International scientific conference

Spy in the sky:
Regulatory Issues of Drones and Unmanned Aerial Systems

Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana
Ljubljana, Slovenia
23-24 May 2013

Call for papers

Keynote speakers

- Dr. Kristin Bergtora Sandvik, Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway
- Dr. Heather A. Harrison Dinniss, Swedish National Defence College, Stockholm
- Professor Marko Pavliha, Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transportation, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Nataša Pirc Musar, Information Commissioner of the Republic of Slovenia
- Assist. Professor Primož Gorkič, Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana
- Assist. Professor Vasilka Sancin, Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana
- Assist. Professor Aleš Završnik, Institute of Criminology Ljubljana
- Dr. Vasja Badalič, Institute of Criminology Ljubljana
and  
a representative of aircraft producer Pipistrel d.o.o., Special Operation Programme, Ajdovščina

The conference aims to shed light on legal/regulatory perspectives of UASs, micro UAVs and other hummingbird-mosquito type flying objects or drones. After a huge balloon accident in August 2012 just on the outskirts of Ljubljana (6 people died, 26 injured), authorities began to investigate the problem of regulation of different “flying objects” (other than planes) in our skies. This tragic accident triggers various regulatory questions of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) in the domain of protection of privacy and personal data, aviation law, international humanitarian law and criminal law as well as in the domain of shifting cultural perceptions of drones as drones are also increasingly being used for humanitarian activities. If drones were initially deployed for extra-judicial executions on areas not formally in war, today drones are deployed for law enforcement purposes, by humanitarian organisations and protesters, the press and even sold on eBay as consumer objects. Although the technology is (or not, depending on the perspective) fascinating by itself, it triggers discussions from the above and other perspectives. 

We invite paper proposals from scholars across the social sciences and humanities studying surveillance and security from multiple perspectives.

Themes of interest include (tentative list):

- can/should police use drones and use captured material in court;
- implications of the use of drones in areas without armed conflict for the international humanitarian law;
- how should drones be regulated from the aviation law perspective;
- are the existing personal data protection laws sufficient;
- how are drones deployed for humanitarian interventions;
- should drones be sold and used as consumer toys.

Please submit proposals for papers (300 words) with your name, address and affiliation by March 18, 2013 to
Aleš Završnik: [log in to unmask]

Participants will be notified by March 22, 2013. The conference is organized within the Surveillance and Crime Control project carried out at the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law Ljubljana and coordinated by Assistant Professor Aleš Završnik. It is partly sponsored by the Slovenian Research Agency.

Venue
Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana,
Poljanski nasip 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Contact
Aleš Završnik, LL.D., Assist. Prof., E: [log in to unmask]
Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law Ljubljana, E: [log in to unmask], W: www.inst-crim.si

There is no charge for conference speakers.

Please circulate widely.