On 22 October, the SPbGASU hosted a regional roundtable "Economic and Legal Problems of Transformation of Public Relations in the Context of Digitalization."

Participants exchanged views on industry-specific issues of legal regulation in the context of digitalization; current trends in the digitalization of civil and arbitration proceedings; and controversial issues related to the application of artificial intelligence in the legal sphere.

Nikolay Zhilsky, Head of the SPbGASU Department of Legal Regulation of Urban-Planning Activities and Transport, spoke about the relevance of the roundtable: "Everyone is switching to digital technology now. Public attitudes toward this are mixed, and it's difficult for people to adapt. There's no legal framework, and creating one will take years. This is the topic of our roundtable.

Together with my colleague, Elizaveta Yankovskaya, a lecturer at our department, we prepared a presentation on the legal framework for the digitalization of insolvency (bankruptcy) procedures for legal entities. On the one hand, digital technologies improve the efficiency, transparency, openness, accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and acceleration of bankruptcy procedures. The ability to collaborate remotely is also a major advantage. On the other hand, new risks arise in the areas of cybersecurity, legal compliance, and personal data protection. We wanted to draw the attention of the scientific community to these and other issues related to digital transformation."

In her report, "Seamless digital sky of Russia: state policy, regulatory framework, and technologies," Irina Borodushko, Head of the  SPbGASU Department of Legal Studies, shed light on the problematic aspects of developing unified legal regulation of ground, air, and low-orbit space in the Russian Federation.

Elena Silina, Professor at the Department of Civil Procedural Law at the North-West Branch of the Russian State University of Justice named after V.M. Lebedev, presented a report entitled "Current issues and priority directions for the development of digitalization in civil and arbitration proceedings."

Of particular interest was the report by Valentina Maksimova, a lawyer with the Baltic Interregional Bar Association of St Petersburg, entitled "The economic consequences of uncontrolled access to lawyers' personal data in the State Automated Systems "Pravosudie" and "My Arbitrator": Risk assessment and development of a defense strategy."

The Regional Roundtable "Economic and Legal Problems of Transformation of Public Relations in the Context of Digitalization" was attended by teachers from St Petersburg universities, practicing lawyers, and representatives of organizations in the real sector of the economy.