Research Group
Research Group
Research Group
DINÂMIA'CET-IUL
Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies
Integrated Researcher
Maria Eduarda Gonçalves
research interests
International and European law; law of the sea; information technology law; social studies of science and technology; risk regulation.
Short Bio
Doctorat d’État en Droit, Univ. Nice, France; LL.M., Harvard Law School, USA. Professor of Law at ISCTE – IUL. Researcher at DINÂMIA’CET – IUL; Director of this Centre from May 2013 to May 2016.
Member of the General Council (2009/17) and of its Specialised Commission for Scientific Research (2015/17), ISCTE-IUL. Invited Professor at the Faculty of Law, UNL (2003/13).
Has participated in 18 research projects funded by the EU or the FCT; Principal Investigator of 7 FCT projects. Supervised c. 42 Post-doc, PhD or Master theses; has been a member of c. 84 academic juries.
Member of the following councils and commissions: the Scientific Council for the Social Sciences and Humanities of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology; the External Scientific Commission of JusGov – Research Centre for Justice and Governance of the University of Minho; the External Scientific Advice Commission of CEDIS – Research Centre on Law and Society of the Faculty of Law of the New University of Lisbon; the Scientific Council of UniFoj – Legal and Judiciary Training Unit of the Permanent Observatory of Justice of the University of Coimbra; the External Scientific Advice Commission of UNIARQ – Centre of Archaeology of the University of Lisbon; the Advisory Council of the Cybersecurity Observatory of the National Centre for Cybersecurity.
Member of several expert groups, namely the Expert Group on Science and Governance, EC (2005/07) and the Expert Group on Bench-marking of Science and Technological Policies, EC (2001/02). Delegate of Portugal to the Advisory Group of Experts on the Law of the Sea of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of Unesco and to the Legal Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. C. 200 publications (books, articles, book chapters, reports, etc.).
research project at dinâmia'cet-Iscte
Digital technologies now pervade all spheres of social, cultural, economic and political life. These technologies interfere in significant ways with the social relationships and seemingly even with the conditions for the effectiveness of basic values of our societies, i.e. freedoms and democracy. The expansion of search engines, social networks and other online platforms generates an incalculable accumulation of data from diverse sources (big data) and their exploration by the means of data mining and data analytics technics relying on artificial intelligence and robotics giving rise to forms of appropriation and control by the major online operators, and to decision-making automation with problematic implications. This research project is focused on trends in regulation and rights in the digital age with special reference to the European Union case in the light of two main dilemma: i) the promotion of the digital market and of property rights in information vs. freedoms of information; (ii) protection of secrets and of privacy vs. freedoms of information. In parallel, the tension between a state-based, including international and European, law and the growing recourse to alternative modes of regulation (soft law, self-regulation) is analysed, as well as its impact on the traditional balance of public and private powers.
Main publications
M. E. Gonçalves (2023), “Law-Technology Lag or Law as Technology in the Big Data Age”, in H. M. Jerónimo (ed.), Portuguese Philosophy of Technology. Legacies and contemporary work from the Portuguese-Speaking Community, Dordrecht: Springer, p. 263-281.
A. C. Santos, M.E. Gonçalves e M. M. Leitão Marques, (2022) Direito Económico. Coimbra, Almedina, 630 págs. (8ª edição)
M. E. Gonçalves (2020), The risk-based approach under the new EU data protection regulation: a critical perspective, Journal of Risk Research 23 (2), p. 139-152
M. E. Gonçalves, P. Guibentif, G. Rebelo (org.) (2018), Constituição e Mudança Socioeconómica, Lisboa: Principia
M.E. Gonçalves and M.I. Gameiro (2018), “Marine scientific research in the EEZ and on the continental shelf: Portugal’s input to UNCLOS, and experience in addressing foreign research entities’ requests for access”, in M. J. Bebianno, J. Guerreiro, T. Carvalho, M. I. Gameiro (ed.), Sustainable Development of the Ocean: A Necessity, Conferência de Homenagem a Mário Ruivo, Faro: University of Algarve, 2018, p. 79-108
Main projects
Regulation of risks of science and technology in the era of social networks, DINAMIA’CET- IUL, jointly with Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, funded by the FCT (2013/15); Principal Investigator.
Protecting Privacy and Personal Data in a Post-Charter Europe (PROTECT); DINAMIA’CET-IUL, funded by the FCT (2011/13); Principal Investigator.
The Lanscape and Isobars of Values in Relation to Science and Technolog” (VALUE ISOBARS), coordinated by the University of Bergen, funded by the EU 7th Framework Programme on R&D; in charge of Work Package 4 Values and Regulation, DINÂMIA’CET (2009/11).
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