fAIr Law
Scientic Supervisor / Contact Person
Name and Surname
Rafael Bustos Gisbert
Localization & Research Area
Faculty / Institute
Faculty of Law
Department
Institute of Parliamentary law
Research Area
Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC)
MSCA & ERC experience
Research group / research team hosted any MSCA fellow?
No
Research group / research team have any ERC beneficiaries?
No
Research Team & Research Topic
Research Team / Research Group Name (if any)
fAIr Law
Website of the Research team / Research Group / Department
Brief description of the Research Team / Research Group / Department
The research group includes three different professional profiles in its work and research teams. Specifically: a) Academics: scholars of the rule of law and democracy from different universities, in particular from the Complutense University of Madrid, many of them members of the Institute of Parliamentary Law, but also from the Universities of Salamanca, Basque Country, Barcelona, Alcalá de Henares, Pompeu Fabra, Internacional de la Rioja, Parthenope of Naples and Ramon Llull. b) Qualified legal professionals from the three branches of government: persons linked to government and public administration will participate in the project (in particular the Ministries of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Courts): Presidency; Justice and Relations with the Courts; Digital Transformation and AI; Science, Innovation and Universities; and Health, as well as the Regional Government of Extremadura), the judiciary (4 judges and a lawyer from the Law School) and the legislature (specifically, 4 lawyers from the Spanish Parliament, a lawyer from the Basque Parliament, a lawyer from the Court of Auditors and a Head of IT from the Senate). c) AI scientists: including university professors (2 university professors, 2 full professors), AI experts from the public administration (Ministry of Health and 2 members of the State Security Forces) and people from private companies specialising in AI (Microsoft). Our methodology does not involve these three professional profiles working separately but, on the contrary, developing the projects together and producing joint results.
Research lines / projects proposed
The research project rests on four basic pillars. The first pillar is its object: how public authorities can use AI in a way that fully respects the requirements of a substantive (thick) conception of the rule of law. It is not intended to address the problem of what requirements an AI tool has to fulfil or what AI governance should look like. It is about the requirements that public authorities must meet in order to use AI systems that respect the values of the rule of law. A second pillar is its focus. In contrast to the usual approach to issues related to AI and Constitutional Law on the basis of the risks of the former on the latter, the project aims to provide guidance for the use of AI by public authorities to strengthen and improve the rule of law. The third pillar is its interdisciplinarity. In order to examine the application of technology within the rule of law, qualified researchers in constitutional law, highly qualified personnel in the various public authorities (magistrates, lawyers in parliament and specialised bodies) and AI scientists need to work together. Interdisciplinarity is understood not as a mere juxtaposition of knowledge from different professional backgrounds, but as the result of dialogue and debate between them in order to achieve valid research results in all of these areas. The fourth pillar is its applied nature. It proposes the identification and design of concrete AI tools useful for strengthening the rule of law.
The objectives of the research project are: (i) to deepen theoretical reflection on the effect of AI on the concepts and categories of constitutional law; (ii) to develop a shared language between AI scientists and jurists necessary for the evaluation of the use of AI in the rule of law; (iii) to identify the main problems and opportunities for the use of AI in the different branches of the government; (iv) to identify areas in which the design of AI tools can strengthen the rule of law; and (v) to design specific AI tools to strengthen some aspect of the rule of law with full respect for its core values.
In order to achieve the objectives, a methodology based on four thematic axes and one cross-cutting axis is proposed. The thematic axes are Parliament, Government, Justice and Electoral guarantee bodies, where the specific problems of the application of AI will be examined. The transversal axis of all these will be the assessment from the AI science and the impact evaluation of the conclusions drawn from the theoretical (carried out by the researchers) and practical (carried out by qualified professionals from the four powers involved in the project) legal analysis of the application of AI in the public authorities.
The project involves 50 people under the coordination of two senior researchers specialised in the field at international level. Mario Hernández Ramos, President of the Artificial Intelligence Committee of the Council of Europe, and Rafael Bustos Gisbert, Member of the Venice Commission.
The objectives of the research project are: (i) to deepen theoretical reflection on the effect of AI on the concepts and categories of constitutional law; (ii) to develop a shared language between AI scientists and jurists necessary for the evaluation of the use of AI in the rule of law; (iii) to identify the main problems and opportunities for the use of AI in the different branches of the government; (iv) to identify areas in which the design of AI tools can strengthen the rule of law; and (v) to design specific AI tools to strengthen some aspect of the rule of law with full respect for its core values.
In order to achieve the objectives, a methodology based on four thematic axes and one cross-cutting axis is proposed. The thematic axes are Parliament, Government, Justice and Electoral guarantee bodies, where the specific problems of the application of AI will be examined. The transversal axis of all these will be the assessment from the AI science and the impact evaluation of the conclusions drawn from the theoretical (carried out by the researchers) and practical (carried out by qualified professionals from the four powers involved in the project) legal analysis of the application of AI in the public authorities.
The project involves 50 people under the coordination of two senior researchers specialised in the field at international level. Mario Hernández Ramos, President of the Artificial Intelligence Committee of the Council of Europe, and Rafael Bustos Gisbert, Member of the Venice Commission.
Key words
Application requirements
Professional Experience & Documents
Two professional profiles are welcome.
Profile 1. Lawyer specialising in public law. With postgraduate training in the field of the rule of law, technology law, public administration or the judiciary. Documentation of sufficient training must be provided.
Profile 2: AI scientist. University degree or post-graduate training in telecommunications and new technologies engineering or computer engineering. Documentation of adequate training must be provided.
Profile 1. Lawyer specialising in public law. With postgraduate training in the field of the rule of law, technology law, public administration or the judiciary. Documentation of sufficient training must be provided.
Profile 2: AI scientist. University degree or post-graduate training in telecommunications and new technologies engineering or computer engineering. Documentation of adequate training must be provided.
One Page Proposal
You can attach the 'One Page Proposal' to enhance the attractiveness of your application. Supervisors usually appreciate it. Please take into account your background and the information provided in Research Team & Research Topic section to fill in it.
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