In January of last year came the sad news of the death of our colleague Professor Jon Bing. At that time, preparation was nearing completion of a volume containing both academic papers and personal reminiscences, originally intended as a festschrift for Jon’s 70th birthday. Despite Jon’s passing, the editors wisely decided to proceed with publication “…as a tribute and testimony to a pioneering giant in law on information and communication technology…and to a warm, intelligent and good person of whom many were very fond”.[1] The book was presented on April 30 2014 – the day on which Jon would have reached the age of 70 – at the first Jon Bing Memorial Seminar, which is to become an annual event. In association with the book a website has been set up, accessible at http://jonbing.net/ including further tributes (mostly written in Norwegian), photographs, and an extensive bibliography of Jon’s publications, covering Jon’s academic papers, his writings on legal and technological issues intended for a non-specialist audience, and his many works of fiction.
At the Law Faculty of the University of Oslo, Jon co-founded – as early as 1970 – the Norwegian Research Centre for Computers and Law (NRCCL), and worked tirelessly over the years to establish it as a leading international research hub. It was characteristic of Jon’s commitment to an interdisciplinary approach, and further evidence of the breadth of his knowledge and understanding of the field, that the many researchers who visited NRCCL included most of the key figures in the development of the field of Artificial Intelligence and Law. Together with some of his NRCCL colleagues, Jon participated in several of the International Conferences on AI & Law, and co-chaired the organization of ICAIL 1999, held at the University of Oslo.
It is therefore highly appropriate that the editors of Artificial Intelligence and Law have decided to publish a special issue of the journal in Jon’s honour. Submissions are sought of papers that either discuss aspects of Jon’s own contributions to AI and Law, or else address issues related to Jon’s work in that field. Given the very wide range of Jon’s interests, the proposed remit of the special issue is suitably broad in scope. Authors should follow the instructions for document preparation and submission described at www.springer.com/computer/ai/journal/10506
The deadline for submissions will be March 31 2015. The provisional plan is to publish the selected papers in the fourth issue of the 2015 volume. The guest editors of the special issue will be Emily Weitzenboeck (Senior Associate, Wikborg, Rein & Co. Advokatfirma DA), Tobias Mahler (Associate Professor, NRCCL) and Andrew Jones (Emeritus Professor, King’s College London, and an associate member of NRCCL 1986-2001), each of whose careers benefitted significantly, in various ways, from Jon Bing’s wisdom and support, and above all from his great generosity of spirit.
[1] Quoted from p.XVI of the Preface to Jon Bing – en hyllest/a tribute, edited by Dag Wiese Schartum, Lee A. Bygrave and Anne Gunn Berge Bekken, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, Oslo, Norway, 2014. ISBN 9788205468504.