New Technologies and Human Rights Challenges to Regulation

Whilst advances in biotechnology and information technology have undoubtedly resulted in better quality of life for mankind, they can also bring about global problems. The legal response to the challenges caused by the rapid progress of technological change has been slow and the question of how international human rights should be protected and promoted with respect to science and technology remains unexplored. The contributors to this book explore the political discourse and power relations of technological growth and human rights issues between the Global South and the Global North and uncover the different perspectives of both regions. They investigate the conflict between technology and human rights and the perpetuation of inequality and subjection of the South to the North. With emerging economies such as Brazil playing a major role in trade, investment and financial law, the book examines how human rights are affected in Southern countries and identifies significant challenges to reform in the areas of international law and policy.

Mario Viola de Azevedo Cunha is an Associate Professor of Private Law at the Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas no Ensino do Direito of the Rio de Janeiro State University (Brazil), and a State Attorney of the Municipality of Saquarema (Brazil). He holds a PhD in Law and a MRes from the European University Institute (Italy), an LLM in Private Law from Rio de Janeiro State University and has undertaken post-graduate studies in Private Law (Rio de Janeiro State University) and in Consumer Law (Fluminense Federal University, Brazil). Norberto Nuno Gomes de Andrade is a Scientific Officer at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, and a Research Fellow at the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL, The Netherlands). He holds a PhD in Law and Technology and a MRes from the European University Institute (Italy), an MA in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University (Hungary), and an LLB from the University of Lisbon. Lucas Lixinski is the Dean's Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, Australia. He holds a PhD in International Law from the European University Institute (Italy), an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the Central European University (Hungary(), and an LLB from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Lúcio Tomé Féteira holds a PhD in Competition Law and a MRes from the European University Institute (Italy), an LLB from the Portuguese Catholic University (Lisbon) and has undertaken post-graduate studies in Commercial and Corporate Law (Coimbra) and in Competition and Regulation (Lisbon).