AI and Criminal Justice – Regulatory and Practical Challenges
The Series is organised by the joint research project MATIS of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and the University of Luxembourg (co-funded by FWO and FNR), in cooperation with the Brussels Privacy Hub. The Series has a media partnership with EDRi
Article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union enumerates the values the European house is founded upon. Some of those values, like democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights are reflected in principles such as the equality of Union citizens, the Union citizenship, or the binding effect of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. These principles and rights are then further developed in Union’s secondary law, such as the General Data Protection Regulation.
However, without proper enforcement, EU law risks becoming a dead letter. When the foundations are weakened, the entire building becomes shaky. This webinar series will, therefore, be interested in how does (or does not) the EU protect its foundations and make sure that the values, principles, and rules of primary law are respected and enforced in the secondary law and in the Member States.
The series is hosted by Juraj Sajfert (VUB/University of Luxembourg), the researcher of the MATIS project. The host will, together with his guests, dive into the challenges the European law enforcement authorities are facing in the Digital Era. The focus on those authorities seems logical for the ‘Enforcing’ series. Yet, in the complex contemporary environment, those authorities often stretch the boundaries of their regulatory sandboxes and question some of the basic EU law principles and concepts, including the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
In this webinar, we will have a closer look at the EU AI Act proposal, albeit from a very specific angle. Many events discuss the implications of the AI Act for commercial operators. But what about criminal justice authorities? Once AI act enters into application, law enforcement authorities will face specific challenges. They might use AI in criminal proceedings and related decision-making. Such AI can be built in-house or bought from a developer, either off-the-shelf or custom-made.
How will AI act affect criminal justice authorities? What are the different derogations/special rules that the AI act would introduce in relation to the use of various types of AIs (low/high/unacceptable risks) by criminal justice authorities? What are the human rights challenges of the use of AI by those authorities? How would the Clearview AI scandal play out if the AI Act was already in force?
Moderator: Juraj Sajfert (VUB/University of Luxembourg)
Speakers:
Eike Graef (European Commission, DG JUST, Fundamental Rights)
Marco Stefan (Centre for European Policy Studies/University of Utrecht)
Julia Thorsøe Ballaschk (Data protection officer, Danish Police)
Laure Baudrihaye-Gérard (Fair Trials)
Time: 28 April 2022, 12:30 – 14:00 (Brussels time)
Registration: The event is free to attend but registration is required. Should you face any difficulties with the registration form, please send an e-mail to
More details about this event & registration can be done here.