methods, doctrinal analysis, legal forecasting and modeling.

Results: the article states that the emergence of generative artificial intelligence makes one rethink the processes occurring in the field of creative activity and the traditional copyright system, which becomes inadequate to modern realities. The author substantiates the necessity of legal reassessment of copyright and emphasizes the urgent need for updated means of copyright protection. Unlike previous digital tools, which expanded human creativity by improving original works, generative artificial intelligence creates content through complex algorithmic processes, blurring the boundaries of authorship and originality. The research shows limitations of existing intellectual property law, as courts deny copyright in works created by artificial intelligence and insist on the need for “human authorship”. Such decisions emphasize the contradiction between existing laws and the reality of co-creation involving artificial intelligence. It is argued that taking into account the creative potential of generative artificial intelligence will facilitate the evolution of copyright law towards hybrid approaches, with artificial intelligence as an integral, albeit secondary, tool. It seems promising to create flexible intellectual property standards that give artists the opportunity to restrict or authorize the use of their works as training data for artificial intelligence, as well as ensure that authors retain control over their works included in datasets for training artificial intelligence, in case copyright metadata is integrated into digital works, etc.

Scientific novelty: based on the analysis of the latest judicial precedents, modern international regulations and evolving institutional practices, the author proposes a balanced adaptive approach to copyright reform to ensure the ethical integration of generative artificial intelligence into the creative ecosystem and to develop flexible copyright protection measures that correspond to the rapid technological progress.

Practical significance: the proposed combined approach will allow generative AI tools to become part of the human creative process in the same way that previous generations used digital tools. At the same time, it will contribute to the creation of an environment where the autonomy of authors is respected. This will not only protect the creators of creative content, but also broaden the understanding of creativity as a collaboration with generative artificial intelligence, where artificial intelligence is positioned as a force that complements but not replaces humans in creativity.

Objective: to identify the main issues of victimization as a result of cybercrime growth in the world in general and in Nigerian society in particular from the standpoint of sociological approaches, using a Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF), which comprises geopolitical, psychosocial and socioeconomic categories of cybercrime.

Methods: the methodology is based on the sociological research method. The data collection included the distribution of a questionnaire among 896 participants from the academic environment, including students and university staff, and the analysis of the responses. The presented data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, with special attention to the issues of gender inequality, socio-economic factors, the impact of educational level on vulnerability to online fraud and victimization as a result of cybercrime through the prism of the ideal victim concept and the socio-economic gap between North and South.

Results: the article presents an analysis of the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework. The survey showed that 65.20% of the participants had been victims of cybercrime. There were more men among the victims (64.69%). The authors found patterns in the distribution of cybercrimes. All cybercrimes against the respondent were socio-economic ones, which underlines the high frequency of cybercrime and the relevance of countering it in Nigerian society. Special attention was paid to the issues of gender inequality, socio-economic factors, and the impact of education on vulnerability to cybercrime. The article considers from the viewpoint of the ideal victim concept. The study results provide an idea of the prevalence and distribution of specific types of cybercrime in the socio-economic category among the studied population.

Scientific novelty: For the first time, the study uses the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF) to study victimization as a result of cybercrime in Nigerian society. The research novelty is also due to the fact that the conceptual foundations of countering cybercrime that have developed in the global North are not fully applicable in Nigeria.

Practical significance: the results obtained demonstrate the need to apply carefully calibrated gender-based, inclusive and contextual approaches to the development of a national legal policy to combat cybercrime. The results can be used to justify the law-making decisions which are being developed in the field of preventing and countering manifestations of cybercrime, as well as to form the basis for legal measures to protect cybercrime victims.

Objective: to form of a comprehensive interdisciplinary legal and technological risk management model in the field of illegal cross-border transfer of personal data by eliminating legislative gaps and creating a system for automated control of outgoing information flows, as well as expert response to identified incidents.

Methods: in addition to general dialectical and general scientific methods, special legal and cybernetic methods were used. For example, based on comparative legal analysis, the authors reveal differences between national and international regulation of cross-border flows of personal data. In the second section, the modeling method allows forming an algorithm for identifying information security incidents in the field of cross-border transfer of personal data and responding to them.

Results: the article formulates proposals to optimize legislation in the field under study by introducing specialized protective norms for violating the rules of cross-border transfer of personal data and stipulating the operator’s obligation to notify personal data subjects of the intention to transfer the information abroad. The second section describes the concept of a software package designed to detect information security incidents in the field under consideration, as well as a model of action of an authorized representative of the operator after receiving a signal from the automated system.

Scientific novelty: to solve the set problem, the work combines the knowledge and competencies of legal scientists and specialists in the field of information security, which allows an interdisciplinary approach. At the same time, it is stated that the issues of illegal crossborder transfer of personal data have not received proper coverage in science today, since Russian legislation in this area has changed recently. The authors propose not so much to strengthen the sanction for legislation violation in this area, as to ensure the punishment of persons who commit cyberattacks, and to equip personal data operators with an effective tool to minimize the risks of information leakage.

Practical significance: the research results can be used to improve legislation in the field of cross-border transfer of personal data and the organization of activities of authorized employees of the personal data operator for risk management in this area.

Objective: to categorize cyber attacks in the national and international legal sytems and to define legal measures to counter them at the international level.

Methods: include doctrinal legal analysis, formal legal, comparative legal methods, synthesis, induction, deduction, as well as methods of legal forecasting and modeling. International legal documents and acts of national legislation, judicial precedents, and doctrinal sources were studied.

Results: the article defines the legal consequences of cyberattacks, identifies difficulties in determining and holding individuals and organizations accountable for their commission, identifies national measures to counter cyberattacks based on the principle of proportionality, and systematizes the international legal framework for responding to cyberattacks. The main focus is on the urgent problems of identifying and verifying cyber weapons, establishing international standards for their use, developing methods of disarmament or limiting offensive cyber capabilities. The authors raise the issue of ensuring humanitarian activities, protecting critical infrastructure and the population through cybersecurity measures in wartime. The legal framework is analyzed; gaps and other defects are identified in the current regulation of exercising jurisdiction in such areas of cyber activity as international transactions, data localization and extraterritorial enforcement of national legislation. The parameters were developed and described within which states may conduct proactive cyber operations to prevent or deter cyberattacks (cyber countermeasures). The main parameters are due diligence, legal decisions on using cyber countermeasures, proportionality of protection measures to the consequences of illegal actions.

Scientific novelty: this is due to the progressive solutions in the field of international legal regulation of cyber countermeasures by states responding to cybercrime. The solutions are formulated taking into account the impact of the countermeasures on human and civil rights and freedoms, including the right to privacy and freedom of speech.

Practical significance: the research results can be used to develop and improve international legal instruments in the field of combating cyberattacks and ensuring cybersecurity, and can serve as a model for national legislators when designing law-making solutions to counter cybercrime.

Objective: based on a systematic analysis of the actual level of international cooperation in overcoming digital inequality, to determine the parameters of its further development, taking into account modern legal and other barriers and global challenges caused by the transition from the knowledge economy to the data economy.

Methods: the methodological basis of the research is represented by dialectics, comparative legal and historical legal approaches, and the method of system analysis.

Results: the problem of digital inequality was considered in the following key aspects: access to the Internet; differences in the level of digital literacy; features of technology use and the versatility of digital inequality. It is noted that access to the Internet and digital technologies should become one of the fundamental human rights in order to ensure equal opportunities for all segments of society, since initially the crystallization of clearly expressed digital differences is based on the existing offline social differences. It was established that, in order to successfully overcome digital inequality, the key global task is to develop digital skills and literacy among the population. It is also important to stimulate the rational use of technologies and ensure people’s understanding of working with both the technologies and the data obtained through them. The authors propose to expand and deepen cooperation between developed and developing countries so that the latter can produce more data that may serve as a metric and a basis for creating development strategies. At the same time, greater transparency should be ensured by providing effective and accessible means so that the data owner can clearly understand who and why processes their personal data. The article argues that the transition from the knowledge economy to the data economy requires the adaptation of international cooperation strategies to ensure equitable access to both data and their processing. This may accelerate scientific discoveries and support inclusive economic development. The issues of fragmentation and defragmentation of international law are analyzed.

Scientific novelty: it is due to the current lack of scientific results concerning the level of international cooperation achieved so far in overcoming digital inequality given the parameters of its systemic development and the main (legal and other) barriers.

Practical significance: the study results can be used to improve the legal framework and strategies for international cooperation in overcoming digital inequality to ensure equitable access to data and their processing.

Objective: to develop approaches and proposals to improve the legal mechanisms for the personal data protection in the context of the evolving digital markets and the growing digital competition.

Methods: the article is prepared based on formal legal and comparative legal research methods.

Results: the unique features of digital markets are shown, which must be taken into account to achieve the goals of antimonopoly legislation. It is marked that the fundamental elements of the digital market include the big data concept and big data analytics, which, based on digital platforms, are capable of producing many direct and indirect network effects. The latter require understanding for an effective antitrust response and the application of appropriate legislation. The author proves that the growth of digital platforms as a business model and vital infrastructure of the digital economy should be viewed as a factor in improving legal regulation of relations in the sphere of data protection and confidentiality. The paper identifies the potential of digital platforms for assessing the current market power and the impact of competition on limiting this power. The data are considered as an integral component of the overall competitive market landscape. The current European Union regulation in the field of digital platforms and personal data protection is analyzed. The author identifies difficulties associated with the creation and application of effective regulations governing the activities of digital platforms. The article proves that antimonopoly authorities need to change approaches to analytics in order to take into account the distinctive features of digital platforms. It is noted that such changes may require legislative reforms and revision of procedures to match the rapid development of these markets and ensure that any potentially anticompetitive behavior is thoroughly investigated.

Scientific novelty: the research contributes to the development of approaches to determining indicators of ensuring the personal data confidentiality under the digitalization of markets and to evaluating the effectiveness of antimonopoly legislation and its application in a new competitive environment.

Practical significance: the results obtained can be used as a basis for improving antimonopoly and personal data protection legislation, as well as legal regulation of digital platforms in general.