Objective: today, a significant part of professional tasks are performed in the digital environment, on digital platforms, in virtual and other meetings. This necessitates a critical reflection of traditional views on the problem of accessible environment and digital accessibility, taking into account the basic universal needs of persons with disabilities.

Methods: a gap between the traditional legal perspective on special working conditions for persons with disabilities and the urgent need of a digital workplace (digital environment) clearly shows lacunas in the understanding of accessibility, which are identified and explored with formal-legal and doctrinal methods. The multifaceted aspects of digital inclusion are revealed based on an informative approach to legislation. It leads, among other things, to searching for recommendations which would fill this gap and contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and responsible legal, social and technological environment.

Results: the research has led to a conclusion that the existing legal, social and technological paradigms need to be re-evaluated. This reevaluation should aim to develop a more inclusive and benevolent concept of accessible environment that takes into account the diversity of human experience and needs, and a wide range of behavioral and cognitive characteristics. Creating special conditions in the workplace for those with overt and covert health problems should become an integral part of the employer's focus, along with improving management efficiency.

Scientific novelty: covert (hidden) health problems have traditionally been understudied, although they include a range of mental and physical impairments, which, like explicit health problems, vary in their origin, intensity, and permanent or episodic character. This study fills a gap in the issues of disability and its legal protection, taking into account the trend of digital inclusion, the dynamic labor activity of today, and the wide range of human abilities and needs.

Practical significance: the aspects of hidden or latent disability considered in the study provide a different perspective at employment, focusing on the workplace conditions that could be created. Employers may be unaware of the need to create special working conditions for those with hidden health problems. This results in negative effects on unemployment, increased sick leave, limited opportunities in the workplace, and more. Employees are often reluctant to disclose their non-obvious health problems to employers; hence, employers should facilitate disclosure of such information by creating relevant conditions. Such an approach will contribute to the legal protection of this category of employees and to further development of the existing legislative regulation, since the latter does not fully comply with today's needs and changed reality.

Objective: this article aims to answer the following questions: 1. Can generative artificial intelligence be a subject of copyright law? 2. What risks the unregulated use of generative artificial intelligence systems can cause? 3. What legal gaps should be filled in to minimize such risks?

Methods: comparative legal analysis, sociological method, concrete sociological method, quantitative data analysis, qualitative data analysis, statistical analysis, case study, induction, deduction.

Results: the authors identified several risks of the unregulated usage of generative artificial intelligence in the creative industry, among which are: violation of copyright and labor law, violation of consumers rights and the rise of public distrust in government. They suggest that a prompt development of new legal norms can minimize these risks. In conclusion, the article constants that states have already begun to realize that the negative impact of generative artificial intelligence on the creative industry must not be ignored, hence the development of similar legal regulations in states with completely different regimes.

Scientific novelty: the article provides a comprehensive study of the impact of generative artificial intelligence on the creative industry from two perspectives: the perspective of law and the perspective of the industry. The empirical basis of it consists of two international surveys and an expert opinion of a representative of the industry. This approach allowed the authors to improve the objectivity of their research and to obtain results that can be used for finding a practical solution for the identified risks. The problem of the ongoing development and popularization of generative artificial intelligence systems goes beyond the question “who is the author?” therefore, it needs to be solved by introduction of other than the already existing mechanisms and regulations - this point of view is supported not only by the results of the surveys but also by the analysis of current lawsuits against developers of generative artificial intelligence systems.

Practical significance: the obtained results can be used to fasten the development of universal legal rules, regulations, instruments and standards, the current lack of which poses a threat not only to human rights, but also to several sectors within the creative industry and beyond.

Objective: to substantiate the mechanisms of legal protection of intellectual property objects created with the use of artificial intelligence.

Methods: the use of artificial intelligence to create works that are traditionally considered copyright objects was investigated with a set of general scientific and theoretical-legal methods of scientific cognition, including comparison, analogy and synthesis. In addition, the practice of using artificial intelligence, including neural networks, to create such works was considered in several aspects on the basis of retrospective and multifactor analysis.

Results: the paper summarizes the current practice of using artificial intelligence to create works that traditionally belong to intellectual property objects (texts, images, music, software), taking into account the formulated scientific and legal positions. Several qualitatively different variants of the use of artificial intelligence were identified. For each of these variants the mechanism of legal protection was proposed and the areas of their effective application were indicated. Proposals were made to regulate the legal protection of the results of artificial intelligence activity; this was made not in the paradigm of competing doctrines, but by combining several tools, each of them to be applied in a relevant situation.

Scientific novelty: the paper presents ontological differentiation of the results of artificial intelligence activity and the corresponding mechanisms of their legal protection. The author propose to consider the results of activity created by artificial intelligence not as a single object of legal regulation, but as a set of externally similar, but ontologically different objects, each requiring a separate approach to legal protection.

Practical significance: the ontological differentiation of the results of artificial intelligence activity and their corresponding legal protection mechanisms proposed in this paper is relevant both as a basis for further research and as proposals to supplement civil legislation.

Objective: to identify the hidden ecological costs associated with the elaboration, implementation and development of artificial intelligence technologies, in order to ensure its sustainable and harmonious integration with various economic sectors by identifying optimal moral-ethical and political-legal strategies.

Methods: the conducted research is based on an ecological approach to the development and implementation of artificial intelligence, as well as on an interdisciplinary and political-legal analysis of ecological problems and risks of algorithmic bias, errors in artificial intelligence algorithms and decision-making processes that may exacerbate environmental inequalities and injustice towards the environment. In addition, analysis was performed in regard to the consequences of natural ecosystems destruction caused by the development of artificial intelligence technologies due to the computing energy-intensiveness, the growing impact of data centers on energy consumption and problems with their cooling, the electronic waste formation due to the rapid improvement of equipment, etc.

Results: the analysis shows a range of environmental, ethical and political-legal issues associated with the training, use and development of artificial intelligence, which consumes a significant amount of energy (mainly from non-renewable sources). This leads to an increase in carbon emissions and creates obstacles to further sustainable ecological development. Improper disposal of artificial intelligence equipment exacerbates the problem of e-waste and pollution of the planet, further damaging the environment. Errors in artificial intelligence algorithms and decision-making processes lead to environmental injustice and inequality. AI technologies may disrupt natural ecosystems, jeopardizing wildlife habitats and migration patterns.

Scientific novelty: the environmental consequences of the artificial intelligence use and further development, as well as the resulting environmental violations and costs of sustainable development, were studied. This leads to the scientific search for optimal strategies to minimize environmental damage, in which legal scholars and lawyers will have to determine ethical-legal and political-legal solutions at the national and supranational levels.

Practical significance: understanding the environmental impact of AI is crucial for policy makers, lawyers, researchers, and industry experts in developing strategies to minimize environmental harm. The findings emphasize the importance of implementing energy efficient algorithms, switching to renewable energy sources, adopting responsible e-waste management practices, ensuring fairness in AI decision-making and taking into account ethical considerations and rules of its implementation.

Objective: modern achievements in the development and dissemination of digital technologies have attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners to the discussion of key ethical issues related to artificial intelligence and robotics. Hence, this study presents the most relevant of these issues, posing new challenges for legal scholars and practitioners to develop the regulation of artificial intelligence and robotics in terms of technology moralization.

Methods: the research used practice- and risk-oriented approaches, complemented by multidisciplinary analysis of documents (European principles and codes of ethics) and studies, including those devoted to various problems of artificial intelligence and robotics.

Results: the article identifies key ethical issues in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics. It is established that the key ethical issues involved can be solved if they are legally formalized and implemented at the international level. The algorithm proposed by the author, based on the analysis of the digital technologies application, will allow improving the moral actions of technologies in the process of their decision making.

Scientific novelty: the article presents the latest ethical problems that concern scientists and practitioners in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics, and the methods of their solution by ethical and legal means aimed at moralizing technology and increasing its responsibility.

Practical significance: all solutions presented in the article have practical significance and are ready for wide implementation at the international level. Their formalization in normative form and subsequent compliance will reduce the harm that artificial intelligence may cause in applied fields, including robotics using artificial intelligence. Regulatory, including legislative, decisions must therefore be taken as soon as possible to ensure that artificial intelligence and robotics become reliable tools for these systems to be used at work, at home, and in other areas such as shopping centers, stores, schools, universities, etc.

Objective: to compare modern approaches in law to the use of program codes and algorithms in decision-making that meet the principles of transparency and openness, as well as the increasingly stringent requirements for ensuring the security of personal and other big data obtained and processed algorithmically.

Methods: the main methods for researching the principle of transparency in algorithmic decision-making were formal-legal and comparative analysis of legal acts and international standards of information security, as well as the principles and legal constructions contained in them.

Results: it was determined that the development of information security standardization, inclusion in legal acts of requirements for the development of information technologies that comply with the principles of transparency and openness of applied algorithms will minimize the risks associated with the unlawful processing of users' big data and obtaining information about their privacy. Proposals were identified, related to the implementation of algorithmic transparency in the field of data processing legal regulation. Recommendations were formulated, based on which the legislator can solve the problem of ensuring the openness of the logic of information technology algorithms with regard to modern standards of information security.

Scientific novelty: it consists in the substantiation of new trends and relevant legal approaches, which allow revealing the logic of data processing by digital and information technologies, based on the characterization of European standards of the “privacy by design” concept in new digital and information technologies of decision-making and data protection, as well as on the new legal requirements for artificial intelligence systems, including the requirement to ensure algorithmic transparency, and criteria for personal data and users' big data processing. This said, data protection is understood as a system of legal, technical and organizational principles aimed at ensuring personal data confidentiality.

Practical significance: it is due to the need to study the best Russian and international practices in protecting the privacy of users of digital and information technologies, as well as the need for legislative provision of requirements for the use of algorithms that meet the principles of transparency and openness of personal data processing, taking into account the need to ensure confidentiality at all stages of the life cycle of their processing, which will ensure the continuity of security management.

Objective: the development of wireless technologies and digital infrastructure has radically changed the human habitat, giving rise to a new type of space -a cyberspace. The uniqueness and peculiarities of this environment, including anonymity, boundlessness and problems related to the determination and establishment of jurisdiction, have become a breeding ground for the emergence of a new global threat - cyberterrorism. The latter is characterized by a high level of latency, low detection rate and incomparably greater danger than “real world” crimes. Countering new forms of crime has required the development of universal tools that overcome the limitations of traditional jurisdiction and allow states to prosecute terrorists in cyberspace. Identifying the relevant tools and identifying the political-legal obstacles to their implementation is the objective of this study. 

Methods: to achieve the set goal the formal-legal method was used to analyze legal sources, including judicial practice, national legislation, and international acts. The doctrinal approach was also used, which allowed, on the basis of scientific works and theoretical constructions, explaining the complexity of the modern phenomena and predicting their future development. This said, the main focus is on criminals to prove their antagonism with humanity in accordance with theoretical views. Finally, the study analyzes the theories of universal and traditional jurisdiction and how they are applied to prosecute terrorists.

Results: the paper provides a critical analysis, reviewing and adapting the concept of jurisdiction as applied to a global, borderless and decentralized digital environment (cyberspace) and to the struggle against new forms of terrorism (cyberterrorism). Various jurisdictional models applicable in cyberspace are presented. The author bridges the gap between the main branches of law: international private law and public law by linking, in relation to cyberterrorism, the two theories: the “responsibility to protect” (R2P) theory and the application of universal jurisdiction. The trends of universal jurisdiction development are revealed.

Scientific novelty: the study develops the accumulated scientific knowledge while justifying the introduction of foreign jurisdiction in a state territory to prosecute cyberterrorists. It also establishes a link between the theory of universal jurisdiction in private international law and the “responsibility to protect” (R2P) theory in public international law, recognizing the latter as a relevant basis for the introduction of universal jurisdiction over cyberterrorism. Such traditional concepts as sovereignty and jurisdictional independence are reviewed. The gap related to the consideration of cyberterrorism as a crime against humanity in international law is bridged.

Practical significance: the implementation of the proposed conclusions will contribute to the strengthening of international prosecution of cyberterrorism and harmonize the international and national legal tools to struggle against this crime.

Objective: due to the rapid technological changes, digital economy and contractual relations determine law transformation and legislation development towards adaptation to prospective spreading and application of smart contracts in civil and commercial turnover. In this regard, the study focuses on determining the legal essence of smart contracts as a fundamental step towards the development of their timely and clear regulation.

Methods: the research is based on the methodology of formal-legal and comparative legal analysis. It compares the current Bulgarian legislation with supranational legal sources and identifies the characteristic features of smart contracts as demanded instruments necessary for modern law and economy. The article also compares them with the classical understanding of contracts, making it possible to understand and define the nature of smart contracts more accurately.

Results: it was determined that a smart contract is a software code in which the parties predetermine conditions under which the contractual relationship between them is created, modified and terminated. The research proved that the contract execution does not depend on the action or inaction of its parties, but rather on the occurrence of a predetermined condition (a certain fact relevant to the parties) under which the contract must self-execute. It was substantiated that the will of the parties cannot be changed or replaced because of the special way in which the smart contract is recorded in a distributed ledger. It is found that the fundamental problem of transferring the will from the legal language to the program code of the smart contract persists: if the will of the parties is incorrectly transferred to the program code, the smart contract may self-execute, but its execution will not be the result that the parties counted on.

Scientific novelty: the analysis made it possible to compare the current national (Bulgarian) legislation and supranational (European) law. It revealed the vagueness of smart contracts regulation, both at the national and international level, and identified a number of issues in need of scientific and legal interpretation, which refer to the legal nature of smart contracts in view of the self-executing program code concept.

Practical significance: the study can serve as a basis for further development of legislation towards its adaptation to the prospects of smart contracts spreading and application in civil and commercial turnover. It also allows an in-depth analysis of the smart contracts practice referring to such unsolved problems as accurate transference of the parties' will to the program code (translation of specific terms from the legal language into the smart contract program code), electronic identification of subjects - parties to the transaction and many other issues.

Objective: the automation inherent in smart contracts makes them an attractive tool for global trade applications, especially for the automation of transactions. The prospects foreseeable will significantly impact international economic relations and the transformation of international trade rules. This fact determines the study objective - to identify the possibilities of transforming the said rules and the political and legal strategies adopted by European countries to implement smart contracts in international trade.

Methods: the study, devoted to the current international trade regulation in the context of contracts digitalization and spread of smart contracts, uses a combination of formal-legal and comparative-legal methods. They allow researching the international trade rules, analyzing and comparing the UK and the EU political and legal positions on the smart contracts introduction in international trade, as well as predicting the legal consequences of using smart contracts in international trade.

Results: the research shows that the proliferation of smart contracts has significant implications for international trade and its regulation. Smart contracts have numerous advantages, such as increased efficiency, reduced costs, and wide availability. However, they may lead to legal challenges when harmonizing traditional legal principles with the digital environment, in particular concerning the authentication of subjects, enforceability under specific circumstances of a case, and jurisdictional issues.

Scientific novelty: the current literature on the transformation of international trade regulation in the context of digitalization processes and the spread of smart contracts is complemented by the results of a comparative analysis of the legal positions existing in the European legal space and developed on the basis of problems, lessons and achievements in the smart contracts implementation in international trade.

Practical significance: understanding the legal implications of smart contracts is important for businesses involved in international trade. The study provides insights into the UK and the EU legal positions from which guidance can be provided to companies navigating the digital landscape. Policymakers can also benefit from the findings when developing appropriate legal acts to balance the benefits of smart contracts with the need for legal certainty and protection in international trade.

Objective: to substantiate the need to identify new contractual constructs (models) taking into account the specific relations associated with the use of remote method of contract conclusion through digital technologies and to study the possible risks for their participants.

Methods: along with special legal methods, the method of critical analysis was fundamental for the research process, which allowed us to evaluate and interpret the main sources and norms of civil law in relation to distant transactions. It also allowed assessing the current state of legislation in this area in the context of developing processes of digitalization and technologization of civil-law relations.

Results: a critical analysis of the current state of legal regulation of remote ways of concluding contracts is presented, their classification is given. It is concluded that the digital technologies development gives rise to new remote ways of transactions, as well as fills with new content the procedures of contract conclusion, traditional for civil law. The expediency of singling out the concept of a “distant transaction” as a legal category in order to create a special civil-law regime is substantiated, and the basic concept being that of a “distant contract”. Certain types of distant contracts are analyzed to substantiate the need for special legal regimes in cases when the distant method of contract conclusion is combined with the use of digital technologies. It poses such problems as the distribution of risks of technological failures, hacker attacks, compliance with the balance of interests of the parties taking into account information asymmetry, and the need to protect the weaker party.

Scientific novelty: an attempt is made to define such concepts as a “distant contract” and a “distant transaction” and to identify their features. The expediency is substantiated of considering a distant contract as a separate legal construction (model) of the contract. Within this framework, a special legal regime should be developed and fixed, which can be extended to unilateral distant transactions. The problems of legal regulation caused by the use of information technologies are formulated, and legal constructions for their solution are proposed.

Practical significance: the final conclusions and proposals can be used both in contractual practice by the participants of civil turnover and for the normative consolidation of the concept and features of “distant contract”, “distant transaction”. A special legal regime can be created, taking into account the specificity generated by the use of digital technologies.

Objective: South Africa is a country with great potential for intensive development due to the active growth and adoption of digital technologies. The rapidly emerging digital landscape is transforming the legal framework, which in turn influences the digital environment. This transformative relationship determined the focus of the research, which is to identify the legal system adaptability under dynamic changes, as well as the legal landscape evolution under digitalization and technological progress.

Methods: the study of the changing legal landscape required an interdisciplinary approach that combines legal analysis with ideas from sociology, economics, etc. In doing so, the formal-legal method was used to examine the key legal instruments shaping South Africa's digital environment and providing the opportunities and challenges of the interaction between digital technologies and South African law.

Results: the paper provides insights into how the South African legal system is addressing digital challenges; assesses the integration of digital innovations into the legal system; highlights the transformative impact of digital technologies on traditional legal processes, including collecting evidence, dispute resolution and access to justice. Finally, it evaluates the role of digital technologies in making legal processes more efficient.

Scientific novelty: the study contributes to the ongoing debate on the complex relationship between digital technologies and South African law. It shows how South African law is coping with digital complexities and substantiates new insights into the transformation of the traditional legal paradigm as a result of digitalization, as well as its implications for legal proceedings and access to justice. By delving into the adaptations, challenges and innovations arising at the intersection of law, technologies and digitalization, insights are gained into how South African law navigates the dynamic digital landscape.

Practical significance: adapting the legal landscape to digitalization and technological advances is critical to ensure rapid technological progress. It also requires collaboration between government agencies, civil society, experts in law and technology. The study provides valuable recommendations and suggestions for policymakers, legal practitioners and stakeholders shaping South Africa's legal ecosystem. The author addresses the challenges of ensuring personal data privacy, enhancing electronic interactions, and countering cybercrime. The importance of introducing technological achievements while maintaining robust legal safeguards is emphasized.

Objective: the traditional Nigerian judicial system has long been associated with a conservative approach and traditional methodologies of justice administration. As a developing country, Nigeria has benefited immensely from the advancement of digital technology, especially in the legal field. This is due to the fact that modern digital technologies are being rapidly adopted in Nigeria's judicial processes for effective justice administration. However, despite the promise of digital technology, there are legal and socioeconomic challenges in Nigeria that may affect its successful utilization in legal proceedings. This justifies the focus of the study - to identify the legal and socio-economic challenges of digitalization of court proceedings in Nigeria.

Methods: the study combines doctrinal and non-doctrinal approaches. The former ensures theoretical understanding of the conceptual issues and prospects of court proceedings virtualization. It also allows exploring, based on primary and secondary sources (laws, monographs, research articles and internet resources), the legal and socio-economic challenges of the use of digital technologies in court proceedings. The non-doctrinal approach consists in polling, describing and analyzing the results of a sociological survey. The survey was conducted among Nigeria residents to reveal their attitudes towards innovations in digitalization and virtualization of court proceedings as well as the challenges posed by these processes.

Results: the study revealed that the use of digital technologies in court proceedings in Nigeria has several prospects of ensuring effective justice administration and accurate recording and storage of information. Along with the benefits, challenges are shown that may reduce the effectiveness of court proceedings digitalization.

Scientific novelty: consists in investigating the use of digital technology in Nigerian court proceedings and identifying the prospects of improving the efficiency of justice administration in Nigeria under digitalization, as well as the challenges arising from this trend.

Practical significance: the study will enable stakeholders in the Nigerian legal sector to identify legal and socio-economic challenges that may adversely affect and render ineffective the use of digital technologies in legal proceedings. In addition, the article offers practical recommendations to address these challenges.